Susie Maxwell Berning, LPGA working-mom pioneer and Hall of Famer, dies at 83

Susie Maxwell Berning, a four-time major winner and 2021 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, died Wednesday at age 83 after a battle with lung cancer. Berning’s LPGA resume showcased a total of 11 titles, which included three U.S. Women’s Opens in the span of six years.

Berning was a trailblazer many times over. She won three straight Oklahoma state high school golf championships and was the first female to be offered a golf scholarship by Oklahoma City University, where she played on the men’s team. She was named LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1964 and won her first major, the Western Open in 1965, followed by the U.S. Women’s Open in 1968, 1972 and 1973, making her one of only seven female players ever to win back-to-back Opens, and one of only six players to win three or more Opens.

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Berning was also revered as a working mom pioneer, competing while pregnant and limiting her tournament schedule to allow time for family life. She won her back-to-back Opens after her daughter, Robin, was born, and averaged fewer than 13 tournaments a year during her peak career years. Her daughter Cindy was born in 1977.

After retiring from full-time competitive play, Berning started teaching, splitting her time between the Reserve Club in Palm Springs, Calif., and Maroon Creek Country Club in Aspen, Colo.

In 2021, Berning was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame alongside Tiger Woods, Tim Finchem and Marion Hollins.

“The thing that makes her stand out is her four majors which she won while juggling a family,” World Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2000 inductee Beth Daniels said in a 2021 press release. “There are very few women in the history of golf that have been able to do that, and it lets female golfers know they can have a family and a career. Nancy Lopez did it. Juli Inkster did it. But before them, Susie Berning did it.”