Jane Blalock won the first Chevron Championship, then known as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle in 1972. When she learned the event would be leaving Mission Hills Country Club in 2023, the news hit like a dagger in the heart. Businesswoman Blalock, however, figured out why.
golf week recently caught up with Blalock, 76, by phone to talk about the importance of what many still call the Dinah Shore. She has won 27 times on the LPGA but has never won a major, one of the factors keeping her out of the Hall of Fame. The Chevron was not designated as a major championship until 1983.
Blalock wondered whether or not she should be considered a Grand Champion, Hall of Famer and more.
You have won the first edition of what is now known as the Chevron Championship. Tell us how important this first year has been.
It’s really hard to put it into words. The cash prize stands out as it was a $110,000 scholarship. It was at least double the amount of any other LPGA purse that year. But it was minor. It was Dinah, and it was Colgate. This event completely changed the way women’s golf was viewed.
You talk about raising the status. We had national television. It was in promotions. We were in commercials. I spent two days with Madge the manicurist soaking my hand in Colgate-Palmolive. Laura Baugh was the Ultra Brite girl. Sally Little, Judy Rankin. It was phenomenal to see how they promoted it.
When the Colgate news broke, here you have a Fortune 100 international conglomerate supporting women’s golf. It symbolized the LPGA’s complete transition from something of a barnstorming band to celebrity status.
You said, quite rightly, that money was a minor detail. But I’m curious how you spent that $20,000?
I still have a copy of the check – $20,050. Three years before, I was teaching in Portsmouth, New Hampsphire, and I had never had an LPGA sponsor. I played week after week. So I obviously invested it very well. I put it in very safe fixed income securities and that took the worry out of me – Am I going to be able to play in 1973? Will I be able to play in 1974? I wrote a check for my brothers for $100 each, which was huge because I wanted to share my newfound wealth.
How much did you earn as a teacher?
I was making $15 a day.
What was your first impression of the Dinah Shore Tournament course
Trees did not exist at that time. If you look at #9, the dogleg on the left, we just took it right over the dogleg. I was a low ball hitter and even could hit it over those tiny little trees. Even then, the course was in immaculate condition. The money Colgate put into it made it perfect. You have never seen such undulation on a golf course when it comes to greens. You hit it in a certain quadrant, otherwise you had no chance of making two putts. The greens were fast. The wind blew because you didn’t have all those trees and houses to protect it.
But we will never forget because you would go to the driving range and watch the snow on that mountain and the reflection in some waters, especially the 18th, it was beautiful. We were impressed. It was hard to believe this was happening to all of us. That we were given the chance to play for that kind of money, to be treated the way we were. We felt like royalty and became celebrities overnight.
How important was Colgate-Palmolive Chairman David Foster to the growth of the LPGA?
He was. That’s when he invested so much money in women’s golf and invested in every way he could, Dinah and her friends. Now you have Dinah’s friends like Sinatra and Bob Hope. It was A-list, well, A-list plus. It changed the way we were perceived.
This got the rest of American business noticed, like what is happening today, and others followed suit.
The LPGA is now known for its worldwide schedule, but it wasn’t just the desert where David Foster had your game. Can you tell us about the far-flung adventures you’ve had?
Oh boy, have we ever. He has invested in every way in the world. We also had the Triple Crown at Mission Hills, which lasted a few years. I happen to have won this a few times, but the reason I was even there was because it was sponsoring the Colgate Far East, which had 40 or 50 players. We played in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok. On top of that, he would bring several of us to other cities for pro-ams to tie it all together. I have been to Singapore. We haven’t just played there, we’ve played the best courses and stayed at the best hotels. … It was just phenomenal, and all of our expenses were paid, first class.
And then there was the Colgate European, which was played in Sunningdale every year. There we would stay in these fantastic boutique hotels. Parties, theater tickets, whatever we wanted.
