With Lorena Ochoa having temporarily claimed the mantle of the world’s best golfer in 2008, it’s worth noting that women have been at the center of the golf world for more than half a century — a fact the Greater Seattle Women’s Public Golf Association is proud to trumpet. Founded in 1950, the GSWPGA has been providing competitive playing opportunities for women in the Puget Sound region for more than 50 years. “The main function of the Seattle Women’s Public Golf Association will be to promote generally the interest of golf amongst women and also to give them a keener knowledge of the rules,“ reported the Seattle P-I on Mar. 2, 1950. Today, the organization has grown from its initial 30 founding members to include hundreds of women representing neighborhood clubs from Auburn, Snoqualmie, West Seattle, Bothell and just about all areas in between. The GSWPGA holds tournaments and special events throughout the spring and summer, including the group’s “major“ championship, the City Championship, to be held over three days in August at Jackson Park Golf Course. Who knows? This year’s GSWPGA City Champ could be the next Joanne Gunderson Carner — before the Kirkland native won five U.S. Amateur Championships from 1956-68, and two U.S. Women’s Open titles in the ’70s en route to a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame, she captured her very first major at the age of 14, claiming the fourth-ever GSWPGA City Championship in 1953, a title she succesfully defended a year later. The GSWPGA’s website, www.gswpga.com, boasts a terrific digital museum walking viewers through the history of the association and its impact on women’s golf in the Northwest, as well as information on this year’s tournaments and membership links. And yes — it’s worth the visit, no matter what the cut of your pants.