Susie Berning

Susie Maxwell Berning (born July 22, 1941) is a retired American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1964 and won four major championships and eleven LPGA Tour victories in all. She also competed under her maiden name Susie Maxwell from 1964 to 1968. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2022.^[1][2]

Susie Berning
Personal information
Full name	Susie Maxwell Berning
Born	(1941-07-22) July 22, 1941 (age 82) Pasadena, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Aspen, Colorado, U.S. Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Career
College	Oklahoma City University
Turned professional	1964
Former tour(s)	LPGA Tour (1964–96)
Professional wins	13
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	11
Other	2
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 4)
Western Open	Won: 1965
Titleholders C'ship	13th: 1966
Chevron Championship	T38: 1984
Women's PGA C'ship	T2: 1969
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 1968, 1972, 1973
du Maurier Classic	T25: 1984
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2021 (member page) LPGA Rookie of the Year 1964 LPGA Most Improved Player 1967

Amateur career

Maxwell was born in Pasadena, California. Her family moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when she was 13. After taking up golf at the age of 15, she immediately won three-straight Oklahoma State High School Championships. She also won the Oklahoma City Women's Amateur from 1959 to 1961. In 1963, she won the Oklahoma Women's Amateur. She was the first woman to receive a golf scholarship from Oklahoma City University, where she competed on the men's team and she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.

Professional career

She turned pro and joined the LPGA Tour in 1964, and earned LPGA Rookie of the Year honors. She won her first tournament in 1965 at the Muskogee Civitan Open. She was named Most Improved Player for 1967. She won 11 times on the Tour, a high proportion of her wins coming in major championships, the 1965 Women's Western Open and the U.S. Women's Open in 1968, 1972 and 1973. However her form was inconsistent from her late twenties on, with the last of her three top-10 finishes on the money list coming in 1969. She stayed on the Tour for many years, though she did not always play full-time, and played 13 events as late as 1995. She made her final appearance on the Tour in 1996.

Since retiring from tour play, Berning has become a well-respected teaching professional spending time at the Nicholas-Flick Golf Academy, and now dividing her time between The Reserve Club in Palm Springs, California and Maroon Creek Country Club in Aspen, Colorado. She has two daughters, Robin Doctor and Cindy Molchany.

Professional wins (13)

LPGA Tour wins (11)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (4)
Other LPGA Tour (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	May 16, 1965	Muskogee Civitan Open	−3 (71-72-70=213)	5 strokes	Kathy Cornelius   Judy Kimball   Mickey Wright
2	Jun 13, 1965	Women's Western Open	−2 (73-72-76-69=290)	3 strokes	Marlene Hagge
3	Apr 2, 1967	Louise Suggs Invitational	+8 (75-72-77=224)	Playoff	Sandra Haynie
4	Jun 18, 1967	Milwaukee Jaycee Open	E (68-73-75=216)	5 strokes	Barbara Romack   Judy Kimball   Judy Rankin   Peggy Wilson
5	Jul 7, 1968	U.S. Women's Open	[phone]=289)	3 strokes	Mickey Wright
6	Jun 8, 1969	Lady Carling Open	−6 (69-74-70=213)	1 stroke	Donna Caponi
7	Jun 22, 1969	Pabst Ladies Classic	−5 (69-71-71=211)	1 stroke	Donna Caponi   Clifford Ann Creed   Shirley Englehorn
8	Jul 2, 1972	U.S. Women's Open	[phone]=299)	1 stroke	Kathy Ahern   Pam Barnett   Judy Rankin
9	Jun 24, 1973	Heritage Village Open	−12 (68-70-69=207)	4 strokes	Sandra Haynie
10	Jul 22, 1973	U.S. Women's Open	−3 (73-77-69-72=290)	5 strokes	Gloria Ehret   Shelley Hamlin
11	Jul 25, 1976	Lady Keystone Open	−1 (72-71-72=215)	3 strokes	Pat Bradley   Sandra Haynie

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1966	Lady Carling Open	Clifford Ann Creed	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2	1967	Louise Suggs Invitational	Sandra Haynie	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Other wins (2)

• 1975 Lady Keystone Open
• 1997 Sprint Senior Challenge

Major championships

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1965	Women's Western Open	−2 (73-72-76-69=290)	3 strokes	Marlene Hagge
1968	U.S. Women's Open	[phone]=289)	3 strokes	Mickey Wright
1972	U.S. Women's Open	[phone]=299)	1 stroke	Kathy Ahern,   Pam Barnett,   Judy Rankin
1973	U.S. Women's Open	[phone]=290)	5 strokes	Gloria Ehret,   Shelley Hamlin

See also

• List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
• List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins

References

1. "Susie Maxwell Berning elected to World Golf Hall of Fame". ESPN. Associated Press. April 22, 2020.
2. Martin, Sean (March 10, 2022). "Tiger Woods' Hall of Fame speech focused on family". ESPN.

External links

• Susie Maxwell Berning at the LPGA Tour official site
• Susie Berning at the Legends Tour former site
• Susie Maxwell Berning bio at GolfCompendium.com