Jessie Valentine
1915–2006
Golfer
Jessie Valentine (née Anderson) MBE was a Scottish amateur golfer who won the British Ladies Amateur in 1937, 1955 and 1958. In 1937, after winning the British Ladies title at Turnberry she was the world number one ranking ladies golfer. In 1959, Valentine was the first woman golfer to be appointed as an MBE for services to golf and was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
Jessie Anderson was born in Perth, Scotland in 1915. Her father was for some time the professional at Craigie Hill Golf Club in Perth. She started playing golf aged five and was a Scottish Ladies semi-finalist at the age of seventeen. Within a year she won the British Girls Championship.
In 1935, Valentine became the New Zealand Ladies Champion and the following year the French Ladies Champion. She was a member of the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team in 1936. Famously holing a 60ft putt on the 18th hole at Gleneagles to secure a win and help the team tie with the United States. She represented Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup seven times between 1936 and 1958.
Valentine won her first British Ladies title at Turnberry in 1937 beating Dorothy Park (daughter of the famous Willie Park, Jnr from Musselburgh, Scotland) 6&4 in the final. In 1938 she won the first of her six victories in the Scottish Ladies Amateur Golf Championship and retained the title in 1939. Between 1939 and 1945 she did not compete due to the Second World War.
Valentine won the Scottish Ladies Amateur in 1951, 1953, 1955 and 1956. In 1955, she won her second British Amateur title at Royal Portrush having been runner up in 1950. Valentine won the British Amateur title for the third and final time at Hunstanton Golf Club, Norfolk in 1958, her third final in four years. In 1960, at the age of 45, Valentine turned professional.
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