Sandra Fullmer lives in California, now but the Women’s Western Golf Association gave its top honor – its Woman of Distinction award – to her at the WWGA’s annual meeting on Thursday at Lake Shore Country Club in Glencoe.
Fullmer was selected for the coveted award in 2020 but the annual meeting was canceled because of pandemic concerns. The WWGA, formed in 1899, made the presentation a year late to honor a great player who competed against the top LPGA players in some tournaments but remained a life-long amateur. LPGA legend Patty Berg was the first recipient of the Woman of Distinction Award in 1994.
Many of Fullmer’s competitors were on hand for the awards presentation. She enjoyed a great amateur career, winning the Mexico Amateur four times and also capturing the German and Spanish titles in 1959. Then she moved to Chicago where she won the Chicago Women’s District title four times in the 1960s. She also took five Illinois State Senior crowns between 1988 and 1993 and won the WWGA Senior Championship in 1988 and 1989.
Following her best competitive days Fullmer spent over 20 years on the WWGA board of directors, was its president in 2003-04 and chaired both its Women’s Western Amateur and Western Junior.
Fullmer’s father, Percy Clifford, was her instructor as well as being a top player and course designer in Mexico. Her late husband Paul was the executive director of the American Society of Golf Course Architects for over 35 years. They were long-time Itasca Country Club members.