Frances Stephens (golfer) explained

Frances Stephens (golfer) should not be confused with Bunt Stephens.

Frances "Bunty" Stephens (married name Frances Stephens Smith or Frances Smith Stephens; 26 July 1924[1] – 23 July 1978[2] [3]) was an English amateur golfer.[4]

Personal life

Stephens was born in Lancashire where her father Fred was club professional at Bootle Golf Club.[4] She faced discrimination from golf administrators because of his working class occupation.[5] In 1955 she married Roy Smith, a Scottish Airlines pilot killed in a 1957 crash in Libya.[4] [3] [6] They had one daughter.[4] Stephens curtailed her playing career to raise her daughter, but subsequently was active in golf administration and developing junior golf.[3] She was made OBE for "services to Ladies Golf" in the 1977 New Year Honours,[7] a year before her death from cancer.[3]

Golf career

Stephens' home club was Royal Birkdale.[8] She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1949 and 1954, and was runner-up in 1951 and 1952. She played in all six Curtis Cups from 1950 to 1960, and was non-playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team in 1962 and 1972.[9] Her final-hole victories over Polly Riley in the 1956 and 1958 tournaments secured a win and a draw respectively for the British team, the first time it retained the cup.[4] In the United States she was "hardly known",[4] though she finished tied for 6th in the 1949 U.S. Women's Open. She was also a non-playing captain of the British team in the Vagliano Trophy.

Herbert Warren Wind called her a "slight, quiet, entirely undramatic girl" and an outstanding clutch player.[4] Enid Wilson said she had "a very frail physique but ... the temperament of a tigress".[10] Her swing had a pronounced hiatus at the top,[4] [11] which Wind called "most unimpressive", although Henry Cotton said she had "one of the prettiest swings in the game".[12]

Team appearances

Notes and References

  1. 31696 . Stephens [married name Smith], Frances [Bunty] .
  2. Web site: Probate 1978 . 7549 . Smith, Frances of 49A Lulworth Road Birkdale Southport died 23 July 1978 Probate Liverpool 3 November £65485 . . 12 February 2018.
  3. Web site: Frances "Bunty" Smith. Lancashire Ladies County Golf Association. 12 February 2018.
  4. Les girls: life under pressure . 8 September 1958 . Herbert Warren . Wind . Herbert Warren Wind . Sports Illustrated.
  5. Gender Asymmetries In Golf Participation: Tradition Or Discrimination? . PDF . De Albuquerque E Castro Amaro Dos Santos Reis De Figueiredo . Helena Maria . 2013 . . PhD . 94 . 12 February 2018.
  6. Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer 1 G-AOEO Fezzan. Aviation Safety Network. 12 February 2018.
  7. 31 December 1976. Order of the British Empire (Civil Division); OBE. The London Gazette. Supplement to 47102. 9–12 : 12.
  8. Birkdale Rated Stiffest Course for British Open. Corlett. W. H.. April 1954 . Not only is the Course a Championship Course but the Club is a Club of Champions — for among its members are Ronnie White ... and Frances (Bunty) Stephens who is acknowledged to be Britain's leading lady . Golfdom. 60–61. 12 February 2018.
  9. Web site: Previous Matches. Official Website Of The 2008 Curtis Cup Match. United States Golf Association. 12 February 2018.
  10. Book: Glenn, Rhonda. The Illustrated History of Women's Golf. 1991. Taylor Publishing Company. 9780878337439. 91.
  11. News: Young boy who definitely has right name to go far . 14 July 1999 . Macdonald Smith, Cary Middlecoff, Bunty Stephens and England's Gordon Brand, to name but four, all had a pronounced hiatus.. . 12 February 2018.
  12. Book: Cotton, Henry. This Game of Golf. 1948. Country Life. 85.

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