| A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Barbara was a pioneer in womens athletics at Missouri as the first female to receive an athletic scholarship. She went on to establish herself as one of the most accomplished female amateur golfers of her time. She won major amateur titles in five decades, and claimed five Missouri Amateurs (1965, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1984) and seven St. Louis District titles (1967, 1968, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1994, 1996, 1998). Only one other Missourian, Karen Shull McGee, won more state titles. Berkmeyer played in five U.S. Womens Amateur Championships from 1964 to 1991 and played in four LPGA events and was the low amateur in two of those outings. She finished in the round of 16 in consecutive years at the USGA Womens Senior Amateur (1999 and 2000) and was named St. Louis Metro Senior Player of the Year in 1997, 1999 and 2000. She was runner-up in the 2002 USGA Senior Womens Championship. Berkmeyer also competed in two U.S. Womens Mid-Amateurs and four U.S. Womens Senior Championships. She served from 1977 to 1979 as a member of the MU Board of Curators and was board president in 1979. She was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. |
