| Marlene Hagge | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hagge in 1956 | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Full name | Marlene Bauer Hagge | ||||||||
| Born | (1934-02-16)February 16, 1934 Eureka, South Dakota, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | May 16, 2023(2023-05-16) (aged 89) | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) | ||||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||||
| Residence | La Quinta, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Career | |||||||||
| Turned professional | 1950 | ||||||||
| Former tour | LPGA Tour (Founder) | ||||||||
| Professional wins | 26 | ||||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||||
| LPGA Tour | 26 | ||||||||
| Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 1) | |||||||||
| Western Open | 2nd:1965 | ||||||||
| Titleholders C'ship | 3rd:1957 | ||||||||
| Chevron Championship | T26: 1987 | ||||||||
| Women's PGA C'ship | Won:1956 | ||||||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T2:1952 | ||||||||
| du Maurier Classic | T25: 1981 | ||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Marlene Hagge (néeBauer; February 16, 1934 – May 16, 2023) was an Americanprofessional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of theLPGA in 1950.[1] She won onemajor championship and 26 LPGA Tour career events. She is a member of theWorld Golf Hall of Fame.
Hagge was born inEureka, South Dakota on February 16, 1934. She had a progressively successful amateur experience, starting to play golf from the age of 3. At age 10, she won the Long Beach City Boys Junior. At age 13, she won the Western and National Junior Championships, the Los Angeles Women's City Championship, the Palm Springs Women's Championship, Northern California Open and the Indio Women's Invitational. In 1947, at age 13, she became the youngest player to make the cut at theU.S. Women's Open and finished 14th. In 1949, at the age of 15, she became the youngest athlete ever to be namedAssociated Press Athlete of the Year, Golfer of the Year and Teenager of the Year, and she won theU.S. Girls' Junior and the WWGA Junior titles.
Hagge was the youngest of the thirteen women who founded the LPGA in 1950, and remains the youngest ever member of the LPGA Tour. Her older sister,Alice Bauer, was also a founder. She won her first tournament in 1952 at theSarasota Open. She would go on to win a total of 26 events on the LPGA Tour, including onemajor championship, the1956 LPGA Championship. That year, she was also the tour'sleading money winner and led the tour in wins with eight. In 2002, she was voted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame through the Veteran's Category and was officially inducted into theWorld Golf Hall of Fame. Her final competitive appearance on the LPGA Tour came in 1996.
Hagge appeared on the June 18, 1961, episode of theCBS game showWhat's My Line.[2]
Marlene Bauer married Bob Hagge, her sisterAlice's ex-husband in late 1955.[3] They divorced in 1964.
Hagge was married to formerPGA Tour golferErnie Vossler from 1995 until his death on February 16, 2013. They lived inLa Quinta, California, where she remained until her death.[4]
Hagge died inRancho Mirage, California, on May 16, 2023, at the age of 89, of complications from a fall.[5][6]
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | LPGA Championship | −9 (69-73-73-76=291) | Playoff1 |  Patty Berg |
1 Won on first hole of sudden-death playoff.