For all that Susie Maxwell Berning did in her extraordinary golf career, her life off the course brought an even greater sense of accomplishment. Wife. Mother. Role model. Instructor. That was in addition to her being a four-time major champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member. Maxwell Berning died Wednesday at her home in Palm Springs, California, after a two-year fight with lung cancer. She was 83.
Her 11 victories on the LPGA in the 1960s and ’70s included three U.S. Women’s Open titles and the Women’s Western Open, which was regarded as a major championship at the time. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2022.
“Susie was a true trailblazer from the moment she picked up a golf club,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan, a former LPGA commissioner. “When I reflect on the incredibly short list of golfers – male or female – who have claimed three U.S. Open titles … it puts into perspective just how extraordinary her achievements were. Even more inspiring is the decision she made to step away from the competitive game to prioritize her family, a choice that resonates deeply with so many of us. Her legacy will forever be a source of admiration and respect.”
LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan called her “a wonderful ambassador for the LPGA and women’s sports overall,” adding: “We will always point to her as a role model for balancing home life and career, winning major championships while also raising a family.”
“I found myself giving more attention and more focus to every shot during a major. When it came time for majors, for some reason, I tried harder.” — Susie Maxwell Berning
Susie Maxwell was born in Pasadena, California, in 1941 and moved with her family to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at age 13. She stumbled into golf when her colt broke free on a bridle path and Maxwell chased it across through nearby Lincoln Park Golf Course, where the animal damaged some of the greens. She made amends with the head pro by teaching his children to ride and then was invited to the course to see Patty Berg conduct a clinic. At age 15, Maxwell was bitten by the golf bug. “I said to myself, Oh, boy, she’s having a lot of fun,” Maxwell Berning recalled years later. “If that’s what golf is about, I think I want to try it.” She found the game to come as easily as riding that colt, winning three consecutive state high school titles and becoming the first female to receive a golf scholarship to Oklahoma City University, where she competed on the men’s team.
After being named the LPGA’s rookie of the year in 1964, Maxwell Berning won 11 times in the next 12 seasons, though some years she made as few as seven starts after marrying in 1968 and starting a family that would include two daughters. She won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1968, 1972 and 1973. Only Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright, with four Open titles, won more. “I found myself giving more attention and more focus to every shot during a major,” she said. “When it came time for majors, for some reason, I tried harder. I often asked myself, Why can’t I try that hard in a regular tournament? And I don’t know the answer to that.”
In 1989, at the Konica San Jose Classic, she and her older daughter, Robin, became the first mother-daughter tandem to compete in the same LPGA Tour event.
Amazingly, Maxwell Berning did not accumulate enough points in her career to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. After retiring in 1996, Maxwell Berning became a renowned instructor, working in Aspen, Colorado, and in the California desert, where she spent the last 20-plus years at The Reserve Club in Indian Wells.
“Golf has been great to me,” she said in 2021 after being elected to the WGHOF. “Throughout my golf career, I was able to raise a family, which was icing on the cake. That’s one reason I didn’t play as many years or as many events. But when I did play, I enjoyed it. “I always thought that having my own family on tour was not just a blessing, but it was an advantage. No matter how the round went, I was ‘mom’ first. My priorities were always to make sure their day went well and to spend time with them, to show and teach them that their goals are worth going after, that tough competition can happen in a loving environment.”