Those who finished in the top 3 at Dinah were entitled to two all-expenses-paid guests. I had the chance to take my parents all over Asia and to London, places they had never been. My father was mortified. He said he always paid his own way. It was up to him to accept the riches offered by Colgate.
Can you describe how players and fans felt about Dinah Shore?
Talk about grace. Everyone absolutely adored him. She didn’t just lend him her name, she bought a place in Mission Hills. She was not a golfer. I’m sure you’ve heard the original story; she was a tennis player. In fact, she balked when David Foster asked her to host. Once she agreed to do it, she went to take lessons. She became, addict is not the right word, but she was determined to become a good golfer if she wanted to lend her name to the first women’s golf tournament.
How big of a celebrity was she? Who would you compare her to today?
Oprah.
What traditions do you hope to continue in Texas?
I hope they do something with the wall. I can’t tell you all the photos that people have taken and sent to me of my name being the first name on the wall. I hope they continue a true champion event from the past. You just can’t erase that part of the story.
You also don’t want today’s players, who really don’t know who we are – if Patty Sheehan, Pat Bradley, Sandra Palmer and I walked into a room, they wouldn’t even know who we are – I think that the LPGA needs to push those two things I mentioned just for everyone’s benefit.
This event became major in 1983. The first 10 champions are not recognized as big winners as you well know. Should this change?
Selfishly, I wish I had this change. One thing that saddens me is the US Senior Women’s Open. You’ve been working so hard for so many years, and I’m not invited or eligible, despite having a pretty good career, because it wasn’t classified as a major at the time.
It’s something I’m not going to push for, it’s not my nature. But it’s something fair, it would be great if it happened. Because the event was much bigger then it is today. When you talk about impact, and I think impact is the best word, it was much bigger compared to other things that were happening in women’s golf at that time.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about it once in a while.
Well, it would also unlock other things, the LPGA Hall of Fame, for example. Do you think about it a lot? (Editor’s note: Players must have 27 points, including a Major title, Vare Trophy, or Player of the Year crown. Blalock has the points but not the Major requirement or the POY/Vare Trophy.)
I do. But I must say that I remember when I decided to leave the LPGA, I left on a high note. I left after winning a few tournaments. I remember escaping to Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine to help me make a decision. Did I want to continue my career and chase after that? At that time, the Hall of Fame was made up of pure numbers. I wrote, in fact I think I still have it, five or six pages. I decided that I wasn’t going to hang on and chase that dream. That my life was full. It was time for me to go in another direction. … I made the choice, knowing that I didn’t have the criteria to do so.
But now that you see people coming in, because they’ve changed things, that would be good. I know it’s holding me back.
(Editor’s Note: In 2014, the World Golf Hall of Fame began allowing women into the LPGA Hall of Fame. Additionally, the LPGA created a Veterans Category for the HOF of the tour, which is decided by the committee. )
Do you think the lawsuit you filed against the Tour (in 1972) following your suspension (for allegedly moving the ball illegally on the putting green) has anything to do with the Tour not recognizing these first winners as great champions and you don’t enter the Hall of Fame?
I don’t think it (impacts) the recognition of early winners. I’m sure it has an impact on the Hall of Fame.
Do you think this will change over time?
I hope so. I mean, I think, how many years ago? Over 50. Obviously it all turned out very positive for me, but there are still those bad feelings. I hope the contributions I have made to the game of women’s golf will certainly outweigh this issue. And I still have to say, many have apologized, those players who were originally involved. These were always unproven charges.
Do you think about it a lot?
No I do not know. Maybe I didn’t answer quite correctly. When I was watching part of the Hall of Fame ceremony with Susie Berning and when Jan Stephenson walked in, she said, “I pushed for this, you should push for this.” I said, ‘No, that’s not my style.’ If that’s something that happens, that would be wonderful. Will it change my life? No. Will it make me happier? No.
Do I think I should be in? Yes.
Is it fair to say that you are at peace?
One hundred percent. Very happy. … When I look in the mirror, I feel very good.
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