Grace DeMoss

Last updated

Grace DeMoss Zwahlen
Personal information
National teamU.S. Curtis Cup team (1952, 1954)
Born1927 (age 96–97)
Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.
Education Oregon State University
Occupation(s)Amateur golfer, high school golf coach
SpouseFred C. Zwahlen Jr.
Sport
Sport Golf
Achievements and titles
National finals1949 Canadian Women's Amateur

Grace DeMoss Zwahlen (born 1927) is a former competitive women's American amateur golfer from Oregon.

Contents

She was the first Pacific Northwesterner to be named to the United States Curtis Cup team in 1952 and then again in 1954. After retiring from competitive golf, Zwahlen was elected to numerous sports Halls of Fame. From 1986 to 2017 she gave back to the game of golf by serving as a girls' golf coach at high schools in Oregon and Southern California.

Early life and career

DeMoss was born in Corvallis, Oregon, one of five daughters of Ray DeMoss, a Corvallis businessman. [1] She started playing golf as a teenager at the Corvallis Country Club, though she was initially more interested in equestrian sports. [1]

She entered her first tournament, the Portland Open, in 1945 and came in last place. In her next major tournament a year later, the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Amateur, she made the semifinals, and then a year after that, lost in the finals. Her first tournament victory came in the 1947 Portland City Amateur. [1]

Golf success

After her win in Portland, she entered tournaments across North America, primarily on the west coast. In 1949, she won her first major tournament, the Canadian Women's Amateur. Following that win, she played throughout the winter in California to keep her game sharp. In 1950, she won the Pacific Northwest Amateur Championship played at Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, British Columbia. She followed this victory with a semifinalist finish at the U.S. Women's Amateur, and was a finalist at the Canadian Women's Amateur, the Women's Trans-Mississippi, and the Oregon Women's Amateur, and was medalist at the Women's Western Open. [1]

In 1952, she was named to the United States' Curtis Cup team, the first golfer from the Northwest to receive the honor. However, that year, the American team lost the Cup for the first time since its inception. Two years later, in 1954, DeMoss was again named to the team. This time, DeMoss and her team reclaimed the Cup at the matches contested at Merion Golf Club. [1]

Following her early success, she relocated to Florida to play golf year round where she won Florida Women's Amateur championships in 1955, 1957, and 1958. She returned to the Northwest to claim three straight Oregon women's amateur titles from 1956 to 1958. [1]

She continued to play competitively into the 1960s before retiring to start and raise her family. From 1986–2006, she was the girls' golf coach at Crescent Valley High School in her hometown of Corvallis, Oregon and from 2007–2017 she was the girls' freshman/sophomore golf coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California.

Personal

DeMoss graduated from Oregon State University in 1952, but did not compete collegiately as Oregon State did not have a women's golf team until the 1970s. [2] Following her graduation, DeMoss married Howard K. Smith and golfed as "Mrs. Grace DeMoss Smith" or "Mrs. Howard Smith" for several years. [3] She was later married to Fred C. Zwahlen Jr., who was the founder and chairman of the Department of Journalism at Oregon State, from the late 1950s until his death in 2004. [4]

DeMoss's family is linked to several other Oregon sports legends. Her sister Maxine married Oregon State football and basketball player Don Durdan, and another sister, Rae Ardis, married Durdan's teammate Quentin Greenough. Durdan, was the MVP of the 1942 Rose Bowl game and, in 1998, was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Durdan went on to play professional football for the San Francisco 49ers.

Her brother-in-law, Ernie Zwahlen, played football at Oregon State and was the starting defensive tackle on Oregon State's 1957 Rose Bowl team and 1962 Liberty Bowl team. He went on to become an offensive line coach for the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Oilers and Baltimore Colts. Later he was a minority owner of the Houston Aeros professional hockey team.

DeMoss's nephew, Dave Roberts, was the first overall player selected in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft, by the San Diego Padres. Roberts had a 10-year MLB career playing for the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies.

DeMoss resides in Coto de Caza, California and has two children, daughter Molly Katherine Zwahlen Walsh (husband Mark Walsh) also of Coto de Caza and son Skip DeMoss Zwahlen of Venice, California.

Honors

She was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1986, [5] the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, [6] and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1993. [1] and the Corvallis High School Hall of Fame in 2016.

