Streit, Marlene Stewart (1934—)

views updated

Streit, Marlene Stewart (1934—)

Canadian golfer. Name variations: Marlene Stewart. Born Marlene Stewart in Cereal, Alberta, Canada, on March 9, 1934; graduated from Rollins College in Florida, B.A., 1956; married J. Douglas Streit; children: Darlene Louise Streit; Lynn Elizabeth Streit.

Won the Canadian Women's Open (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, and 1963); named Canadian Woman Athlete of the Year (1951, 1953, 1956, 1960, 1963); named Canadian Outstanding Athlete of the Year (1951, 1956); won the USGA Women's Amateur (1956); won the British Women's Amateur (1953); won the Australian Women's Amateur (1963); won the World Women's Amateur (1966).

A top Canadian amateur golfer, Marlene Streit won the Canadian Women's Open seven times. In 1956, she took the USGA Women's Amateur and seven other tournaments, and was low amateur in the 1961 Women's Open. In 1966, in the longest final match in U.S. Women's Amateur history (41 holes), Streit lost to JoAnne Carner by a squeaker. Streit almost won on the 36th hole, but her 13-foot putt went in, hit the back of the cup, and bounced back out. Marlene Streit was named Canadian Woman Athlete of the Year five times, Canadian Outstanding Athlete of the Year twice, and was elected to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1962. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967.

More From encyclopedia.com