Primo
Donna
Lynchburg native Donna Andrews jumps at the chance
by JOAN TUPPONCE
ince retiring from the LPGA Tour,
Donna Andrews has spent much of her
life teaching. It’s an appropriate career
move for the Virginia Golf Hall of Famer
and Lynchburg native who embraces a
lifelong learning approach to golf.
“You never feel like you master golf,” the six-
time LPGA Tour winner said. “There is always
something you can get better at doing.”
Andrews will take a welcome break from her day
job as a teaching professional in July, however, to
compete in the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s
Open at Chicago Golf Club. Andrews sees the new
championship as a chance to keep the game alive
for longtime professionals as they reach their 50s.
“Hopefully it will mean the women’s senior
tour will grow again,” says Andrews who is looking
forward to the “camaraderie” with fellow players.
“We used to have eight to 10 events on the schedule
but now we have three or four. This will help open
people’s eyes to what our women golfers are doing.”
As for Andrews, she’s been doing plenty.
The first female member of the Virginia Golf
Hall of Fame, inducted last year, Andrews cut her
teeth on the sport at Boonsboro Country Club in
Lynchburg. “I grew up at the country club. I played
golf with my family,” she says.
An avid sports enthusiast, she also played bas-
ketball and tennis when she was young. But she
always favored golf. She participated in her first
golf tournament at the age of 10 and “did very
poorly but I kept at it,” she says.
When she was a junior in high school she chose
to be a member of the boys golf team instead of
playing tennis with the girls. “It was challenging
from a golf standpoint to be on the boys team but
that is what I wanted: to be challenged with my
golf and I definitely was,” she says, adding the boys
accepted her on the team. “It was a great group of
kids. I’ve kept up with them.”
Andrews continued wit