Ellen Fuson Port (born September 21, 1961) is an amateur golfer and former golf coach. At

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...

events between 1995 and 2016, Port won the

U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur is one of thirteen United States Golf Association national championships. First played in 1987, it provides amateur women over the age of 25 an opportunity to compete for a national championship. Entrants must have a g ...

four times and the

U.S. Senior Women's Amateur The U.S. Senior Women's Amateur was launched in 1962 as an annual tournament for female amateur golfing competitors at least 50 years of age. The format began as a 54-hole stroke play competition over three days until 1997 when it was changed to a ...

three times. She surpassed Carol Semple Thompson with her fourth Mid-Amateur win in 2011. Port and Meghan Bolger Stasi have the most wins at this event since 2012. With her seven titles, Port is tied for fifth for most career wins in USGA events. As a

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

golfer, her American team won in 1994 and lost in 1996. As a coach at

John Burroughs School John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian college-preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7– 12. Its 49-acre () campus is located in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1923, it is named for U.S. naturali ...

, Port began to teach field hockey and golf in the early 1990s. With the golf teams at John Burroughs, Port was the coach of two teams that won championships held by the

Missouri State High School Activities Association The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activ ...

. After leaving John Burroughs in 2015, Port continued to teach golf with the women's team at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

until 2018. With Washington, her team was tied for tenth at the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championships. Port was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4,0 ...

in 2012.

Early life and education

Port was born in

North Kansas City, Missouri North Kansas City is a city in Clay County, Missouri, United States. It is also enclaved in Kansas City. Even though the name is similar to its larger counterpart, Kansas City, it is an independent municipality and part of the Kansas City metrop ...

on September 21, 1961. During her childhood, Port participated in basketball, swimming and tennis. While attending North Kansas City High School, Port was the 1979 girls recipient for best competitor in sports for the high school. For her post-secondary education, Port chose tennis over basketball while attending the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. In 1983, Port received a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

from Missouri. After her studies, Port left North Kansas City to live in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Career

Amateur events

Port began playing golf in 1986 when she started working for

. As a member of the Missouri Golf Association, Port won the Amateur Championship nine times between 1992 and 2014. During this time period, Port won the event back to back from 2000 to 2003. She also was second at the Amateur Championship five times from 1996 to 2013. At the Senior Amateur Championship, Port won the event in 2020 and 2021. For Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association events, Port won the Women's Amateur Championship sixteen times from 1993 to 2018. During this championship, Port was the back-to-back winner from 2000 to 2006. Her win at the 2021 Metropolitan Senior Amateur made Port the first female golfer to ever win the championship event for male golfers. Port reached the quarterfinals during the 1992, 1993 and 2001 editions of the

Women's Western Amateur The Women's Western Amateur is an amateur golf tournament for women. It is organized by the Women's Western Golf Association, which also organized the Women's Western Open from 1930 to 1967. It is one of the oldest women's amateur tournaments in the ...

. Port won the Women's Trans National in 1994. As the Ladies National Golf Association, Port won their Senior Amateur during 2024. At the 1992

U.S. Women's Amateur The U.S. Women's Amateur, also known as the United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship, is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf ch ...

, Port reached the quarterfinals. The following year, she was tied for ninth at the

Canadian Women's Amateur The Canadian Women's Amateur is Canada's annual national amateur golf tournament for women. It is open to women from all countries and is played at a different course each year. History The first championship was held from October 14 to 17, 1901, ...

. At the age of 56, Port was the oldest ever U.S. Women's Amateur golfer in the match play round during the 2018 event. Port won the

in 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2011. She was the runner-up at this event in 2002. With her 2011 win, she passed Carol Semple Thompson for most wins at the Women's Mid-Amateur. She shares the Mid-Amateur lead with Meghan Bolger Stasi since 2012. Competing at the

, Port won the 2012, 2013 and 2016 editions while also finishing in second in 2021. With seven first places at

events, Port is second for most wins won by a female golfer and tied for fifth for most wins by any player. In team events, Port was on the American

team that won in 1994 and lost in 1996. Port was also captain of the American team that won the Curtis Cup in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. At the 2021 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball, Port and Lara Tennant did not qualify for the playoff round.

Open and senior events

Port received an alternate spot at the 1992 U.S. Women's Open before she withdrew from the event. As a first-time U.S. Women's Open player, Port missed the cut during the 1993 U.S. Women's Open. Port also missed the cut at the 1994 U.S. Women's Open and 1996 U.S. Women's Open. Competing at the U.S. Senior Women's Open, her highest finish in the event was 20th place during

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. At that year's Senior Women's Open, Port held the amateur records for the least score during an individual round of golf and after 72 holes. She was second at the 2024 Canadian Women's Senior Championship.

Coaching career

While at John Burroughs, Port taught

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

and was a coach for multiple sport teams at the school. For individual sports, Port was a field hockey coach in early 1990s. During the late 1990s, Port continued to teach field hockey while also teaching golf. For her golf experience, Port became a golf coach in 1993 for boys before expanding in 2011 to girls. At championships held by the

, Port won the Class 1A-2A event with the boys team in 1996. With the girls team, Port won the 2013 Class 1 event. In 2015, Port left John Burroughs to coach the women's golf team at the

. With Washington, Port was named the best Division III coach of the Central Region for the 2016–17 season by the Women's Golf Coaches Association. At the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championships, her team finished in a tie for tenth place with

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

. That year, Port left the Washington golf team.

Honors and personal life

Port received the Bernice Edlund Award from the Missouri Golf Association in 2011. Port won their Senior Women's Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year during 2023. She was inducted into the St Louis Sports Hall of Fame and

in 2012. She was additionally inducted into a hall of fame by Missouri Golf Association in 2017. Port was named Women's Player of the Year multiple times by the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association, with her latest being given in 2021. She is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Port, Ellen American female golfers Amateur golfers American field hockey coaches Washington University Bears coaches Missouri Tigers women's tennis players People from North Kansas City, Missouri Sportspeople from Clay County, Missouri Golfers from St. Louis 1961 births Living people 20th-century American sportswomen