Golf at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Women's individual

Women's individual golf at the Games of the II Olympiad
Women's golf at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Venue	Compiègne Golf Club
Date	3 October 1900
Competitors	10 from 2 nations
Medalists
Margaret Abbott  United States Pauline Whittier  United States Abbie Pratt  United States
2016 →

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Golf at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Events Individual men women v t e

A women's golf tournament was played at the 1900 Summer Olympics. It was the only time women's golf was featured at the Olympics until 2016.^[1] There were 10 competitors from 2 nations (France and the United States) at the event, which was played on 3 October at the Compiègne Club.^[1] The event was won by Margaret Abbott of the United States, the first American woman Olympic champion (though she did not realize it, unaware that the golf tournament was part of the Olympics^[2]). The United States is credited with a medal sweep in the event by the IOC,^[3] though (i) medals were not awarded at the time and (ii) many sources list Pauline Whittier (the silver medalist) as Swiss or Abbie Pratt as French (or both). Whittier was an American studying in St. Moritz. Pratt was an American who spent significant time in Europe and competed under the auspices of the (French) Dinard Golf Club.^[1]

Abbott's mother, Mary Abbott also competed in the event; it is the only time that a mother and daughter have competed in the same Olympic event at the same Games.^[2]

Background

In the preparation for the 1900 Games, a Special Advisory Committee led by Jacques de Pourtalès (a cousin of Hermann de Pourtalès, who along with his wife Hélène de Pourtalès won a gold medal in sailing in 1900^[4]) proposed a golf tournament be included given that the sport was popular in many countries (though not well known in France).^[5] The result was the first Olympic golf tournament, held at the Compiègne golf club. Divisions for both men and women, as well as a men's handicap division (not considered Olympic) were set.^[6][1]

Golf would be held again in 1904, with individual and team men's events that year. In 1908, which would have again been a men-only event, a dispute among the host nation's golfers resulted in all of the British competitors boycotting, leaving only a single international competitor - George Lyon of Canada - and resulting in the cancellation of the event.

The sport would not be held again at the Olympics until 2016, when women's individual golf was played again.

Competition format

The women's event consisted of a 9-hole stroke play tournament. The scores for each of the 9 holes were summed to give a total for each player, with the lowest score winning. In the event of a tie, a replayed hole would be used.^[6]

Schedule

Results

The women played half a round (9 holes) on 3 October.

Result of the women's golf event

Rank	Player	Nation	Score
	Margaret Abbott	United States	47
	Pauline Whittier	United States	49
	Abbie Pratt	United States	53
4	Jeanne Froment-Meurice	France	56
5	Ellen Ridgway	United States	57
6	Madeleine Fournier-Sarlovèze	France	58
7	Mary Abbott	United States	65
	Baroness Lucile de Fain	France
9	Rose Gelbert	France	76
10	Marie Brun	France	80

References

Sources

• International Olympic Committee medal winners database
• De Wael, Herman. "Golf 1900". Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
• Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.

This page was last edited on 17 February 2024, at 13:51