Every future U.S. Women’s Open champion will know the name Mickey Wright.
The USGA announced on Saturday that the medal presented each year to the winner of the championship has been renamed in honor of Wright and redesigned with an image of her iconic swing.
The medal dates back to the beginning of the championship and, until now, did not have a formal name. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Women’s Open. USGA officials began talking some time ago about ways to mark the occasion and celebrating Wright, a four-time winner of the championship, a record she holds with good friend Betsy Rawls, quickly came to mind.
Wright died on Feb. 17 at the age of 85, before USGA officials had the chance to tell her the news.
“We’re so glad that she will be forever linked to the championship in this way,” said Julia Pine, senior manager, women’s championship communications, “but certainly sad we weren’t able to share the news with her personally before her passing. Given her longstanding relationship with the USGA, we know she would have been incredibly touched.”
At the @USGA annual meeting enjoying some of the memorabilia on display, including letters from Mickey Wright’s scrapbook. pic.twitter.com/FbFwjl8O2k
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) February 29, 2020
Wright joins Jack Nicklaus as the only players to have USGA medals named in their honor. In 2012, the USGA named the U.S. Open medal after Nicklaus.
“Mickey exemplified what it means to be a USGA champion both on and off the course,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA. “Naming the U.S. Women’s Open champion’s medal after Mickey, in a milestone anniversary year for the championship, is a fitting way to honor the breadth of her accomplishments and contributions to the game of golf. She embodied what it means to be a U.S. Women’s Open competitor and champion, showing mental toughness, exquisite shot-making and exceptional course management. We are so honored to have had the relationship with her that we did.”
In 2012, Wright became the fourth person to be honored with her own exhibition room at the USGA Golf Museum, joining Ben Hogan, Bob Jones and Arnold Palmer. Nicklaus became the fifth in 2015. Wright won 82 LPGA titles, including 13 majors, and competed in her first U.S. Girls’ Junior in 1950. She won the championship in ’52.
“To win five of their championships, the U.S. Girls’ Junior and four Women’s Opens, has always been my most cherished accomplishment in golf,” Wright said in 2012. “My only regret was not being able to win a fifth Women’s Open. Someday, perhaps, someone will.”
[lawrence-related id=778027728,778027295,778027130]