U.S. Women’s Open: 10 champions from The Babe to Karrie Webb

Babe Didrikson Zaharias – 1948, 1950, 1954

There is no more colorful player on the golf stage than The Babe. She was a consummate all-around athlete, an accomplished and successful competitor in basketball and track & field as well as golf. The Babe took two golds and a silver for track & field events at the 1932 Olympic Games. She’d have been chomping at the bit to tee it up in Rio!

Just to keep some balance of perspective, know that Babe Zaharias was also an accomplished seamstress. She made her own golf outfits!

The U.S. Women’s Open was still in its infancy when Babe Zaharias hoisted the trophy for her first of three victories in 1948, an 8 shot win over Betty Hicks at the Atlantic City Country Club. She went on to win the Open a second time in 1950, that time by 9 shots over Betsy Rawls, who was competing as an amateur.

It was The Babe’s third win, however, in 1954 that epitomizes her athletic authenticity. Zaharias had been diagnosed with colon cancer the previous year. One month after surgery and wearing a colostomy bag, Babe Zaharias recorded a wire-to-wire victory at the 1954 U.S. Women’s Open, defeating Betty Hicks again, this time by 9 strokes, at the Salem Country Club. The Babe was 43 that year and she remains the oldest woman to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

Next: Fay Crocker, 1955