Alexa Stirling

A L E X A S T I R L I NG | I V

I V . G L O R I O U S G O L F I N G G I R L R E N A I S S A N C E W O M A N WRITTEN AND PERMISSION GRANTED BY: LINTON C. HOPKINS Alexa was born in Atlanta, Ga., on September 5, 1897. As Bobby Jones’s childhood golfing partner, she was dubbed “The First Lady of East Lake” and “The Empress of Golf ” to match Mr. Jones’s “Emperor” nickname. Quiet and competitive, she won her first title at East Lake at the age of 12. In 1916, three days before her 19th birthday, she won the first of her three U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships. When the tournament resumed after World War I, she successfully defended her crown in 1919 and 1920 and placed second in 1921, 1923, and 1925. She won the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in 1920 and 1934 and finished second in 1922 and 1925. She became an honorary member of the Royal Ottawa Golf Club and maintained her interest in golf throughout her life. Her last visit to Atlanta was to open the museum at the Atlanta Athletic Club during the 1976 U.S. Open. She died on April 15, 1977, and was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. [ ] East Lake: Where Bobby Learned to Play, Chapter 2

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