Peggy Kirk Bell Explained

Peggy Kirk Bell
Fullname:Margaret Anne Kirk Bell
Nickname:Peggy
Birth Date:28 October 1921
Birth Place:Findlay, Ohio, U.S.
Death Place:Southern Pines, North Carolina, U.S.
Residence:Southern Pines, North Carolina, U.S.
Spouse:Warren "Bullet" Bell
College:Rollins College
Yearpro:1950
Extour:LPGA Tour
Majorwins:1
Western:2nd: 1950
Titleholders:Won: 1949
Lpga:T3: 1958
Wusopen:T5: 1952
Wghofid:peggy-kirk-bell
Wghofyear:2019
Award1:Bob Jones Award
Year1:1990
Award2:LPGA Patty Berg Award
Year2:2013

Margaret Anne "Peggy" Kirk Bell (October 28, 1921 – November 23, 2016) was an American professional golfer and golf instructor known for her strong advocacy of women's golf. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019, in the lifetime achievement category.[1]

Born in Findlay, Ohio, Peggy started playing golf at age 17. She took to the game immediately and quickly won a number of titles. She played college golf at Rollins College.[2] She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She played the ladies amateur tour in the 1940s before the development of a professional tour, winning three Ohio Amateurs and the 1949 Titleholders Championship and North and South Women's Amateur. She was also a member of the 1950 U.S. Curtis Cup team.

At that time she competed as Peggy Kirk, and in 1953 she married her high school sweetheart, Warren "Bullet" Bell, who had played professional basketball with the Fort Wayne Pistons before turning to business. Warren died in 1984.

In 1990, she was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. She became the first woman voted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame in 2002.

Bell owned the Pine Needles Resort in Southern Pines, North Carolina.[3] Her older daughter, Bonnie, is married to former PGA Tour member Pat McGowan. Bell died there in November 2016 at the age of 95.[4] [5]

Major championships

Wins (1)

Team appearances

Amateur

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: World Golf Hall of Fame introduces the Class of 2019: Peggy Kirk Bell, Retief Goosen, Billy Payne, Jan Stephenson and Dennis Walters to be enshrined into the World Golf Hall of Fame on June 10, 2019 in Pebble Beach . PGA Tour . October 10, 2018.
  2. http://www.rollinssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19500&ATCLID=1547223 Rollins women's golf history
  3. http://media.visitnc.com/news/62/104/Peggy-Kirk-Bell---North-Carolina-s-First-Lady-of-Golf/d,mediakit.html Peggy Kirk Bell - North Carolina's First Lady of Golf
  4. News: A titan of the Sandhills, Peggy Kirk Bell was a golf original . . Raleigh, North Carolina . November 24, 2016 . Luke . DeCock.
  5. News: Longtime top amateur Peggy Kirk Bell, a proponent for women's golf, dies at 95 . ESPN . Associated Press . November 24, 2016.