The best golfer from every U.S. state

South Dakota: Marlene Hagge

Born in Eugene, Marlene Hagge was starting her entrance into the world of golf soon after she was able to simply walk. She picked up the game when she was only three years old and was already winning tournaments in the western part of the United States before she was a teenager. It was once she reached her teenage years when she really started to make some noise.

At just 13 years old, Hagge was not only able to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open, but she was able to unequivocally excel. She became the youngest player to ever make the cut at the major championship for women’s golf. Just for good measure, she didn’t falter in the slightest after making the cut and actually went on to finish eighth in the tournament — again, she was just 13 years old at the time, as remarkable as that is.

Perhaps Hagge’s equally as big claim to fame is that she’s also one of the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour, and she was by far the youngest as she was just 16 years old when the tour was founded in 1950. Despite her age and youth, she was able to join and have tremendous success throughout her career n the LPGA Tour.

Hagge won 26 times throughout her career, including winning the Women’s PGA Championship in 1956. What’s more, she also came in second in the 1965 Western Open, third at the Titleholders Championship in 1957 and tied for second in the 1952 U.S. Women’s Open. Quite an unbelievable career and easily the best out of South Dakota.