SAM SNEAD
Snead, who died four days short
of his 90th birthday in 2002, grew
up in Hot Springs. The World
Golf Hall of Famer got his start
on the greens as a caddie. He
was further exposed to golf as a
laborer, helping build The Omni
Homestead’s Cascades course.
Snead was a remarkable athlete
who is considered by many to have
had the best swing in the history
of the sport. He won a record
82 PGA Tour events, including
seven major championships, and
was the oldest golfer to ever win a
Tour tournament at the age of 52.
He made the 36-hole cut in the
U.S. Open at the age of 61. At the
now-abandoned Lower Cascades
course, he shot a 12-under par 60
at the age of 70.
In addition to being a member
of the World Golf Hall of Fame,
Snead is also in the Virginia Sports
Hall of Fame.
VSGA ARCHIVES (5)
VINNY GILES
Giles, 73, was born in Lynchburg
and has lived in Richmond for
most of the past 50 years. He
won seven VSGA Amateur
championships and three
Virginia Opens. He also won
the 1972 U.S. Amateur, the 1975
British Amateur and the 2009
U.S. Senior Amateur. He is the
only player ever to have captured
all three of those titles. Giles
also played on four Walker Cup
teams and captained the U.S.
side in 1993. He was inducted
into the Virginia Sports Hall of
Fame in 1976.
w w w. v s g a . o r g
a suburb of Dallas, Texas, had
an outstanding amateur record
that included two Southern
Amateurs, the Eastern Amateur,
the U.S. Amateur and the
VSGA Amateur. In 27 years
as a professional, he won 21
tournaments, including the
1977 PGA title, the Players
Championship and the World
Series of Golf. He also made
eight U.S. Ryder Cup teams.
Wadkins joined Strange and
Snead in the World Golf Hall
of Fame in 2009. His name is
also a part of the Virginia Sports
Hall of Fame.
CURTIS STRANGE
The 60-year-old Strange, son of
golf professional Tom Strange,
grew up in Virginia Beach and
now lives in Morehead City,
North Carolina. He won two
VSGA Amateurs and two
North & South Amateurs. He
also captured the 1974 NCAA
individual championship while
leading Wake Forest to the team
title. Strange, the first PGA Tour
professional to win more than $1
million in a season (1988), is best
known for winning consecutive
U.S. Open championships
(1988, 1989). His prowess on the
course earned him inductions
into both the World Golf Hall
of Fame (2007) and the Virginia
Sports Hall of Fame (2003).
LANNY WADKINS
Wa d k i n s , a 6 5 - y e a r - o l d
Richmond native who lives in
CHANDLER HARPER
Harper was born, raised and lived
his entire life in Portsmouth,
where he died in 2004 at the
age of 90. A three-time winner
of the VSGA Amateur, he also
won seven PGA Tour events,
including the 1950 PGA
championship. Harper won a
record 11 Virginia State Opens
and captured the 1968 PGA
Seniors title. Harper was teacher
and mentor to Curtis Strange
after Tom Strange passed away.
Harper’s name is also listed in
the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
CLYDE LUTHER
Luther, 85, lives in Burke,
Virginia. He has been a volunteer
rules official for more than 120
United States Golf Association
championships, three Presidents
Cups, the Masters and the PGA.
He is a former president of the
VSGA and the Middle Atlantic
Golf Association. Luther was the
2002 recipient of the USGA’s
Joe Dey Award in recognition
of his meritorious service to the
game over many years. From
2000 to 2011, he was the chief
rules official of the NCAA
Division I golf championship.
Luther, a retired commercial airline pilot, is a nationally
known expert on the Rules
of Golf.
Selected by the panel representing a cross-section of
Virginia golf, this first class of
the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame
will be inducted in May 2016,
in ceremonies at The Omni
Homestead Resort in Hot
Springs. The ceremony venue
holds its own special place in
Virginia golf history, having
hosted more than 200 state
golf championships through
the years.
Bill Millsaps, retired executive
editor of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, is a member
of the VSGA Board and chair of
the communications committee.
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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