🇬🇧 UK / Europe (1978 onward): The WPGA Reimagined — Building a Professional Home for Women in Golf
By the late 1970s, women professionals in Britain and Europe were ready to step forward — not only as players but as teachers, mentors, and leaders within the game.
In 1978, the Women’s Professional Golfers’ Association (WPGA) was founded as a division of the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland, based at The Belfry. It gave women professionals something they had long worked toward — an official home within the PGA structure, equal in purpose if not yet in numbers.
The formation of the WPGA marked a turning point. For the first time, women in golf could qualify as PGA Members, teach, coach, manage golf clubs, and represent the game professionally. The organisation’s founding mission was clear: to promote opportunity, professionalism, and recognition for women working in golf — whether on the course, in the clubhouse, or on the lesson tee.
Just a year later, in 1979, the WPGA helped launch a new professional tour — the WPGA European Tour, which would later evolve into the Ladies European Tour (LET). This step transformed women’s professional golf in Europe, giving players a platform to compete regularly and to build sustainable careers.
The early WPGA pioneers — among them Vivien Saunders, Catherine Panton-Lewis, and Sally Little — combined passion and pragmatism, balancing playing careers with coaching and club work. They built tournaments, secured sponsors, and organised events themselves. What began as a small tour of eight tournaments across the UK and Europe became a foundation for women’s professional golf across the continent.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, WPGA professionals continued to expand their influence — teaching in schools and clubs, coaching national squads, and taking leadership roles within the game. The association grew to represent women professionals across Europe and remains a vital part of the PGA GB&I’s structure today, supporting the next generation of women professionals through training, qualifications, and mentoring.
✳️ Key Milestones
| Year | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | WPGA (UK) founded | Women’s Professional Golfers’ Association established under the PGA GB&I, giving women professionals formal representation. |
| 1979 | WPGA European Tour launched | The first professional tour for women in Europe, later evolving into the Ladies European Tour (LET). |
| 1980s–1990s | WPGA Championships and training programs | Strengthened women’s professional pathways in teaching, coaching, and competition. |
| Today | WPGA (UK) continues under PGA GB&I | Supporting women in all areas of the golf profession — from teaching to club management to elite competition. |