USGA's Top 10 Museum and Library Acquisitions in 2024

During the course of the year, the USGA Museum and Library, located in Liberty Corner, N.J., acquired a number of artifacts, books and other memorabilia for its vast collection. Here is a look at the top 10 items acquired by the USGA in the past year.

Hat, Signed Flag From 2024 U.S. Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau

In one of the most dramatic duels in U.S. Open history, 2011 champion Rory McIlroy and 2020 winner Bryson DeChambeau locked up in an epic battle until the final shot of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club’s Course No. 2 in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

DeChambeau’s 55-yard bunker shot on the 72nd hole – to the same hole location where his hero and fellow Southern Methodist University alum Payne Stewart sank his championship-clinching putt 25 years earlier – set up a 4-foot par putt that sealed the victory. DeChambeau dedicated his second U.S. Open title to Stewart, signing this flag with a special message: “This one was for you Payne.”

DeChambeau had honored his fellow SMU alum throughout much of his amateur and early professional career by wearing a Stewart-inspired flat cap, two of which are included in the Museum’s collection. This hat worn during the U.S. Open’s final round features the logo of DeChambeau’s LIV Golf team, the Crushers, and his autograph, which the ambidextrous star signed left-handed and backwards.

A look at the golf bag and clubs used by Althea Gibson when she competed in the 1962 U.S. Women's Amateur. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Golf bag and clubs used by Althea Gibson, 1962 U.S. Women’s Amateur

Powerful tennis icon Althea Gibson won 11 titles between 1956 and 1958 and broke racial barriers as the first Black woman to compete in and win a Grand Slam event. Gibson made sports history again in 1964 as the first African American to join the LPGA Tour.

In 1962, as Gibson was gaining competitive golf experience, she played in her first USGA championship – the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She used this set of clubs, headcovers and leather golf bag, winning her first match in the Round of 128 before losing to golf course architect Alice Dye in the Round of 64. Gibson was a good friend of three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Babe Didrikson Zaharias. According to Zaharias’ foundation, from which this set was acquired, Babe’s husband, George, helped procure this set for Gibson through his industry connections in support of her new career in golf.

Club pro Frank Bensel, who made consecutive aces during Round 2 of the U.S. Senior Open, donated his 6-iron, ball and glove used for the historic feat. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

6-iron and ball used by Frank Bensel, 2024 U.S. Senior Open

Never-before achieved in USGA championship history, Frank Bensel, a club pro from Jupiter, Fla., stunned the golf world by recording back-to-back holes-in-one at the 2024 U.S. Senior Open at Newport (R.I.) C.C.

Newport, which was also the site of the USGA’s inaugural championships in 1895, is rare among courses with its consecutive par 3s. In the second round, Bensel aced the 173-yard fourth and 202-yard fifth using this 6-iron and ball on both holes.

Ben Hogan gave this "sweetheart bracelet" to his wife, Valerie, from his days in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Sweetheart Bracelet given to Valerie Hogan by Ben Hogan, ca. 1943

The partnership between Ben Hogan and his wife, Valerie, throughout his journey to become an era-defining player remains one of the great love stories in golf history. This silver bracelet Ben gave to Valerie is an example of “sweetheart jewelry” typically shared by servicemen with their loved ones during war. Presumably gifted during his two years as a pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, the bracelet includes a locket with a photograph and a slip of paper that reads “God bless and keep you my dear.”

Hogan’s comeback at the 1950 U.S. Open following his near-fatal car crash inspired a generation of returning soldiers injured in battle. This bracelet joins other artifacts in the Museum’s collection related to Hogan’s service, including his dog tags, flight book and airman certificate, further capturing what Hogan represented to his fans during the decades following World War II.

Australian Jan Stephenson used these irons to capture the 1983 U.S. Women's Open. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Set of irons used by Jan Stephenson, 1983 U.S. Women’s Open

Australia’s Jan Stephenson battled extreme heat and overcame unfamiliar equipment to win the 1983 U.S. Women’s Open at Cedar Ridge C.C., in Tulsa, Okla. According to Stephenson, prior to the championship she stored her clubs in a friend’s car which was subsequently stolen. Unable to replace the same make and model clubs on short notice, she borrowed this new set.

