LPGA Peach Blossom Open Tournament

The Peach Blossom Open was a golf tournament in the early history of the LPGA Tour, played from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, in South Carolina. The tournament was hosted by Betsy Rawls, a Spartanburg, S.C., native, and her name was part of the tournament name in some years.

First played: 1953

Last played: 1966

Rawls, an LPGA legend and World Golf Hall of Fame member, made it into a playoff in the very first Peach Blossom Open in 1953, but lost to Louise Suggs. Actually, that year the tournament was named the "Betsy Rawls Open," as it was again in 1954 and 1959. Rawls did, however, win the tournament she hosted. Twice, in fact, in 1956 and 1957, and she was also runner-up again in 1959 and 1965.

The biggest winner, though, was Wiffi Smith. Smith won three years running, from 1958 through 1960. Smith set the tournament scoring record of 211 in 1959.

The tournament was 54 holes long in all but two years. In both 1955 and 1956, it was 72 holes. Babe Zaharias was the winner in 1955, and that was the last of her 41 career wins on the LPGA Tour. She died of cancer about a year later.

Also known as: Peach Blossom Invitational, Betsy Rawls Open, Betsy Rawls Peach Blossom Open

Winners of the LPGA Peach Blossom Open

1953 — Louise Suggs, 216 (def. Betsy Rawls in playoff)
1954 — Louise Suggs, 220 (def. Marlene Bauer in playoff)
1955 — Babe Zaharias, 293
1956 — Betsy Rawls, 292
1957 — Betsy Rawls, 213
1958 — Wiffi Smith, 216
1959 — Wiffi Smith, 211
1960 — Wiffi Smith, 212
1961 — Ruth Jessen, 212
1962 — Mary Lena Faulk, 217
1963 — Marilynn Smith, 216
1964 — Mickey Wright, 215
1965 — Marilynn Smith, 213
1966 — Carol Mann, 216

Golf Courses: Spartanburg Country Club in Spartanburg, South Carolina