Jean Macalister Donald (married name Anderson; 2 May 1921 – 16 May 1984) was a Scottish golfer. She won the

Scottish Women's Amateur Championship The Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of Scotland. It was first played in 1903 and is currently organised by Scottish Golf. The Scottish Women's Amateur Championship is contested ...

three times and played in the

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 " ...

in 1948, 1950 and 1952. She turned professional at the start of 1954 following a change in the rules regarding amateur status.

Early life

Donald and her twin sister, Anne, were born in

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

on 2 May 1921, the daughter of Douglas Donald, a medical doctor. She joined North Berwick Ladies Club in 1936.

Amateur career

Donald had some success before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1938, she played in the

England–Scotland girls match The Girls Home Internationals was an amateur team golf championship for girls between the four Home Nations. Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland.The event was organised by The R&A. The inaugural event was held in 1969 and the v ...

and then reached the semi-finals of the

Girls Amateur Championship The Girls Amateur Championship is a golf tournament held annually in the United Kingdom. Girls need to be under 18 on 1 January in the year of the championship. Until World War II the championship was organised by a series of magazines and always ...

Stoke Poges Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and is southeast of Farnham Common. In 2021, it had a population of 5,067. Geography Hamlets withi ...

, losing to Sheila Stroyan. In 1939 she reached the final of the East of Scotland Championship, reached the last-8 of the

, and, playing off a handicap of 5, won the Ladies' Open Highland tournament at

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotland's 2011 census. (n.p. ...

. Donald reached the semi-finals of the 1946 Womens Amateur Championship at

Hunstanton Hunstanton (sometimes pronounced ) is a seaside resort, seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash. Hunstanton lies 102 miles (164 km) north-north-east of London an ...

, losing 3&2 to the eventual winner, Jean Hetherington. At the start of 1947 Donald won the East of Scotland title and then won the

, beating Jean Kerr in the final. In early June, she played in the

Women's Home Internationals The Women's Home Internationals were an amateur team golf championship for women contested between the four Home Nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, where Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland on an All-Ireland basi ...

for the first time, Scotland retaining the title they had held since 1939. The following week she again reached the semi-finals of the Womens Amateur Championship at Gullane, losing 7&5 to

Babe Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball, and track and field. She won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the ...

. In late June she was part of the winning British team for the

Vagliano Trophy The Vagliano Trophy is a biennial women's amateur golf tournament. It is co-organised by The R&A and the European Golf Association and is contested by teams representing "Great Britain and Ireland" and the "Continent of Europe". It is played in o ...

in Paris and then won the French Ladies Open Championship the following week. The early part of 1948 was dominated by the

Royal Birkdale Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the United Kingdom in North West England, located in Southport, Merseyside. It is one of the clubs in the rotation for both the Open Championship and Women's British Open and has hosted the Open Cham ...

. Donald was selected for the team after a series of trials. The American side won the match comfortably, winning 6 matches to 2 with one match halved. Donald won both her foursomes and singles matches. Donald reached the final of the Womens Amateur Championship at

Royal Lytham & St Annes Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course five times: once prior to being designated a major ...

, losing by 1 hole to

Louise Suggs Mae Louise Suggs (September 7, 1923 – August 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer, one of the founders of the LPGA Tour and thus modern ladies' golf. Amateur career Born in Atlanta, Suggs had a very successful amateur career, beginnin ...

in the 36-hole final. Donald suffered a rare defeat to a British golfer when she lost at the last-32 stage of the

, losing by 1 hole to Moira Paterson. In 1949 Donald won the East of Scotland title for the third successive year and won the

for the second time, beating

Helen Holm Helen Warren Holm (née Gray) (14 March 1907 – 14 December 1971) was a Scottish amateur golfer. She was Scottish champion five times and she won the British Ladies Amateur twice. The Helen Holm Trophy is named in her memory. Life Holm was born ...

6&5 in the final. However, she lost in the first round of the Womens Amateur Championship to

Clarrie Reddan Clarrie is a masculine given name, a diminutive form of Clarence. It may refer to: Sports * Clarrie Answerth (1901–1981), Australian rules footballer * Clarrie Bacon (1889–1954), English footballer * Clarrie Bourton (1908–1981), English f ...

at the 19th hole. Donald played in the

1950 Curtis Cup The 6th Curtis Cup Match was played on September 4 and 5, 1950 at the Country Club of Buffalo in Williamsville, New York. The United States won 7 to 1. Matches were played over 36 holes for the first time. The United States won two of the three f ...

at the

Country Club of Buffalo A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or de ...

. The Americans won 7 matches to 1, with one match halved, Donald losing both her matches. The team later played a Canadian team, Donald winning both her matches in an 8–2 victory. Playing with

Tom Haliburton Thomas Bruce Haliburton (5 June 1915 – 25 October 1975) was a Scottish golfer. He finished tied for 5th in the 1957 Open Championship and played in the 1961 and 1963 Ryder Cups. Early life Haliburton was born in a cottage in Rhu, then in Dunb ...

