Anne Quast (born August 31, 1937)
is an American amateur golfer. She won the
U.S. Women's Amateur three times (1958, 1961, 1963) and was runner-up three times (1965, 1968, 1973).
She was married several times and played as Anne Decker, Anne Welts, and Anne Sander.
Career
Quast was born in
Everett, Washington
Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...
.
Her parents owned the Cedarcrest Golf Course in
Marysville, Washington, and by age 12 she had played in her first tournament. She won the Washington State Junior Girls Championship in 1952 and 1954 then again in 1955, when she also won her state's Women's championship. She repeated as the Washington State Women's champion in 1956. At the 1957
Titleholders Championship
The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.
History
The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Maste ...
for amateurs and professionals, playing as an amateur in this
LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...
event, she was runner-up to LPGA Tour star
Patty Berg
Patricia Jane Berg (February 13, 1918 – September 10, 2006) was an American professional golfer. She was a founding member and the first president of the LPGA. Her 15 major title wins remains the all-time record for most major wins by a fem ...
.
Always composed under pressure, Quast's strong short game got her to the
U.S. Women's Amateur quarter-finals in 1955, and to the semi-finals in 1956. While a student at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1958, she won the first of her three U.S. Women's Amateur. In 1961 she was living in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
where she taught school. Married to Dr. Jay D. Decker, Anne Quast-Decker won the U.S. Women's Amateur again, setting a tournament record for her margin of victory, by 14 and 13; this record still stands. Her marriage did not last, and in 1963, after marrying for the second time, Anne Quast-Welts defeated
Peggy Conley to win her third U.S. championship. She also made it to the finals in 1965, 1968, and 1973.
Quast was a member of the U.S.
Curtis Cup team in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1974, 1984, and 1990; across five decades. Her eight appearances ranks her second all-time to
Carol Semple. She was also a member of the
Espirito Santo Trophy team in 1966, 1968 and 1988; the U.S. team captured the trophy on all three occasions.
Divorced again, Anne Quast married Steve Sander, and the couple lived in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from 1974 to 1979. In 1980 she was back home in the U.S., but returned to England to compete again in the
British Ladies Amateur, which she won. At
Pinehurst in
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
she won the 1982 and 1983
North and South Women's Amateur. In her first year of eligibility at age fifty, Quast won the 1987
U.S. Senior Women's Amateur then again in 1989, 1990 and 1993.
Awards
A member of the Stanford University Athletic Hall of Fame, in 1997 Anne Quast was inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame and in 1999 into the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Fame.
In his 2001 book, ''The Golf 100: Ranking the Greatest Golfers of All Time'', Robert McCord ranked Quast 37th.
Tournament wins
''this list is probably incomplete''
*1952 Washington State Junior Girls'
*1954 Washington State Junior Girls', Women's Western Junior Girls'
*1955 Washington State Junior Girls', Washington State Women's Amateur
*1956 Washington State Women's Amateur, Hollywood Women's Invitational Four-Ball Champion (with
Ruth Jessen), Women's South Atlantic Amateur,
Women's Western Amateur
*1957 Helen Lee Doherty Invitational
*1958
U.S. Women's Amateur
*1961
U.S. Women's Amateur,
Women's Western Amateur
*1963
U.S. Women's Amateur
*1980
British Ladies Amateur
*1982
North and South Women's Amateur
*1983
North and South Women's Amateur
*1985
California Women's Amateur Championship
*1987
U.S. Senior Women's Amateur
*1988
Women's Western Amateur
*1989
U.S. Senior Women's Amateur
*1990
U.S. Senior Women's Amateur
*1993
U.S. Senior Women's Amateur
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
*
Curtis Cup:
1958 (tie),
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events January
* Janu ...
(winners),
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
(winners),
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
(winners), 1968 (winners), 1974 (winners), 1984 (winners), 1990 (winners)
*
Espirito Santo Trophy:
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
(winners),
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
(winners),
1988 (winners)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quast, Anne
American female golfers
Amateur golfers
Stanford Cardinal women's golfers
Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships
Golfers from Washington (state)
Sportspeople from Everett, Washington
1937 births
Living people
20th-century American sportswomen