Feature Story
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After 74 Years a KC Golf Hall of Fame Women Golfer Gets Eternally Honored
See, she turned 16 in 1920. Guess what? She won the City Match Play that first year! Ha!
And if’ n that ain’ t enough, she made the semi-finals of the Missouri Women’ s Championship that year, too— only to lose to one a’ them Hall of Famer’ s, Mrs. Carolyn Lee( she was from Hillcrest). Mrs. Lee was on her way to winnin’ her third straight title, she was.
Miss Miriam ended up winnin’ seven— yep, seven, city titles, includin’ five in-a-row from 1920 to 1924— remember, now, she was just 16 years old in 1920. Then won again in 27 and 29. In 1927 she beat the acclaimed Mrs. Opal Hill in the final she played at Meadow Lake‘ ya know— used ta’ be at about 75th and State Line.
Them years in between? Well, Miss Miriam got married a couple a’ times and had a baby. That kinda’ gets in the way of tournament playin.’
Miriam Burns Horn playing golf at Pebble Beach in 1928.
Funny thing. Miss Miriam and Mrs. Hill had a kinda’ thing goin.’ One of‘ em would set a course record somewheres like at Excelsior Springs. And a few weeks later, the other one would break it.
Now, gimme a minute for ol’ Jimmy tell ya’ about how it was“ back in the day” as they like to say. There wasn’ t no“ ladies’ tees.” No sir, everyone played from the same spot. They used them Hickory shafted clubs and that new“ Haskell” ball— had a core wound with rubber bands and a cover made of somethin’ they called gutta... Gittty... Gutta Percha. Don’ t really know what that is. And I don’ t suppose none-ya do neither. Women generally wore long dresses and big bonnets— no matter how dern hot it was!
And where they had grass greens, they wasn’ t very smooth, ya’ know. That’ s why good putters were sort-a wristy. Why, I seen hockey players with a smoother stroke than what it took to get a ball to the hole back in them“ Roarin’ 20’ s”.
And your bunkers was rough. We didn’ t have no rakes in bunkers until the 50s. Oh, yeah. We had the“ Stymie rule” too. Ya’ know what a stymie is?
Yeah, see, that’ s when you lag your ball up close to the hole— on the same line as your opponent— and they had to either go‘ round ya’ or chip over ya’. No markin’ your ball. Well, that meant a bunch a’ small divots would be made around the cup, so makin’ a putt was some skill, and a lot a’ luck. Our Mr. Harry was pretty good at teachin’ Miss Miriam how to play the stymie.
Where was I? Oh, yeah. When she was just 19 years old, she won the Women’ s Western Amateur— that was in 19 hun’ erd and 23.
Miss Miriam won the state championship twice, in 1922 and 23. She won the very first Trans-Miss when they played it at Blue Hills in 1927— ya’ know, the“ real” Blue Hills? Over by 63rd Street? And ya’ know who she beat in the final? Mrs. Opel Hill!
Then the after she“ retired” she won the Western again in 1930 when they played it over at Hillcrest, here in town. Guess who was on the bag? Yep. Me!
23-year-old Miriam Burns with her 1927 Women’ s US Amateur Championship trophy.
But by far, Miss Miriam’ s biggest win was when she went to New York and won the United States Women’ s Amateur in 1927. September, it was. Did ya’ know, she was the very first USGA National Champion from West of the Mississippi River?
They had a big“ too-doo” down at Union Station organized by the KCGA and the Women’ s Golf Association when she got back with that big ol’ Cox trophy— and another big party at Milburn.
I hung around the club that night just to peep in the winda’ s and see them rich folks with their Flapper dresses and men in them“ Zoot Suits.” I guess ol’ Mr. Prohibition had the night off!
See, by the time when she won the national, she had been married to Mr. Joe Horn and had a baby boy in April of 1926 and divorced Horn in July of 1927.
Some folks thought it was some kinda scandal that a divorced woman was playin’ in golf tournaments— and winnin’ national championships! Heh, you should have heard‘ em when she showed up wearing knickers! Ha!
Anyways, in August of 1928 she went and got married again to a Mr. George Tyson. Broke Jimmy’ s heart— for a second time, she did!
But I gotta tell ya, I don’ t think I ever seen her as happy as she was with that Tyson fella. She kept on playin a little— a tournament here, another there. Not much. The three of‘ em( Miss Miriam, George, and the boy( Kenneth), they traveled all over the world.
Miss Miriam( Look, she’ d always be Miss Miriam to Jimmy) she’ d tell me stories about South America or places in Europe whenever she got back from one-a them trips, and she’ d come out to Milburn just to play golf or get a lesson from Mr. Harry.
20 August 2025 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE