Rhona Adair
Encyclopedia
Rhona K. Adair was a British
golf
champion.
Born in Ireland
, along with May Hezlet
Rhona Adair is the most famous Irish golfer from the turn of the 20th century. She was 17 years of age when she played in her first British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship
in 1895. She won the prestigious event in 1900 and again in 1903. She also won four straight Irish Ladies Close Championships from 1900 to 1903.
She played several golfing exhibition matches on a 1903 tour of the United States
. While there she befriended Genevieve Hecker
, the two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion. Hecker asked her to contribute a chapter on British golf for her book published in 1904 titled Golf for Women, the first book ever written exclusively for female golfers.
In 1907, Rhona Adair married Algernon Cuthnell, an army Captain from West Yorkshire
and gave up her career in competitive golf to raise two children. Cuthnell was killed in action during World War I
and after the war she remained active in women's golf circles. She was president of the Irish Ladies Golf Union for many years and held that position at the time of her death in 1961.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
champion.
Born in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, along with May Hezlet
May Hezlet
Mary Linzee "May" Hezlet was a British amateur golfer.Born in Gibraltar, she and her sisters Florence and Violet Hezlet grew up in Ireland and became top golfers in their era...
Rhona Adair is the most famous Irish golfer from the turn of the 20th century. She was 17 years of age when she played in her first British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship
British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship
The British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union of Great Britain. Until the dawn of the professional era in 1976, it was the most important golf tournament for women in Great Britain and would eventually begin to draw golfers from continental Europe...
in 1895. She won the prestigious event in 1900 and again in 1903. She also won four straight Irish Ladies Close Championships from 1900 to 1903.
She played several golfing exhibition matches on a 1903 tour of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. While there she befriended Genevieve Hecker
Genevieve Hecker
Genevieve Hecker was an American amateur golfer. A member of the Essex County Country Club in West Orange, New Jersey, she won New York City's Metropolitan Golf Championship in 1900, 1901, 1905, and 1906.-Biography:...
, the two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion. Hecker asked her to contribute a chapter on British golf for her book published in 1904 titled Golf for Women, the first book ever written exclusively for female golfers.
In 1907, Rhona Adair married Algernon Cuthnell, an army Captain from West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
and gave up her career in competitive golf to raise two children. Cuthnell was killed in action during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and after the war she remained active in women's golf circles. She was president of the Irish Ladies Golf Union for many years and held that position at the time of her death in 1961.