As they were not from her equipment sponsor, Stephenson silently struggled with the stiffer irons, taking an extra club on most shots and hitting her approaches with a lower trajectory. Despite this challenge, her accuracy into greens served as a major competitive advantage as she held off JoAnne Carner and Patty Sheehan by one stroke.

This set of irons is currently on display in Stephenson’s locker at the World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, N.C.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler wore this shirt during the final round of the Olympic golf competition in Paris en route to capturing gold. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Shirt worn by Scottie Scheffler, 2024 Olympic Games

In August 2024, the Olympics were contested in Paris with golf included for the third consecutive Summer Games after a 112-year hiatus. The United States of America’s Scottie Scheffler needed all five birdies on the back nine to surpass Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood (silver) and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (bronze) down the stretch. Scheffler’s 9-under-par 62 in the final round at Le Golf National secured gold for Team USA and further solidified his place as World No. 1.

Scheffler’s Olympic victory capped off an incredible year that included his second Masters title and seven PGA Tour wins, the most in a single season since Tiger Woods in 2007. His patriotic shirt worn during the final round is currently on display at the World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, N.C.

Following his competitive career that saw him win 9 USGA titles, Bob Jones starred in a number of Hollywood-produced instructional films. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Theater program and Bob Jones photograph, The Niblick (1931)

This cinema handbill for the Waukegan Theater News advertises nine-time USGA champion Bob Jones’ starring role in The Niblick. This episode was part of the highly successful “How I Play Golf” series of instructional films that included dramatic plotlines and Hollywood A-listers. The accompanying photograph of Jones on a Warner Bros. set gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the movie industry during the Golden Age of film and demonstrates Jones’ role in American popular culture.

The USGA Library now possesses a number of materials from LPGA founder Shirley Spork. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Shirley Spork ephemera collection

The USGA Library’s collection now includes a variety of ephemera documenting the career of Shirley Spork, one of 13 founding members of the LPGA. Donated by Spork’s family, the collection contains material from 1933 to 2022, with the majority focused on her most active years in golf as a professional and teaching pro between 1945 and 1970. Included are tournament programs, scorecards, correspondence, artwork prints, article clippings and photographs, as well as books, magazines and booklets from Spork’s personal collection.

Golf instruction was one of Spork’s great passions, and she served as a leader in the field by creating the LPGA’s Teaching Division and serving as its chairperson for eight years. In 2024, Spork and her fellow founders were collectively inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, further recognizing their leadership and vision supporting opportunities for women in professional golf.

Now in the collection are two shirts worn by Rianne Malixi, of the Philippines, who became the second player ever to win the U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Women's Amateur in the same calendar year. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Two shirts worn by Rianne Malixi, champion of 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur

In 2024, Rianne Malixi became the second player to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same year. Her resounding 8-and-7 triumph over rising star Asterisk Talley at El Caballero Country Club, in Tarzana, Calif., was the largest margin of victory in a Girls’ Junior final. A few weeks later at Southern Hills Country Club, in Tulsa, Okla., Malixi once again faced Talley in the championship match of the Women’s Amateur. Tied after 27 holes, Malixi shifted the momentum with four consecutive birdies, finishing with a nearly-holed bunker shot on No. 34.

Malixi is the first native of the Philippines to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Her two golf shirts worn during these championship finals feature the logo of a popular snack in Filipino households, M.Y. San’s Skyflakes crackers.

The golf bag and clubs used by four-time Academy Award-winning actress Katherine Hepburn will now reside in the USGA Museum. (USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Golf bag and set of clubs used by Katharine Hepburn

The USGA Museum’s collection comprises much more than artifacts from golfers; it also contains items from other professional athletes, politicians and entertainers. This year, the Museum acquired a woven golf bag, a set of headcovers and 12 clubs used by actress Katharine Hepburn. These join the putter used by the four-time Academy Award winner during the filming of “Pat and Mike” (1952) in the USGA’s collection.

An icon of the silver screen, Hepburn was well-known for the strong-willed female characters she played. Hepburn’s home on the 14th hole of Bel-Air C.C. in Los Angeles facilitated easy access to the game. Hepburn was one of many Hollywood stars who helped popularize the game during the 1950s, further cementing golf’s place in popular culture.