Mary Ann is the rare individual who not only has an impressive golf resume, but also had the foresight to encourage young women to take up the game of golf through the Ohio Girls Golf Foundation.
In 1994, Mary Ann and her daughter, Anne, founded the Ohio Girls Golf Foundation. She served the organization as President and Executive Director until 1999. Her mission was to encourage, sponsor and support the game of golf for girls by providing scholarships, training and financial assistance to compete in events. Thanks to Mary Ann and the Foundation, girls’ golf exploded across Ohio. High schools started programs for the girls at a furious rate. Thanks to the attention that the Foundation focused on girls, Ohio now has two girl’s divisions at the state tournament.
Mary Ann is and has been the premier golfer in northern Ohio since 1968. She took up the game of golf at the age of twelve thanks to her father. As a junior golfer in Pennsylvania she established herself as a player with wins in the Western Pennsylvania Junior Girls in 1954, ‘56 and ‘59. She was runner up in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls Championship in both ’56 and ’57. In 1956 she was a quarter finalist in the USGA Girl’s Junior. She also won the Western Pennsylvania Championship in 1962 and qualified for match play in the Pennsylvania Women’s amateur in 1966.
Moving to Ohio, Mary Ann did not wait long to capture her first Cleveland District Championship in 1969. She has won this event twelve times including last year at the age of 70. She has been runner up in the CWGA seven times and been medalist eleven times. She has also won the Cleveland area’s Tri-League Championship nine times and been runner up nine times. She has received the Mary Anne Moor Trophy twenty times and has won the prestigious Mary K. Browne Trophy three times.
In the state of Ohio, Mary Ann has won four championships. She was the WOSGA state champion in 1981 at Worthington Hills Country Club. She has been a semifinalist four times and was medalist in 1978. She won the WOSGA Senior Championship in 1999 and 2001 and was runner up three times. Finally, she was the Ohio Senior Women’s Invitational Golf Association winner in 1994 and has won the Founder’s Trophy six times. She has also represented Ohio in three USGA State Team Championships.
Mary Ann has played many national events including LPGA tournaments, USGA Women’s Open and the USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur. In 1996 she participated in the Trans National Championship and won the Grace Palmer Trophy as the Senior Medalist. She has qualified for eleven USGA Senior Women’s Championships and qualified each time for match play. Finally, Mary Ann has participated in the North/South Senior Women’s Championship eight times and was runner up in 2000. Over the years Mary Ann has held the women’s scoring record at eleven different courses in three different states.
Mary Ann Bierman has been recognized by many organizations for her contributions to the game. In 2003 she was selected as a Legend of Golf by the Northern Ohio PGA. In 2006 she was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame and in 2007 the Northern Ohio Golf Association inducted her into their Hall of Fame.
While competing at an extraordinarily high level, Mary Ann and her husband Bill have raised three children and have spoiled four grandchildren. In her spare time Mary Ann was a teacher and retired in 1999.