The Selection Committee
T
he nine-person selection committee represents a cross-section
of Virginia golf. There are three
non-voting advisors to the committee.
GIB PALMER (Midlothian):
Immediate past president of the Virginia State Golf Association; joined VSGA
Board of Directors in 2005; chairman of
the selection committee.
DAVID PARTRIDGE (Manakin-Sabot):
Two-time winner of VSGA Amateur,
three-time winner of VS GA MidAmateur; two-time winner of VSGA
Senior Amateur; winner of 2011 Senior
State Open.
PAUL MICHAELIAN (Virginia Beach):
PGA professional at Princess Anne Coun-
try Club; past president of the Middle
Atlantic section of the PGA.
Senior Women’s Amateur; member of the
VSGA Board of Directors.
DON RYDER (Hot Springs):
PGA professional and retired Director
of Golf at The Omni Homestead Resort.
MEG GILMER (Charlottesville):
Past president of VSGA Women’s Division.
DAVID A. KING (Potomac Falls):
Winner VSGA Senior Amateur (2002);
VSGA Senior Golfer of the Year in
2002; endowed scholarship (2001) in
conjunction with VSGA-VIP Scholarship
Foundation.
DR. DAVID KOVACH (Bluefield):
Past member of VSGA Board of Directors.
BOODIE MCGURN (Richmond):
W i n n e r o f 2 0 0 3 V S G A Wo m e n ’s
Amateur; three-time winner of VSGA
BILL MILLSAPS (Richmond):
Former sports editor and columnist for
The Richmond Times-Dispatch; retired
from T-D as executive editor; member
of VSGA Board of Directors.
NON-VOTING ADVISORS:
Jamie Conkling, VSGA Executive Director
Dick Johns, retired MAPGA Executive
Director
Matt Smiley, VSGA Director of Rules and
Competitions
THE PLAYERS’ PERSPECTIVE
VINNY GILES
Vinny is the ultimate competitor
and is the only golfer I have ever
known who never looked nervous
on the golf course. Blessed
with the finest set of hands I
ever saw on a golfer, Vinny has
such an incredible ability to get
the ball in the hole that even
when he wasn’t hitting the ball
particularly well, he could still
dust you virtually every time…if
you look back at pictures when
Vinny came in second, he always
had as big a smile as the winner.
He wanted to win, but he was
genuinely happy for you on those
rare occasions you bested him.
VSGA ARCHIVES
CHANDLER HARPER
David Partridge fit
committee chairman Gib
Palmer’s wish to have player
involvement in the selection
process. Partridge has won
multiple Virginia State Golf
Association tournament titles.
He comments on each of the
inductees from the players’
perspective.
vsga.org
Chandler and I played together
a few times in State Opens over
the years and I am proud to say,
he became a good friend. While
I never saw him in his prime,
Chandler was the quintessential
short game artist and in particular,
[he] hit some of the most amazing
bunker shots I ever saw. His
remarkable scoring abilities enabled
Chandler to compete until well
into his 50s and his 11 victories in
Virginia State Opens is a record I
doubt will ever be broken.
CLYDE LUTHER
Clyde probably knows the rules as
well as virtually anyone in history.
The gentleman scored 100 on the
rules test many times which is a
testament to his unerring knowledge of not only the rules, but also
the decisions of golf. And while
people tend to think of Clyde as
a Rules man, he is so much more
than that because of his incredible service to golf over so many
years, not only in officiating events,
but also teaching countless rules
seminars, conducting junior tournaments and serving on both the
VSGA Board and as the president
of the Association.
SAM SNEAD
I met Sam several times and
enjoyed some very interesting conversations, however, I never had
the pleasure of playing with him.
I did experience the joy of watching him play many times, and
he was as pure a ball striker as I
ever saw. Even at the age of 62
when he finished third at the 1974
PGA Championship, he was truly
remarkable. I watched him play
all 18 holes and seemingly every
drive he hit, it drew about three
yards. Just amazing.
CURTIS STRANGE
Curtis and I played a fair amount
together over the years, and
he was the best golfer I ever
played with. Even from a very
early age, you knew you were in
the presence of greatness when
you watched Curtis play and
compete. While Curtis amassed
a marvelous tour record, his
grinding, virtually "never hit a
bad shot" style of play was ideal
for the demanding U.S. Open
conditions where Curtis was
truly at his best.
LANNY WADKINS
While I never competed directly
against Lanny since he was
five years older than me, from
watching him over many years
I believe he was one of the
fiercest competitors of all time.
His tour record speaks for itself,
however, when you really want
to know the mettle of someone
you look at their match play
results and other than Vinny
(who beat him every time they
squared off in match play),
Lanny was simply indomitable,
as evidenced by his superb
Ryder Cup record.
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