BACK STORY
By RACHEL STONE
Powe r h o u se of go l f W h e n S u n se t H i g h Sc h o o l a ce d t h e ga m e
T
he Sunset High School football team were city c h a m p i o n s i n 1 9 2 7, a n d the basketball team won the S a n g e r Tr o p h y f o r b e i n g c i t y champs in 1930. Back then the golf team was jus t ge tting warmed up, entering high school tournaments and some times winning, af ter Ste vens Park G olf Course was ins talled in 1 9 2 5 . In t h e l a t e 1 9 3 0 s , S u n s e t b e c a m e a Te x a s go l f p o we r h o u s e , reigning for more than a decade t h a n k s t o c o u r s e ava i l a b i l i ty a n d a few superstar athletes. T he school ’s first golf star was a kid named J. Ward Fouts, who had a hole-in-one on the fifth hole a t S t e v e n s Pa r k i n Ma r c h 1 9 3 4 . L e s s t h a n t w o m o n t h s l a t e r, h e l e d S u n s e t t o t h e c i ty t i t l e . Fo u t s d i e d i n 1 9 4 3 at a ge 24 . L e s l i e A . Stemmons Jr., the younger son of t h e W i n n e t k a He i g h t s d e v e l o p e r who has a freeway named for him, w a s a m o n g Fo u t s ’ t e a m m at e s , along with Briard Mims and a g i r l , B e tty Ja m e s o n . Ja m e s o n h a d t a ke n t h e D a l l a s Wo m e n’s G o l f A s s o c i a t i o n’s c i t y title in a tournament that spring. A b o u t a we e k p r i o r t o t h at h i g h school city championship, in w h i c h s h e s c o r e d a 74 , s h e w o n h e r fi r s t m a j o r t o u r n a m e n t , t h e S o u t h e r n w o m e n’s t i t l e , i n Ne w
30
oakcliff.advocatemag.com
JUNE 2021
O r l e a n s i n May 1 9 3 4 . I t w a s t h e w e e k o f h e r 1 5 t h b i r t h d ay. K n o w n s t a t e w i d e b y t h e a ge o f 13 for her power and accuracy at the tees, she turned pro in 1945 and won se ven tournaments before the LPGA was formed. She won the 1947 U.S. Women’s Open with a 295 total, making her the fi r s t w o m a n t o s c o r e u n d e r 3 0 0 in a 72-hole tournament. She and fellow Sunset alumna Bettye Mims D a n o ff, w h o s e f a m i l y o w n e d t h e b ygo n e S u n s e t G o l f C o u r s e , we r e among the 13 founding members o f t h e L P G A . Ja m e s o n , w h o w o n a t o t a l o f $ 9 1 ,74 0 o ve r s e ve n years in the LPGA, also founded t h e Va r e Tr o p hy, w h i c h i s g i v e n to the LPGA member with the l o we s t t o t a l s c o r e f o r t h e s e a s o n , named in honor of Jameson’s idol, G l e n n a C o l l e tt Va r e . T h e s c h o o l ’s n e x t s t u n n e r w a s E a r l S t e w a r t J r. , w h o w o n t h e individual state title for Sunset i n 1 9 3 7, 1 9 3 8 a n d 1 9 3 9 . A t e a c h e r a t H i g h l a n d Pa r k High School originally devised the tournament because s tudents at that out-of-district school were not eligible to compete in the city tournament. It was played at Cedar Crest Golf Course all three times Stewart creamed everyone. Sunset also won the team state title in 1938. Stewart
went on to win the national NCAA individual golf title for L ouisiana State University in 1941. LSU won the national team title the following year with Stewart as a m e m b e r. Stewart became a PGA tour pro, and he won the tournament n o w k n o w n a s t h e B y r o n Ne l s o n at the Oak Cliff Countr y Club i n 1 9 6 1 , b e a t i n g A r n o l d Pa l m e r b y o n e s h o t ; h e ’s s t i l l t h e o n l y pro in history to win a major tournament on his home course. He later became the head coach at Southern Methodist University, w h e r e h e b r o u g h t t h e w o m e n’s team to the NCAA Division 1 c h a m p i o n s h i p t i t l e i n 1 97 9 . T h e late PGA champion Payne Stewart (no relation) was another of his a t h l e t e s a t S M U. A n d t h e n t h e r e ’s D o n Ja n u a r y. With Januar y on the team, Sunset won three straight city tournaments. He went on to what i s n o w t h e Un i v e r s i t y o f N o r t h Te x a s , w h i c h w o n f o u r n a t i o n a l D i v i s i o n I N C A A t i t l e s i n a r o w, f r o m 1 9 4 9 -1 9 5 2 . A s a pro, he won 10 PGA titles, including the championship i n 1 9 6 7. T h a t c a m e f i v e y e a r s after he shot a 68 in the 1961 PGA Championship, losing by o n e s t r o k e i n a p l a y o ff t o Je r r y B a r b e r, s o h e h o l d s t h e r e c o r d
