Past USGA Senior Women's Amateur Champ Cecile Maclaurin Dies

Jan. 27, 2010

By Rhonda Glenn, USGA

Cecile “Ceil” Maclaurin, 84, of Savannah, Ga., one of the quiet, gracious ladies of sport and the 1976 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur champion, died on Jan. 25.

Born in Fitzgerald, Ga., Maclaurin was a dominant player in her native state, winning 10 Georgia state championships in the 1960s and ‘70s.

A pairing with Maclaurin guaranteed a delightful round of golf and she received honors for her sportsmanship and demeanor on the

Cecile Mclaurin claimed the 1976 USGA Senior Women's Amateur title and was runner-up in that championship on three other occasions. (USGA Museum)

course as well as her skill. The Georgia State Golf Association named its Senior Women’s Amateur Championship trophy the Ceil Maclaurin Trophy and she was an Honorary Life Member of the Georgia Women’s Golf Association. Maclaurin also was the first woman inducted into the Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1992 she was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

Fellow Savannah golfer Hollis Stacy, a six-time USGA champion, paid tribute at a 2007 dinner honoring Maclaurin at Savannah Golf Club.

“I’ve known Ceil since I was a little girl,” said Stacy, “… (and she’s) perfect for junior golf in helping us and putting golf on the map in the state of Georgia and the city of Savannah.”

Maclaurin claimed the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur in her first try in 1976. At Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, Calif., she was the only player in the field to break 80 every round. The championship, at that time, was conducted at stroke play and she won by seven strokes.

She also was runner-up in the Senior Women’s Amateur three times from 1978-80, coming very close to winning in 1978 and 1980. In 1978, Maclaurin came from eight strokes back with a final-round 75 to tie Alice Dye, but then lost the 18-hole playoff, 76-79. In 1980, she led after the first round with a 78, eventually finishing one stroke behind the champion, Dorothy Germain Porter.

Maclaurin had more than 75 tournament titles to her credit. She won the Georgia Amateur Lady Golfers Association Championship twice, seven North-South Women’s Seniors Championships, the Women's Senior Southern Championship, the Women's Eastern Senior in 1993 and the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship. She served on the board of the Women's Eastern Golf Association and was on the Georgia Women’s Golf Association board for five years.

Rhonda Glenn is a manager of communications for the USGA. E-mail comments or questions to rglenn@usga.org.