Catherine Lacoste - Part 1 (The Early Years and the Inaugural Espirito Santo)

Join Bruce and Mike as they explore the remarkable amateur golf career of the "Crocodile Kid", Catherine Lacoste. Born in Paris of sporting parents, her father was the great René Lacoste, winner of seven Grand Slam tennis titles, founder of the famous Lacoste fashion brand and inventor of the steel tennis racket. Catherine's mother Simone de la Chaume was an accomplished golfer in our own right and the first foreigner to win the British Girls and Ladies Amateur Championships.

In this first of a three-part interview, we cover the formative years of Catherine and her game and hear her fondly recall growing up at the family's golf course, Golf de Chantaco and learning the game under the watchful eye of Jean Garaïalde's father Raymond. Jean gifted her the "Golden Goose" putter which she used her entire career. 

Catherine takes us back to her participation in the inaugural Espirito Santo event in 1964 won by her French team with her prevailing as the individual champion. That experience led to an invitation from USGA Committeewoman Mildred Prunaret to come to the U.S. to play in the 1965 Women's U.S. Open where she finished 14th as a 20-year-old amateur, setting the stage for greater things to come.

France's greatest woman amateur player, Catherine Lacoste, begins her life story with us, "FORE the Good of the Game."