In 1984 in Seattle, Sue Tonkin (then Daniels) qualified for the LPGA on her first attempt and unusually achieved the finest finish of her career in her rookie year: 12th.
The year 1975 was a big year.
Still competing in junior competitions, Sue Tonkin won the SA Girls State title while also taking out the SA State Amateur Championship against much older opponents.
Composure, focus and pure will to succeed.
Sue Tonkin was no stranger to achievement. She had graduated with a degree in Pharmacy, and her pre-golfing career was as a pharmacist.
Outside of golf and pharmacy, she took to the mountains for skiing and snowboarding, no doubt a release from the intensity of both careers.
This quote comes from one of SA’s most acclaimed female golfers, Jane Crafter, about Tonkin: “Sue was a great competitor with a lot of determination and grit. She was a fantastic teammate both on and off the course. She won the SA Amateur 3 times and represented Australia 8 times internationally. She is one of South Australia’s best players.”
As such, the Sue Tonkin Medal was first played in 2020 and became known as the Sue Tonkin Medal in late 2022.
Sue had joined Kooyonga in 1972. Three years later she was the SA State Amateur Champion and again in 1982 and 1984.
Not surprisingly, in 1982, 1983 and 1984 she represented SA. She helped Australia to victory in the 1981 and 1983 Tasman Cup for Australia against NZ.
Just before joining the professional tour in1985, Sue won various interstate tournaments, including the Victorian Open.
She also represented Australia in winning the 1985 World Amateur Pairs Championship in Columbia, South America.
After marrying, and competing as Sue Daniels, she qualified for the LPGA on her first attempt and unusually achieved the finest finish of her career in her rookie year: 12th at the SAFECO Classic in Seattle.
Sue Daniels’ most successful season came in 1987 when her prizemoney topped $25,000.
She also won the 1991 Mercedes Benz Australian Match Play Championship.
Reflecting on her career, Sue Daniels (nee Tonkin) credited Norman Von Nida – who was thought by many as Australia’s greatest golfer and at his peak among the leading players in the world – as one of the greatest influences on her career.
