Robbye Unger RIGHT : Donna Andrews |
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VSGA ARCHIVES ( UNGER AND ANDREWS ); USGA DIGITAL ARCHIVES ( COMER AND BRAXTON ) |
fessional in 1989 , Andrews had hauled in five VSGA Women ’ s Amateur , three VSGA Women ’ s Stroke Play , and two VSGA Junior Girls ’ Championships , making her the first woman in VSGA history to reach the 10-championship mark .
Outside Virginia , Andrews played golf for the University of North Carolina and won the 1988 North and South Women ’ s Amateur Championship . She turned professional in 1989 , winning six times on the LPGA Tour , including a major title in 1994 at what was then known as the Nabisco Dinah Shore . Andrews also made two appearances ( 1994 and ’ 98 ) on the U . S . Solheim Cup team , sporting a 4-3 record in two winning campaigns .
Kandi Kessler Comer RIGHT : Grace Anne Braxton
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A 2005 inductee of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame , Andrews , in 2017 , was the first woman to be inducted into the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame .
Comer , another member of the University of North Carolina golf team , won her first of five in-state championships at the VSGA Junior Girls ’ Championship in 1978 . She followed that with the 1980 Junior Girls ’, the 1981 Women ’ s Stroke Play and the 1980 and ‘ 84 Women ’ s Amateur championships .
On the national level , Kessler Comer competed in five U . S . Women ’ s Open Championships including a 14th place finish in 1987 . She played well enough to be ranked ninth in the nation — the highest ranking attained to date by a Virginian
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woman golfer — and was named to the 1986 U . S . Curtis Cup Team .
Once she turned professional , Comer won twice on tour and then settled into a successful teaching career that showed a particular interest in junior golf . In recognition of her teaching achievements , including the 2005 PGA Junior Golf Leader of the Year , Comer received the 2019 VSGA Grow the Game Award . She was inducted into the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020 .
In a class of her own is Grace Anne Braxton , whose national and international competitive record is unmatched in Virginia golf . She earned the gold medal in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in China and was recognized as the top female Special Olympics golfer in the world . Braxton has won two U . S . Disabled Golf Association Open Women ’ s championships , 2019 and ‘ 21 .
In 2022 , Braxton was Invited to the inaugural U . S . Adaptive Open at Pinehurst , N . C ., finishing fourth among female participants and first among participants with an intellectual impairment . She was inducted into the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame in 2022 .
Casey ’ s new book , Remarkable Stories of New Jersey Golf , is now available . Contact Casey at kevincasey36 @ gmail . com or go to njgolfstories . com .
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