# May Hezlet

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{{Short description|British golfer and sportswriter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name              = May Hezlet
| image             = MayHezlet-1907.jpg
| imagesize         = 175
| caption           = Hezlet, {{circa|1907}}
| fullname          = Mary Elizabeth Linzee Hezlet
| nickname          = May
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1882|4|29|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [Gibraltar](/source/Gibraltar)
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1978|12|27|1882|4|29|df=y}}
| death_place       = [Sandwich, Kent](/source/Sandwich%2C_Kent), [England](/source/England)
| height            = <!-- {{height|ft=6|in=2}} OR {{height|m=|precision=0}} -->
| weight            = 
| nationality       = {{flagicon|IRE|1783}} [Ireland](/source/Ireland)<br />{{GBR}}
| residence         = 
| spouse            = 
| partner           = 
| children          = 
| college           = 
| status            = Amateur
| yearpro           = <!-- Year turned professional -->
| retired           = <!-- Year retired -->
| tour              = <!-- Current tours which a member of -->
| extour            = <!-- Former tours which a member of -->
| prowins           = 
| majorwins         = 
| wghofid           = 
| wghofyear         = 
| award1            = <!-- Achievement or award details -->
| year1             = <!-- Year(s) of achievement or award -->
| awardssection     = <!-- location of awards page or section -->
}}
thumb|May Hezlet, from a 1907 publication.
'''Mary Elizabeth Linzee "May" Hezlet''' (29 April 1882 – 27 December 1978) was a British amateur [golf](/source/golf)er and sports writer. She has been called "probably Ireland's greatest woman golfer".

==Early life==
Hezlet was born in [Gibraltar](/source/Gibraltar), the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Jackson Hezlet. She and her sisters [Florence](/source/Florence_Hezlet) and Violet Hezlet grew up in [Ireland](/source/Ireland) and became leading golfers.

==Golf career==

===Irish Ladies Close Championship===
In 1899, at the golf course in [Newcastle, County Down](/source/Newcastle%2C_County_Down), May Hezlet defeated [Rhona Adair](/source/Rhona_Adair) to win the first of her five [Irish Ladies' Close Championship](/source/Irish_Ladies'_Close_Championship)s, three of which came in succession from 1904 to 1906. In two of those victories her sister Florence was the runner-up.<ref name="Hezlet Family">{{cite book |title=The King and His Navy & Army: On the Links |year = 1905|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Kg_AQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Hezlet&pg=PA258 |via=Books.Google.com |page=258 |accessdate=14 April 2015}}</ref> It was [Janet Jackson](/source/Janet_Jackson_(golfer)) who surpassed her record of five championships, by winning six between 1913 and 1925.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Colm |title=An extra special milestone for The Island ladies |url=https://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/an-extra-special-milestone-for-the-island-ladies-25910514.html |accessdate=2 January 2020 |newspaper=The Independent |date=14 June 2004}}</ref>

===British Ladies Amateur===
She won the [British Ladies Amateur](/source/British_Ladies_Amateur) title in 1899, becoming the youngest-ever winner of the championship—an age record that still stands.<ref name="Hezlet Family"/> Hezlet won the British Ladies Amateur again in 1902 then in 1904 at [Scotland's](/source/Scotland) [Royal Troon Golf Club](/source/Royal_Troon_Golf_Club) she lost in the final to [Lottie Dod](/source/Lottie_Dod). She won her third British title in 1907 and her fifth  [Irish Ladies' Close Championship](/source/Irish_Ladies'_Close_Championship) in 1908 at the [Royal Portrush Golf Club](/source/Royal_Portrush_Golf_Club).

===Writer of golf books===
Hezlet published a book titled ''Ladies Golf'' in 1904 that was immensely popular. A second edition was published 1907 with an additional updating chapter.<ref name="Hezlet1907">{{cite book|author=May Hezlet|title=Ladies' Golf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gI4ZAAAAYAAJ|year=1907|publisher=Hutchinson}}</ref> In 1912, she contributed to ''The New Book of Golf'' by [Horace G. Hutchinson](/source/Horace_Hutchinson).<ref name="New Book on Golf">{{cite book|last1=Hutchinson|first1=Horace G.|title=The New Book of Golf|date=1912|publisher=Longmans, Green & Co.|location=London, England|url=http://chestofbooks.com/sports/golf/New-Book-On-Golf/#.VTKLCJUtHIU|accessdate=18 April 2015}}</ref>

==Family==
In 1909, she married Rev. [Arthur Edwin Ross](/source/Arthur_Ross_(bishop)).<ref name="times">{{cite news |title=The Bishop of Tuam |work=[The Times](/source/The_Times) |page=14 |date=25 May 1923 }}</ref>  Her brother [Charles Hezlet](/source/Charles_Hezlet) was runner-up in [The Amateur Championship](/source/The_Amateur_Championship) in 1914, played in the [Walker Cup](/source/Walker_Cup), and won several Irish amateur titles.

==Death and legacy==
Hezlet died on 27 December 1978 at [Sandwich, Kent](/source/Sandwich%2C_Kent), [England](/source/England). In 1999 the Irish Times noted that May Hazlet was probably Ireland's greatest woman golfer.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/may-hezlet-the-greatest-ever-1.232438 |title=May Hezlet - the greatest ever |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hezlet, May}}
Category:Female golfers from Northern Ireland
Category:Gibraltarian female golfers
Category:Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships
Category:Golf writers
Category:1882 births
Category:1978 deaths
Category:20th-century sportswomen from Northern Ireland

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [May Hezlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Hezlet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Hezlet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.