Veronica Anstey (married name Beharrell, 14 January 1935 – 4 March 2014) was an English amateur golfer. She played in the 1956

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 " ...

. A car accident curtailed her playing career.

Golf career

In 1953, Anstey was selected for the England girls team for their annual match against Scotland, played before 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 ...

. It was played at

Woodhall Spa Woodhall Spa is a former spa Village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, south-west of Horncastle, west of Skegness, east-south-east of Lincoln and north-west of Boston. It is noted ...

, England winning 4–3. In 1955 Anstey played for the English team 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 ...

. She won all her three matches. England and Scotland tied their match but Scotland took the title with better results against Ireland and Wales. Anstey was selected as part of a British women's team that toured Australia and New Zealand in the second half of 1955. Because many of the senior players were unavailable, the team turned into a team of five juniors, aged between 18 and 21. Anstey had a successful tour, winning the

Victorian Women's Amateur Championship The Victorian Women's Amateur Championship is the state amateur golf championship of Victoria, Australia. It has been played annually since 1900, except for the war years. Format The event is a match play tournament. In 2021 and 2022 there were ...

, the Australian Women's Amateur and the New Zealand Women's Amateur Championship. The tour was such a success that the team was awarded the Association of Golf Writers trophy, the first time a team had won the award. At the end of March 1956, Anstey was selected for the Curtis Cup team. Britain won the match 5–4, their second win in the event. Anstey lost her foursomes match and was not selected for the singles. Anstey also played in the

at Sunningdale. In 1957 Anstey played in the

and then reached the semi-finals of the Womens Amateur Championship, losing 4&2 to Philomena Garvey. Anstey has been involved in a car crash after the 1956

. She had made a recovery but suffered from back pain. In 1958 she announced that she was reducing the amount of golf she would play, effectively putting an end to her competitive career at the highest level, although she continued to play golf and be involved in the administrative side of the game.

Personal life

Veronica Anstey married

John Beharrell John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

in 1960. Beharrell had won

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

in 1956. She died on 4 March 2014.

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

(winners) *

(representing England): 1955, 1956, 1957 * England–Scotland girls match (representing England): 1953 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anstey, Veronica English female golfers Amateur golfers 1935 births 2014 deaths