Susie Maxwell Berning drove a car with a memorable and hard-earned license plate that read “3USOPEN.” It commemorated the three times she won the biggest championship in women’s golf, among the four major titles and 11 career LPGA victories that helped her be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2022.

On Wednesday, Berning died at age 83 after a two-year fight with lung cancer.

“Susie Maxwell Berning was not just a fantastic player and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, but also a wonderful ambassador for the LPGA and women’s sports overall,” said LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan in a release. “We will always point to her as a role model for balancing homelife and career, winning major championships while also raising a family. Susie was a strong, pioneering athlete who I have personally admired and whose legacy will continue to inspire future generations of athletes.”

We are saddened to share the news of the passing of LPGA great, Susie Maxwell Berning, on Wednesday, October 2.

Susie, a World Golf Hall of Fame member and an 11-time LPGA Tour winner, passed away at age 83.

MORE ⬇️ https://t.co/LFbd82QWYQ

— LPGA (@LPGA) October 3, 2024

Berning came to the game through an unconventional path. A self-described cowgirl as a teenager, she went to retrieve a pair of horses that broke free from her family’s home near Oklahoma City. The two were found at Lincoln Park, a local golf course, having torn up the greens, but the head pro, U.C. Ferguson, said he would forget the damage ever happened if she would teach his daughters how to ride. While she did, Ferguson kept trying to convince Berning to give golf a try. After a year of asking, she finally attended a clinic hosted by Patty Berg and was hooked.

“Her clinics were so funny,” Berning told Golf Channel. “I thought, that’s what golf is? Hey, I want to do that. So, I said, ‘Yes, sir, please introduce me, please show me how.’”

From there she won three Oklahoma State High School titles, and earned a golf scholarship to Oklahoma City University, the first woman to do so, playing though for the men’s team.

After graduation, she turned pro, befriending many of the LPGA founders and legends in her early years before joining them with her own golf accomplishments. She was the tour’s rookie of the year in 1964, and a year later claimed her first LPGA title, the Muskogee Civitan Open. A month after that, she won her first major, the Women’s Western Open.

In 1968, seven weeks after getting married to Dale Berning, she won the first of her three U.S. Women’s Opens, beating Mickey Wright by three shots in a wire-to-wire victory at Moselem Springs Golf Club in Pennsylvania. The others both came in New York in back-to-back years, winning at Winged Foot Golf Club in 1972 and the C.C. of Rochester in 1973.

“Susie was a true trailblazer from the moment she picked up a golf club,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan in a release. “When I reflect on the incredibly short list of golfers—male or female—who have claimed three U.S. Open titles, alongside four major championships, it puts into perspective just how extraordinary her achievements were. Even more inspiring is the decision she made to step away from the competitive game to prioritize her family, a choice that resonates deeply with so many of us. Her legacy will forever be a source of admiration and respect.”

In addition to being a proven champion, Susie Maxwell Berning had some impressive comedic timing.

Just ask @TigerWoods! pic.twitter.com/mGS94GyIoe

— Golf Hall of Fame (@GolfHallofFame) October 3, 2024

Berning continued to play—and succeed—on tour while raising two daughters, Robin and Cindy, albeit adhering to a limited schedule. As noted by the LPGA, from 1968 through 1977, the peak of Berning’s career, she averaged fewer than 13 tournaments a year. She eventually retired from competition in 1994, but went on to become a noted golf instructor, working in California and Colorado.

“I always loved helping people,” Berning said. “What I really want is for people to have a love of the game as much as I do for them to understand how much pleasure you get from the game. And that’s why I enjoy teaching.”

While an inspiration to many to take up the game, she was none more so than to daughter Robin, who played on the LPGA as well. In 1989 at the Konica San Jose Classic in California, they became the first mother/daughter tandem to compete in the same LPGA event. They did it again five years later at the Wegmans Rochester (N.Y.) LPGA event.

Berning is survived by her daughters.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com