Tournament wins

Notable runner-up finishes

Team appearances

Amateur

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babe Didrikson Zaharias</span> American golfer and athlete

Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball, and track and field. She won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics before turning to professional golf and winning 10 LPGA major championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Westland</span> American politician and golfer (1904–1982)

Alfred John "Jack" Westland was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1953 to 1965. He represented the Second Congressional District of Washington as a Republican. He was also an accomplished amateur golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Wright</span> American professional golfer (1935–2020)

Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She became a member of the tour in 1955 and won 82 LPGA Tour career events including 13 major championships. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Elizabeth May Jameson was an American professional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950. She won three major championships and a total of thirteen events during her career, one as amateur and twelve as a professional. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Mary Dorothy Kirby was an American professional golfer and sportscaster.

Charles Robert Coe was an American amateur golfer who is considered by many to be one of the greatest American amateurs in history. A two-time U.S. Amateur winner, Coe never turned professional either because, as he stated in 1998, "When I was growing up, golf was a gentleman's game," or because his wife said, "if I thought I was going to raise three children out of a suitcase, I was crazy". He had a successful career in the oil business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karin Sjödin</span> Swedish professional golfer

Karin Sjödin is a Swedish professional golfer. She played 10 seasons on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and was in contention at the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler Egan</span> American amateur golfer

Henry Chandler Egan was an American amateur golfer and golf course architect of the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Willing</span>

Oscar Frederick "Doc" Willing was an American amateur golfer. He played in three Walker Cup matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Durdan</span> American football and basketball player (1920–1971)

Donald Edgar Durdan was a professional American football and basketball player.

Quentin Carl Greenough was an American football player.

Carole Jo Kabler was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She also competed under her married names: Carole Jo Skala, Carole Jo Callison, and Carole Jo Whitted.

Anne Quast is an American amateur golfer. She won the U.S. Women's Amateur three times and was runner-up three times. She was married several times and played as Anne Decker, Anne Welts, and Anne Sander.

Polly Ann Riley was an American amateur golfer.

E. Page Halpin, née E. Page Dunlap, is an American former professional golfer who was a member of the LPGA Tour for six years during the 1990s. Dunlap is best known for winning the individual NCAA Division I Championship in 1986.

Joan Packard Birkland was an American athlete and women's sports advocate. Considered one of Colorado's greatest all-around athletes, she earned multiple titles in women's amateur tennis and golf championships at the city and state level. Following her retirement from competition, she served on numerous sports boards and became involved in sports education for disabled youth. She was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1977, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1996.

Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt, pronounced island-felt, was an American amateur golfer from Montana, coach and founder of the University of Washington women's varsity golf team, and one of the most successful female golfers in the Pacific Northwest. She won several amateur tournaments, including the Canadian Women's Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Wildcats women's golf</span> American college golf team

The Arizona Wildcats women's golf is considered one of the best in all of women's collegiate golf, dating back to their first season in 1979. Since they have won three national championships in 1996, 2000, and 2018. The Wildcat Women have also had four individual national champions with Susan Slaughter in (1990), Annika Sörenstam in (1991), Marisa Baena in (1996) and Jenna Daniels in (2000).

Jack A. Vickers Jr. was an oil and sports executive who started work for Vickers Petroleum Company in 1946 as a scout. After he held vice president positions from 1949 to 1952, Vickers became president of Vickers Petroleum in 1952. During the 1960s, he was an executive for Bell Oil & Gas and TransOcean Oil. Vickers also worked as a chair for Vickers Energy Corporation from 1973 to 1980.

Patricia Ann Lesser Harbottle is an American amateur golfer. As Pat Lesser, her wins include the 1953 Women's National Intercollegiate Golf Tournament and 1955 Women's Western Amateur. At major championships held by the LPGA, she had top four finishes at the 1951 U.S. Women's Open and 1953 Women's Western Open. Lesser was also tied for seventh at the 1955 Titleholders Championship. In United States Golf Association events, she was the winner of the 1950 U.S. Girls' Junior and 1955 U.S. Women's Amateur. Her team won the 1954 Curtis Cup and lost the 1956 Curtis Cup.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Grace (DeMoss) Zwahlen". Pacific Northwest Golf Association. Archived from the original on September 30, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Title IX Celebration Set for Oct. 19–21" (Press release). Oregon State Sports Information. July 5, 2007. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Miss Swift Ties for Links Medal; Mrs. DeMoss Smith and Great Neck Player Shoot 75's in Doherty Golf Qualifying". The New York Times . January 28, 1954. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  4. ↑ Odegard, Kyle (November 15, 2004). "OSU legend, Zwahlen, dies". Corvallis Gazette-Times . Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Golf Grace DeMoss-Zwahlen". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Oregon State University Athletics Hall of Fame". Oregon State Sports Information. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.