It may be going too far to say that golf saved Mrs. Dave Gaut’s life, but little Marguerite, who was a frail ninety-five pounds, took up the sport in 1911, and her health improved dramatically. Her golf game also quickly flourished. So much so, that in just five years, she had won her first Tennessee state championship. The charming Memphis lady went on to win that title five more times, as well as dominate the Memphis city championship with an amazing eleven victories. Gaut won the Southern women’s championship four times and the Western Amateur once. But with all these trophies, perhaps the most exciting match of her career came against the legendary Babe Zaharias, who many consider one of the greatest women athletes of all time. Tied after eighteen holes, Gaut knocked in a ten-foot putt on the nineteenth hole to beat the great Babe. Legend has it that the Babe was so disappointed that she threw her putter into the air! It should come as no surprise that Gaut was given, by sportswriters and fans, the unofficial title of “Queen of Women’s Golf in Tennessee.” Marguerite Gaut is gone now, but she has left us a legacy of success, kindness, and sportsmanlike conduct to help shape the world of women’s golf.
