Beverly Hanson (December 5, 1924 – April 12, 2014) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.Hanson was born in Fargo, North Dakota in 1924. She studied at the University of North Dakota, Mills College in Oakland, California and the University of Wisconsin and was a bassoon player, performing with civic orchestras. As an amateur golfer, she won the Texas Open in 1949 and both the California and Southern California ladies' championships. She was a member of the 1950 U.S. Curtis Cup golf team and that year won the U.S. Women's Amateur.In 1951, Hanson turned professional and won the very first event she competed in. She won the inaugural LPGA Championship in 1955, defeating Louise Suggs. In 1958 she was the leading money winner on the LPGA Tour.Hanson had 17 career wins on the LPGA Tour of which three were majors. Besides the inaugural LPGA major title, in 1956 she won the Women's Western Open and in 1958 the Titleholders Championship.Hanson died on April 12, 2014 in Twin Falls, Idaho, from complications from Alzheimer's and COPD.
After retiring, she was a golf instructor at Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells, California, for 35 years.
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She won her first event after turning pro in 1951 by beating Babe Didrikson Zaharias in the Eastern Open. She won 15 more times over the next decade, including three majors, one of which was the inaugural LPGA Championship in 1955.
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She had a journalism degree, and got a job at The Fargo Forum for 50 cents an hour. She was assigned to cover a men's golf tournament. Her first byline ran under the name "Ben Hanson" because the editor assumed that "Bev Hanson" was a typo.
$1.3 Million