1952 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Final Scores
Winner: Louise Suggs, 284
Where it was played: Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tournament dates: June 26-29, 1952
Leader after first round: Patty Berg, 69
Leader after second round: Louise Suggs, 139
Leader after third round: Louise Suggs, 209
What Happened in the 1952 U.S. Women's Open
Louise Suggs, previously the 1949 champion, won the 1952 U.S. Women's Open to join Babe Didrikson Zaharias as this tournament's only two-time winners to this point. And Suggs did it by setting not just a tournament scoring record, but the lowest 72-hole competition score then known by any woman golfer.Suggs' 284 total broke the tournament scoring record (previously 291 shared by Suggs and Babe Zaharias) by seven strokes. That total wasn't matched until Jerilyn Britz won the 1979 U.S. Women's Open on 284, and wasn't beaten until Amy Alcott won the 1980 U.S. Women's Open on 280. News reports at the time also touted Suggs' 284 as the lowest score yet made in any significant women's golf tournament, beating the previous record of 288 set one year earlier by Zaharias.
Suggs led by four following the second round, and her lead over second-place Betty Jameson was seven entering Round 4. Both scored 75s in that final round. Marlene Bauer tied Jameson for second place. Suggs did not win the USWO again, but did have four second-place finishes after this. Her total of five career USWO runner-up showings remains the tournament record. This title was the sixth of Suggs' 11 career wins in majors, and was the 16th of her eventual 61 LPGA Tour victories.
The main reason for Suggs' low score was her great play. But another reason was the golf course, Bala Golf Club, which measured under 5,500 yards and had a par of 69. Still, Suggs was the only golfer in the tournament to break 290. But another scoring record was set this year: Marilynn Smith's 67 in Round 2 was the tournament's new 18-hole mark, and Marlene Bauer tied that score in the third round.
Of the 41 golfers who entered and 36 who completed all four rounds, only 12 were professionals. This was the last year the LPGA Tour was the organizing body for the U.S. Women's Open. The tournament was launched in 1946 by the Women's Professional Golf Association (WPGA), a short-lived predecessor to the LPGA. Beginning in 1953, the United States Golf Association (USGA) took over running the U.S. Women's Open.
1952 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Louise Suggs | 70-69-70-75—284 |
| Betty Jameson | 71-73-72-75—291 |
| Marlene Bauer | 83-70-67-71—291 |
| Beverly Hanson | 76-73-75-69—293 |
| Betty MacKinnon | 74-72-73-76—295 |
| Peggy Kirk | 77-75-70-73—295 |
| Betsy Rawls | 72-72-78-75—297 |
| Alice Bauer | 76-72-80-70—298 |
| Patty Berg | 69-77-79-74—299 |
| a-Dorothy Porter | 72-78-76-74—300 |
| Marilynn Smith | 76-67-79-79—301 |
| a-Bonnie Randolph | 74-76-81-72—303 |
| a-Helen Sigel | 72-75-84-77—308 |
| Betty Bush | 76-78-77-78—309 |
| a-Bettye Danoff | 81-76-81-78—316 |
| a-Mrs. John Gessler | 78-87-75-77—317 |
| a-Edith Flippin | 80-76-79-82—317 |
| a-Mary Ann Downey | 79-75-78-85—317 |
| a-Betty Fehl | 79-77-81-81—318 |
| Betty Dodd | 76-81-77-85—319 |
| a-Barbara Bruning | 81-77-81-81—320 |
| a-Mrs. J. Albert Hayes | 79-79-84-80—322 |
| a-Mrs. Earl Scott | 85-89-81-76—331 |
| a-Mrs. Arthur Kitson | 81-85-82-83—331 |
| a-Mrs. T. Ellwood Webster | 84-87-83-83—337 |
| a-Mrs. George Edwards | 82-88-85-84—339 |
| a-Mrs. Walter Acuff | 84-81-89-87—341 |
| a-Ethel Benson | 90-84-85-84—343 |
| a-Mrs. Ralph Raynor | 84-84-87-91—346 |
| a-Helen Hampton | 91-80-90-85—346 |
| a-Mrs. Charles Spalding | 97-96-77-80—350 |
| a-Ann Rutherford | 84-91-84-94—353 |
| a-Hazel Ross | 84-91-87-92—354 |
| a-Mrs. H. Wray Crane | 90-86-84-95—355 |
| a-Mary Nelson | 88-95-88-87—358 |
| a-Beverly Saber | 83-94-90-93—360 |
Sources:
Philadelphia (Pa.) Inquirer. "U.S. Open 72-Hole Scores," June 30, 1952.
Pittsburgh (Pa.) Press. "Louise Suggs Wins Open With World's Record 284," Universal Press International, June 30, 1952.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champions, 1952, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1952.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Records, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--women-s-open-records.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open, Records & Results, 1952, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1952.
