1959 Women's Western Open: Betsy Rawls wins at Rainier Golf & Country Club

Betsy Rawls won the 1959 Women's Western Open at Rainier Golf & Country Club, Seattle, Washington, United States with 293 (+5), by 6 strokes over Patty Berg and JoAnne Carner.

Updated October 23, 2026

Every year is on the Women's Western Open winners list.

Dates: August 13, 1959 to August 16, 1959
Course: Rainier Golf & Country Club, Seattle, Washington, United States
Edition: 30th edition
Counted as a major: yes
Format: stroke play, 4 rounds
Par: 72 · 6,238 yards
Field: 100
Made the cut: 32 (cut at 163)
Purse: $8,000 · winner's share $1,400
Champion: Betsy Rawls · age 31 · United States · born Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
Champion's title: 2nd title at this event · 6th major
Winning score: 70-76-76-71 = 293 (+5) · won by 6 strokes
Runners-up: Patty Berg, JoAnne Carner (299 each)
54-hole leader: Betsy Rawls
Low amateur: JoAnne Carner (299)

Winner and runners-up

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par
1	Betsy Rawls	70	76	76	71	293	+5
T2	Patty Berg					299
T2	JoAnne Carner					299

What happened at the 1959 Women's Western Open

Local amateur JoAnne Gunderson of Kirkland, Wash., tied Patty Berg for second place, six strokes behind.

Rawls opened with a 70 and closed with a 71 to win by six, six weeks after winning the LPGA Championship.

How this was built

Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Women's Western Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.

Data: womens-golf-majors_dataset_2026-10-20.json (GNN's women's majors research set, "master" row for this year, research dated October 20, 2026).

1959 Women's Western Open: Betsy Rawls wins at Rainier Golf & Country Club

Winner and runners-up

What happened at the 1959 Women's Western Open

How this was built

Sources