Mary Budke of Oregon State University honored by Pac-12

In the early 1970s, few women golfers could match the accomplishments of Mary Budke of Oregon State University. From a 1972 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion to a 1974 year that included the national collegiate individual championship and a winning record on the U.S. Curtis Cup team, Budke was a key figure in women’s golf.

And she never wanted to turn pro.

“I am so delighted that I didn’t try to make a living playing golf,” said Budke, retired for more than a decade from a career as an emergency medical doctor and now a resident at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. “I thought I was good enough to be a mediocre tour player. And I was never a very good putter.”

Budke may have never made a mark in the pro game, but her achievements as an amateur at Oregon State have earned her another in a long list of golf honors over the last five decades. Budke was inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, which since 2002 has honored excellence by athletes from conference schools as well as coaches and athletic administrators.

“Very surprised,” Budke said of the news of her induction. “Frankly, I didn’t really know it existed. So I was surprised but also surprised that Oregon State selected me to be going in.”

Each of the 12 conference schools selects one person for induction, but this year all 12 are women in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

“Budke laid the foundation for the Oregon State women’s golf program,” the university said in announcing Budke’s induction. “As she said, there were no more than four players on the team during her college career, practice wasn’t organized; it was on the individual. Budke also played volleyball and basketball during her time at Oregon State, but golf is where she thrived.”

A career full of honors

Budke’s career goes beyond her USGA championship or her win for the 1974 title in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, which ran women’s college sports before the NCAA took over later in the 1970s. A state high school individual champion, Budke also won three consecutive Oregon Junior Girls Championships and advanced to the semifinals in the 1970 and 1971 U.S. Girls Junior Championship.

She was an eight-time Oregon Amateur champion and won the Bill Hayward Award as Oregon’s top amateur athlete in 1972. She is in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Oregon Golf Hall of Fame, the National Golf Coaches Association Player Hall of Fame and the Pacific Northwest…