Marlene Hagge-Vossler, last surviving LPGA founder, dies at 89

Marlene Hagge-Vossler, a Hall of Fame player and the last surviving founder of the LPGA Tour, died Tuesday morning, her family said. She was 89.

Hagge-Vossler won 26 times on the LPGA Tour, including the 1952 LPGA Championship, and she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

She was 15-year-old Marlene Bauer when she joined 12 other women — including her older sister, Alice Bauer — in signing incorporation papers in 1950 for the fledgling LPGA Tour.

Upon her death, the LPGA is among the premier women's sports associations in the world, with players this year competing for $100 million US in prize money.

"Marlene will be missed dearly, but I can guarantee she'll never be forgotten," LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said. "She was an impressive athlete, a fiery competitor and at a young age showed women and girls that they could achieve greatness in all areas of life. We're incredibly grateful for her contributions to the LPGA, women's golf and women's sports at large."'

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that LPGA founder and Hall of Famer Marlene Hagge-Vossler has died at the age of 89.<br><br>MORE ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/ACoYyugVr3">https://t.co/ACoYyugVr3</a>

Her family said she died in a memory care facility and had been coping with physical problems during the last year because of a fall, The Desert Sun reported.

Among the founders she joined were Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Louise Suggs and Patty Berg. While Hagge-Vossler already is in golf's Hall of Fame, the remaining founders were elected in March for the 2024 induction class.

They played golf, and mostly they promoted their league. Hagge-Vossler was a star on and off the course, known as one of the "glamour girls" in the early