Inducted, 1994

Bev Nelson, 68, won the Utah State Amateur Championship eight times, from 1955 through 1979, more than any other player, and dominated the women's golf scene during those years with more than 50 other victories.

She won her first Utah State Women's Amateur title in 1955, defeating Marge Fillis in a 36-hole match, 3-l.

She didn't win her second State Am title for six years, and it was another five years before she won it the third time. She then ran off a streak of three successive titles in 1966, 1967, and 1968. After another seven year lapse she won it in 1975, 1976, and 1979.

During her playing years the PAX Tournament was one of the most prestigious events, and she won that tournament ten times during a 15 year period from 1961 through 1976.
She won many individual and best ball tournaments in Palm
Springs and San Diego.

Her playing career was intermittently interrupted by illness and accidents, which prevented her from establishing an even more imposing playing record.

She was a member of the Patio Springs and Mountain Dell golf clubs, and was club champion at both clubs many times.

She established competitive course records at Meadowbrook, Patio Springs, Bonneville, and Quail Lake in California.

She assisted in the establishment of the initial junior golf program for girls, and served as an officer in the Utah State Women's Golf Association and the Mountain Dell Ladies Golf Association.

She was playing her best golf in her late 40s, and at the time one reporter, in summing up her career, wrote, "She is the most revered of the women golfers, the most admired, the most liked, and the most respected, but another significant point stands out, she is also the best."

She first took up the game at the age of 28 under the tutelage of Mick Riley at the Meadowbrook Golf Course. She won her first State Am title the very next year.
She was born on June 8, 1926 in Salt Lake City, the daughter of Walter and Audrey Nelson. She graduated from Granite High School and attended college at Weber State and the University of Utah.

She was a cost accountant at Hill Air Force Base until her retirement.