, Donald won the 1951

Sunningdale Foursomes The Sunningdale Foursomes is an open foursomes golf tournament contested at the Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire, in March. It was first contested in 1934 and has been held annually since, except between 1940 and 1947. The event is open to all go ...

. She reached the final of the East of Scotland Championship, losing 7&6 to

Marjorie Peel Marjorie Lilian Peel ( Thomas, later Draper, 18 June 1905 – 1987) was a Scottish amateur golfer. She won the Scottish Women's Amateur Championship in 1954 and was a member of the 1954 Curtis Cup team. Golf career Peel first reached the fin ...

, and lost in the semi-final of both the Womens Amateur Championship and the

, losing 3&1 to Frances Stephens in the Women's Amateur, and at the 19th hole to Moira Paterson in the Scottish Championship, having been three up with four holes to play. In late 1951 Donald was part of a team of five women that toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, playing three unofficial test matches. In 1952, Donald won the

for the third time, beating

13&11 in the final at Gullane. She had already been selected for the

team at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for T ...

. The British team took a 2–1 lead on the first day, Donald winning her foursomes match. The singles matches were tied 3–3, to give Britain their first Curtis Cup win. Playing in the first singles match, Donald lost by one hole to

Dorothy Kirby Mary Dorothy Kirby (January 15, 1920 – December 12, 2000) was an American professional golfer and sportscaster. Born in West Point, Georgia, her family moved to Atlanta when she was ten. At the age of 13, Kirby's victory at the 1933 Georgia ...

. In the Womens Amateur Championship Donald lost in the second round, by one hole to Claire Doran, one of the American Curtis Cup team. In 1953 Donald and

won the

for the second time in three years. The following month she won the East of Scotland Championship for the fourth time, beating Helen Burton 7&6 in the 18-hole final. It was her 7th appearance in the final in 8 years. In May she reached final of the

but lost 8&7 to

Jessie Valentine Jessie Valentine (née Anderson) (18 March 1915 – 6 April 2006) was a Scottish amateur golfer who won the British Ladies Amateur in 1937, 1955 and 1958. In 1937, after winning the British Ladies title at Turnberry she was the world number o ...

in the 36-hole final. Donald lost to Marlene Stewart by one hole in the semi-final of the Womens Amateur Championship. Stewart was a member of the Canadian team that was playing in Europe in 1953. The following week Donald was part of the British team that won the Commonwealth tournament at

Formby Formby is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under ...

. The other teams were Canada, New Zealand and a British juniors team. The Canadians also played a match against Scotland, Donald winning both her matches. In July she also competed in the

Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was a weekly English tabloid newspaper that was published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. It was acquired by Alli ...

72-hole stroke-play tournament at

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a village and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England and is adjoined by green buffers including Sunningdale Golf Club and Wentworth Golf ...

. She led after the opening two rounds and finished tied with Frances Stephens on 315. Stephens took the cup because of her better second-day score. In October she played for Britain against Belgium and France. From 1947 to 1953 Donald played in every important team match for Britain and Scotland. She played in all seven

, being on the winning side four times. As well as playing in three

matches, she played in the

against France five times and against Belgium three times.

Professional career

Donald turned professional at the start of 1954 following a change in the rules relating to amateur status. She was employed as an advisor by Dunlop which conflicted with the new rules. Turning professional severely limited her playing opportunities, since there were few events open to professional women. In 1954 she won the

Spalding Women's Open Stroke Play The Spalding Women's Open Stroke Play was a national women's 72-hole stroke play golf tournament played in England from 1954 to 1959. It was sometimes referred to as the unofficial stroke play championship. The 1954 event was won by Jean Donald ...

tournament at

Walton Heath Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas ...

. Playing with

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice o ...

, she won the

in 1958 and 1961. She won the Kayser Bondor Foursomes in 1959 and 1962. She was partnered by

in 1959 and by Bridget Jackson in 1962. In 1955 she toured New Zealand and Australia.

Personal life

Donald married John Kenneth Anderson in 1958. She died suddenly on 16 May 1984, aged 63.

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

(winners) *Canada–Great Britain match (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1950 (winners) *Commonwealth tournament (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1953 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1947 (winners), 1948 (winners), 1949 (winners), 1951 (winners), 1953 (winners) *Belgium–Great Britain match (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1949 (winners), 1951 (winners), 1953 (winners) *

(representing Scotland): 1938 (winners) *

(representing Scotland): 1947 (winners), 1948, 1949, 1950 (winners), 1951 (winners), 1952 (winners), 1953 *Scotland–Canada match (representing Scotland): 1953 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Jean Scottish female golfers Golfers from North Berwick 1921 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Scottish sportswomen