Jane Fitzgerald was born and raised in Maryland and grew up surrounded by a family with a strong history in athletics, primarily golf. Her father Mitchell and her Uncle Frank, a PGA Professional, exposed Jane to the game and, with the support of her mother Iola, developed an aptitude for golf. As a junior golfer, the tournaments the Maryland State Golf Association offered were central toward becoming a competitive player. For Jane, these competitive experiences were invaluable, leading her to become the 1978 Maryland Junior Girls Champion, and paved the way toward collegiate golf. Jane became a member of the Penn State golf team, winning three collegiate events and participating in two NCAA Championships. She graduated from Penn State in 1983, married PGA Professional Jim Fitzgerald in 1985, had her first of two children in 1987, and won her first Maryland Women’s Amateur Championship in 1989. She followed up her 1989 win with another in 1990 and then won her third in 1992. She won the Amateur title again in 1995 and in 2000 won both the MSGA Women’s Amateur and Open Championships. In addition to the Maryland Open and five Maryland Amateur titles, Jane is also a past MSGA Women’s Mid-Amateur and a three-time Middle Atlantic Golf Association Women’s Amateur Champion (1992, 1999, & 2001).
Nationally, Jane has competed in 23 USGA Championships, the first of which was the 1979 U.S. Junior Girls Amateur. She has qualified for six U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships from 1980 to 2013, the 1982 U. S. Women’s Open, and seven U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships from 1990 to 2017. Thirty years after competing in the 1982 U.S. Women’s Open, Jane competed in her first U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship and achieved a runner-up finish to multiple-time USGA champion Ellen Port. Jane has since competed in this event seven times. Jane has been medalist in six USGA sectional qualifying events: two U.S. Women’s Amateurs, two U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs, and two U.S. Women’s Senior Amateurs, and qualified for match play in USGA Championships 14 times. Jane was also a member of the 1995 inaugural USGA State Team from Maryland and served two years on the USGA Men’s Public Links Committee.
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