Wethered, Joyce

▪ 1998

      British golfer (b. Nov. 17, 1907, Brook, Surrey, Eng.—d. Nov. 18, 1997, London, Eng.), dominated women's golf in the 1920s and was considered one of the best female players in the history of the sport. Wethered, who took up golf as a child, received only one formal lesson. Instead, she studied the play of others, including her brother Roger, himself an accomplished golfer, to improve her game. In 1920 she won her first major tournament, the English native championship, a title she would retain for the next four years. Winner of the British Women's Open (1922, 1924-25, 1929), she also had success on the international circuit and in mixed-foursome events. In 1932 she was captain of the Curtis Cup team against the U.S., and three years later she toured that country as a professional, defeating, among others, Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Known for her intense concentration and calm demeanour, Wethered, who stood 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), had a powerful swing that often produced drives longer than those of her male counterparts. She would have won more championships had not her career been shortened by several retirements and the loss of her amateur status due to work as a golf adviser. In 1937 she married Sir John Heathcoat-Amory, and she competed infrequently thereafter. An avid gardener, Wethered created one of Great Britain's leading botanical collections at her home at Knighthayes Court, near Tiverton, Devon.

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▪ British athlete

married name  Lady Heathcoat-Amory  

born November 17, 1901, Brook, Surrey, England

died November 18, 1997, London

 golfer who was widely regarded as the greatest British woman player of her day.

      Wethered and her brother Roger, who tied for the British Open title in 1921 but lost the play-off, learned the game as children. She was British Ladies' Open champion four times (1922, 1924, 1925, and 1929) and English Ladies' champion for five consecutive years (1920–24), playing undefeated for 33 matches. In addition to success in numerous mixed foursome events, she was a regular international tournament choice and played on the first Curtis Cup team in 1929, against France in 1931, and against the United States in 1932. Representing a London store, she toured the United States as a professional in 1935, winning against Babe Zaharias (Zaharias, Babe Didrikson).

      In 1937 she married Sir John Heathcoat-Amory, with whom, at their home at Knightshayes Court, near Tiverton, Devon, she created a notable garden that was one of the leading British botanical collections, for which she was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour. Even after her retirement, Wethered remained an important figure in ladies' golf; she became the first president of the English Ladies' Golf Association in 1951 and was inducted into the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of America World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975.

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