Sorenstam, Davies among first female R&A members

St. Andrews, Scotland (SportsNetwork.com) – Annika Sorenstam and Laura Davies are among seven women that have accepted invitations to become female members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

Joining Sorenstam and Davies as honorary members of the club were Princess Anne, Louise Suggs, Renee Powell, Belle Robertson and Lally Segard.

“It is an honor and a privilege for The Royal and Ancient Golf Club to welcome these remarkable women as honorary members. The Princess Royal enjoys a strong bond with Scotland and has shown great energy and commitment to developing the sport through her work in the Olympic movement,” said George Macgregor, Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

“This is an historic day for the club and we could not be more proud also to welcome women who have distinguished themselves in golf over many years and have been great players and champions. They are extremely worthy additions to our roll of honorary members and will become ambassadors for the club as they have been for the sport of golf throughout their careers.”

The R&A voted in September to admit women as members for the first time in the club’s 260-year history. The club stated that a number of women have been admitted to the club as members along with these honorary members.

Sorenstam, a World Golf Hall of Fame member, won 72 tournaments on the LPGA Tour, including 10 major championships. In all, she won 89 events worldwide and was the LPGA player of the year eight times. Sorenstam played on eight European Solheim Cup teams and has served as a vice-captain on the last two teams, both of which were victorious.

Davies has 20 LPGA Tour victories, including four major championships. She was the only player on either team to compete in the first 12 Solheim Cups from 1990-2011. Davies is the all-time leading points scorer in event history. She owns the Ladies European Tour record with 45 wins and also won the tours Order of Merit a record seven times. Davies will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in July.

Princess Anne, who competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, is a member of the International Olympic Committee and was a member of the Olympic Organizing Committee for the 2012 Olympic games. She joins The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of York and The Duke of Kent as honorary members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

Suggs won 58 events, including 11 major championships in her career. She was one of the co-founders of the LPGA and served as the tours’ president. Suggs was an inaugural inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The LPGA named its award for the most accomplished first-year player the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award.

Powell was the second African-American woman to play on the LPGA Tour. While still an LPGA Tour member, Powell became the first head professional at a golf course in the United Kingdom, at Silvermere. She later became the first African-American female Class A member of the PGA of America and the LPGA. Powell was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of St. Andrew in 2008.

Robertson was honored as the Scottish Sportswoman of the Year on four occasions thanks in part to winning seven Scottish Ladies Close Amateur Championships. She was also a member of seven Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup teams.

Segard is one of France’s greatest golfers. She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1950, which was among the biggest of her 14 international victories. She helped found the women’s World Amateur Team Championship as President of the Women’s Committee of the World Amateur Golf Council, now the International Golf Federation.

Categorized in: LPGA