1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur: Louise Suggs wins at Franklin Hills C.C.
Louise Suggs won the 1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Franklin Hills C.C. in Franklin, Michigan, beating Dorothy Kirby 2 up in the final.
Updated October 22, 2026
Walk this draw in the U.S. Women’s Amateur room.
- Edition
- 47th
- Dates
- September 22, 1947 to September 27, 1947
- Course
- Franklin Hills C.C., Franklin, Michigan
- Format
- stroke-play qualifying + match play
- Champion
- Louise Suggs · age 24 · United States
- Champion's title
- 1st U.S. Women’s Amateur
- Runner-up
- Dorothy Kirby · age 27
- Final
- 2 up
- Losing semifinalists
- Grace Lenczyk and Estelle Lawson Page
- Stroke-play medalist
- Louise Suggs (78)
- Defending champion
- Babe Zaharias · did not play
- Entries
- 83
What happened at the 1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur
Dorothy Kirby shot 72 in the afternoon of the final, the lowest score then recorded in the championship, but Louise Suggs, 3 up at lunch, held on to win 2 up with rounds of 74 and 74.
Margaret Curtis, playing 50 years after her first appearance, shot 102 and failed to qualify.
Final, Louise Suggs v. Dorothy Kirby. Suggs played each round in 74 and led 3 up at noon; Kirby's 72 in the afternoon, the championship's lowest round to date, was not enough and Suggs won 2 up.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the semifinal.
The final, 1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louise Suggs | def. | Dorothy Kirby | 2 up |
Semifinals, 1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louise Suggs | def. | Grace Lenczyk | 4 & 2 |
| Dorothy Kirby | def. | Estelle Lawson Page | 4 & 3 |
Quarterfinals, 1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louise Suggs | def. | Miss McMillin | 1 up |
| Grace Lenczyk | def. | Mrs. Bush | 6 & 5 |
| Estelle Lawson Page | def. | unknown | unknown |
| Dorothy Kirby | def. | unknown | unknown |
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's U.S. Women’s Amateur data set (research collected through October 20, 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the USGA's own record is used.
Data: us-womens-amateur.json.
Sources
- https://web.archive.org/web/2012/http://www.uswamateur.org/history/past-champions/1947.html
- https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/media-resources/2026-media-guide/26WomensAmateur.pdf
- https://www.nytimes.com/1947/09/22/archives/80-tee-off-today-in-womens-golf-misses-lenczyk-and-suggs.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Women%27s_Amateur
- https://championships.usga.org/uswomensamateur/u-s--women-s-amateur-champions.html