Virginia Golfer July / August 2015 | Page 11

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 9