The New Class
THE VIRGINIA GOLF HALL OF FAME will grow to 14 members in May with the addition of the
four-member 2018 class. These four outstanding representatives of golf in the commonwealth will join
the six-member inaugural class from 2016 (Vinny Giles, Chandler Harper, Clyde Luther, Sam Snead,
Curtis Strange and Lanny Wadkins) and the four-member 2017 class (Donna Andrews, Keith Decker,
Wallace McDowell and J.C. Snead). A closer look at the 2018 class:
DR. LEW BLAKEY
RULES AFICIANADO: Though Blakey served golf in other ways—he’s a past pres-
ident of the Middle Atlantic Golf Association—his biggest contribution to the game
is his astute knowledge of the Rules of Golf. Blakey, who lives in Alexandria, attended
his first Rules workshop in 1993 and scored a 92 on his first Rules test. That gave him
all of the motivation he needed to improve. He logged a perfect 100 the next year and
soon joined the ranks of USGA volunteers.
MAJOR EXPERIENCE: Blakey, who was teaching graduate-level mathematics and
engineering courses as an adjunct professor at several universities at the time he got
into the Rules, has worked as a Rules official for all four professional majors, including
14 U.S. Opens and eight Masters, along with numerous USGA sectional qualifiers and
national championships.
GETTING IT DONE: Blakey joined the USGA Rules of Golf committee in 1999
and two years later, joined the USGA Executive Committee. He was one of the USGA
representatives who worked with the R&A at the quadrennial Joint Rules Conference
in 2003, which approved changes to the Rules and Decisions for 2004.
Dr. Lew Blakey is a master at the Rules of Golf.
the Ford Senior Players Championship by one stroke over Jim
Thorpe. It was one of four PGA Tour Champions victories for
Wadkins, with all four victories coming by a one-stroke margin.
Bobby Wadkins joins his
brother, Lanny Wadkins, in
the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame.
BOBBY WADKINS
CROWNING MOMENT: In 2006, Wadkins won a PGA
Champions Tour major by posting a four-day total of 274 to win
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CAREER-LONG SUCCESS: Wadkins, who began his college
career at the University of Houston before transferring to East
Tennessee State, won the 1971 VSGA Amateur Championship and
collected three titles at the Virginia PGA Open. Wadkins competed
in 715 PGA Tour events and finished as a runner-up six times. His
best finish in the major came in 1987, when he tied for fourth at
the U.S. Open.
vsga.org
BROTHERS IN GOLF: Wadkins’ inclusion gives the Virginia
Golf Hall of Fame its first set of brothers. Lanny Wadkins was
part of the inaugural class in 2016. The brothers dominated the
Richmond youth scene, as during one six-year stretch one of the
two brothers won the Richmond city junior title. Bobby and Lanny
teamed to win the 1990 Fred Meyer Challenge, two-man best ball
charity event featuring active and retired PGA Tour players.