Who won the first Olympic gold medal in women's golf in 1900?

Margaret Abbott won the first Olympic gold medal in women’s golf in 1900.

The event took place on October 3, 1900, at the Compiègne Golf Club near Paris. Abbott, an American amateur golfer from Chicago, won the nine-hole stroke-play competition with a score of 47. Pauline Whittier finished second, and Abbie Pratt placed third.

Abbott was in France studying art and entered after seeing a newspaper notice. She did not realize the tournament was part of the Olympic Games, which were being held alongside the Paris Exposition. Her mother, Mary Abbott, also competed and tied for seventh, making them the only mother and daughter to compete in the same Olympic event at the same Games.

A common mix-up concerns the prize: Abbott did not receive a modern gold medal. The winners of several 1900 events received cups or other prizes, and her award was a gilded porcelain bowl. Olympic historians nevertheless recognize her as the first American woman to win an Olympic event.