PracticeRange.com Staff LPGA Pro Elaine Crosby remembers her friend and mentor, Patty Berg:The LPGA has lost a great friend and ambassador in Patty Berg. Patty passed away Sunday in Fort Myers, Florida… her home for many years… at the age of 88. Patty was one of the founding members of the LPGA and also served as the first President of the association.

Most people know of her great accomplishments on the tour, 60 overall wins including 15 major championships, which is still an LPGA record. But in my opinion that is only the tip of the iceberg with this great player. Many people probably didn’t know how deeply her faith influenced everything in her life. Patty was a very devout Catholic who attended daily mass frequently and worked very hard to follow a Christian life. Patty was also very involved in junior golf in the Ft. Myers area and put on clinics quite regularly for them. She was the best I’ve ever seen at putting on a clinic. She was a great performer and there was never a dull moment at one of her clinics. She also was a wonderful joke teller. It was in her presentation that made her jokes so funny no matter how many times you heard them. Patty was also very involved in raising money for the American Cancer Society.She stayed very close to that organization right to the end of her life. 

My personal relationship with Patty was as friend and mentor. She always was interested in how my career was going and often had words of advice for me. We spent many hours discussing the LPGA and how it was going. It was her passion. She would need to know who was playing well, what new tournaments were coming, and what the future looked like. I also had the privilege of watching many a Super Bowl with her. Most people didn’t know that in her childhood, her first sport was football. It was always a hoot to listen to Patty play arm-chair quarterback… she really did understand the game. I last saw Patty in January at her annual Pro-Am in Ft. Myers, and she still had that twinkle and still gave a speech that brought tears to everyone in the room. She always closed every speech the same way, “I am proud to be a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association of America!” 

Patty, we hope that we can continue to make you proud. God bless.

Elaine Crosby is a 19-year veteran of the LPGA Tour and a member of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour.