MICKEY WALKER OBE

Throughout the early 1970s, Mickey competed in Europe’s most prestigious amateur tournaments. In 1971 and 1972, she won back-to-back British Amateur Championships thus solidifying her reputation as one of the best amateurs in golf. Building on that momentum she went to the USA where she won the Trans Mississippi Championship – one of the biggest amateur Championships in America. In 1973 Mickey had another successful year winning the Portuguese, Spanish and English Championships before narrowly missing out on her third consecutive British title when she lost in the final.

These achievements were the highlight of her amateur career and remain some of her proudest accomplishments to date.​

In 1971, Mickey was part of the victorious GB&I team in both the Commonwealth Team Tournament played in New Zealand and the Vagliano Trophy, marking two significant achievements in her career. The following year she was a key member of the GB&I Curtis Cup Team who narrowly lost to the Americans, however Mickey was undefeated winning three and a half out of a possible four points thus further cementing her place on the international stage. In addition to these honours , she was a member of the Home Internationals in 1971 and 1972, with the team victorious in 1971.

Mickey also represented England in the European Team Championships in 1971 and 1973 with the teams winning on both occasions. These experiences were personally fulfilling and a testament to the strong team spirit and the competitive edge to the teams that I was part of.

In 1974 Mickey successfully qualified for the US LPGA Tour, marking the beginning of an exciting chapter in her professional career. She would go on to compete on the LPGA Tour from 1974 – 1981 where she faced arguably the best female golfers in the world. The highlight of her time in America was a runners-up finish in the Jerry Lee Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Classic where she lost out in a

four-way play-off!

In 1979, she became a founder member of the Women’s PGA Tour in the UK – the forerunner of today’s Ladies European Tour, where she had six victories between 1979 and 1984. Mickey was a committee member in the early days of the WPGA and in 1981 was appointed Chairman of the Tour. Her experience and knowledge played a key role in the growth and development of women’s professional golf in Europe.

From 1986 to 2001, Mickey served as the Head Professional at The Warren Golf Club in Essex. In 1990 she was appointed the first ever Captain of the European Solheim Cup team, leading the team for the first four biannual matches, including its historic first win in 1992.

The following year Mickey received an OBE for services to women’s golf. In 1993 Mickey was appointed as the coach to the GB&I Elite squad including the Curtis Cup teams of 1994, 1996 and 1998.

With Mickey’s background it was a natural progression for her to get into the media side of golf and from the early 1990’s she began commentating for BBC TV and Radio 5, later joining Sky TV, where she remained until 2020. In addition she was the consulting editor for Lady Golfer magazine from 2002 to 2015. Further professional recognition came in 2009 when Mickey was awarded PGA Master Professional status and then in 2022 was honoured with Life Membership of the PGA, marking a significant milestone in her career!