Miss Maureen Orcutt

The inauguration of a Senior Women's Amateur Championship followed the same pattern that preceded the start of the Senior Amateur Championship in 1955. A number of senior women's associations had come into being on various levels, but no one event was open to members of all USGA Regular Member Clubs. The request to begin such a competition was approved by the Executive Committee in January, 1962.

The addition of the Championship to the USGA schedule meant that every man, woman and child golfer has an opportunity to compete in a USGA Championship. The format decided upon was a 54-hole stroke play competition over three days. Competitors must be at least 50 years old. In addition to the Championship proper, it was decided to award prizes in three age groups: A-50 through 54 years; B-55 through 59 years; and C-60 years and over.

The first Championship was played at the Manufacturers' Golf and Country Club, Oreland, Pa. Miss Maureen Orcutt, Englewood, N.J., a reporter for the New York Times, won the Championship with a total of 240 through three consecutive rounds of 80. Miss Orcutt had twice been runner-up in the Women's Amateur Championship and was a member of the first four Curtis Cup Teams. Her first USGA Championship victory was particularly gratifying.

The runner-up, seven strokes behind, was Mrs. Glenna Collett Vare, Bryn Mawr, Pa., six times the Women's Amateur Champion. In the age group competitions Mrs. Allison Choate, Rye, N.Y., was the A winner; Miss Orcutt won in the B section; and Mrs. Theodore W. Hawes earned the C award. The entry for the first Championship was 96.