Jeannie Thompson Rogers
Inducted 2012
Jeannie Thompson Rogers has made her mark in Oklahoma as an outstanding amateur golfer. Growing up in Tulsa, Jeannie played in her first junior girls tournament in 1954, at the age of 9. In the early 60’s, Jeannie dominated junior golf in Oklahoma, winning the Junior Girls Championship three consecutive years, 1960-1962. Jeannie was the first player in state history to win Junior Girls three years in a row.
In 1962, Jeannie played in the Women’s Trans-Mississippi Championship, one of the premiere amateur tournaments in the country. At the age of 17, Jeannie won the tournament, beating Ann Casey Johnstone, a Curtis Cup player from Iowa, 3&2.
In 1962, Jeannie played in three LPGA events as an amateur and Sports Illustrated named her the 6th ranked women’s amateur in the United States.
After the 1962 season, Jeannie went into sudden retirement. She lost interest in the game and played very little golf. Sportswriters of the day said Jeannie could have been one of the finest female players to ever come out of Oklahoma. Instead, Jeannie opted for college and a career as a laboratory technician. She chose a different path.
Even though golf was not a priority in her life for several years, Jeannie still had some competitive juices. In 1965, Jeannie decided she would take another shot at the Women’s State Amateur Championship and won the championship.
Today, Jeannie lives in Alabama. She has a 4 handicap and plays golf several times a week. She would like to make her first hole-in-one and she would like to shoot her age. She almost did that in November 2010, but had to settle for a round of 4 under par 68, 2 shots from the goal.
