1946 Women’s Amateur: Jean Hetherington wins at Hunstanton
Jean Hetherington won the 1946 Women’s Amateur at Hunstanton in Old Hunstanton, Norfolk, beating Philomena Garvey 1 up in the final.
Updated 23 October 2026
Walk this draw in the The Women’s Amateur Championship room.
- Edition
- 43rd
- Dates
- 4 October 1946
- Course
- Hunstanton, Old Hunstanton, Norfolk
- Format
- match play
- Champion
- Jean Hetherington · England
- Champion's title
- 1st Women’s Amateur title
- Runner-up
- Philomena Garvey
- Final
- 1 up (36-hole final)
- Losing semifinalists
- Jean Donald and Maureen Ruttle
- Defending champion
- Pam Barton · did not play
What happened at the 1946 Women’s Amateur
New Zealander Josephine Duncan holed a full mashie shot for an eagle three at the 5th of her fourth-round match against the Vicomtesse de Saint-Sauveur, who still recovered from three down after seven to win 2 and 1.
Mrs G. W. Hetherington, 23, and Irish champion Philomena Garvey, 19, neither of whom had played first-class golf before, met in the final at Hunstanton, Hetherington winning by one hole.
Final, Mrs. G. W. Hetherington v. Philomena Garvey. Two players new to first-class golf met in the final: 23-year-old Mrs Hetherington, who as Jean McClure had played in the girls' championship before the war, beat 19-year-old Irish champion Philomena Garvey by one hole.
Unknown, Vicomtesse de Saint-Sauveur v. Josephine Duncan. In the fourth round New Zealander Josephine Duncan won the 5th with an eagle three by holing a full mashie shot and was three up after seven, but the Vicomtesse de Saint-Sauveur squared at the 12th and won the 16th and 17th to win 2 and 1.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the final.
The final, 1946 Women’s Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Hetherington | def. | Philomena Garvey | 1 up |
Semifinals, 1946 Women’s Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Hetherington | def. | Jean Donald | 3 & 2 |
| Philomena Garvey | def. | Maureen Ruttle | unknown |
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Women’s Amateur data set (research collected through 20 October 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the R&A's own record is used.
Data: womens-amateur.json.
Sources
- https://www.randa.org/championships/the-womens-amateur-championship/past-winners
- https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/272772011
- https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/265065348
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Women%27s_Amateur_Championship
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Amateur_Championship
- https://www.golfcompendium.com/2020/08/british-womens-amateur-winners.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunstanton_Golf_Club
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomena_Garvey
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Donald
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%A8%E8%8B%B1%E5%A5%B3%E5%AD%90%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9E%E3%83%81%E3%83%A5%E3%82%A2%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B%E6%A8%A9