2026 CLASS of the VIRGINIA GOLF HALL OF FAME
Career Highlights
• Won the Canadian Open( 2024), Scottish Open( 2024), and Aramco Championship( 2026) on the LPGA Tour.
• Won VSGA Women’ s Amateur twice( 2012 – 13) and VSGA Women’ s Stroke Play( 2014).
• Reached No. 31 in World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Career Highlights
• Won the VSGA Super Senior Four-Ball three times— twice with Charles Green III( 2017, 2023) and once with Don Robertson( 2022).
• Served as a professor and director of UVA’ s sports psychology department for more than two decades.
LAUREN COUGHLIN
A t 34 years old, University of Virginia graduate Lauren Coughlin is already a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour. As one of the LPGA’ s rising stars, she wasn’ t expecting to get a text notifying her of a lifetime achievement award.
“ Obviously, I’ m still playing, so it was kind of wild— and a huge honor— that they wanted to induct me already,” Coughlin said.“ My dream was playing on the LPGA, and this is just like a byproduct of all the hard work that I’ ve put in over the years. And Virginia is my home, and so I’ m happy to be able to represent it out on the Tour.”
Coughlin will be the youngest member in the Hall’ s history and the second LPGA champion inducted, following in the footsteps of the first woman inducted, Donna Andrews( Class of 2017).
Coughlin showed promise early on as the first girl to play four years of varsity golf on the Hickory High School boys’ team in Chesapeake. Years later, she led the U. S. to victory at the 2024 Solheim Cup with an undefeated 3-0-1 record.
“ I played some of the best golf that I may have played in my entire career,” she said.“ Maybe I’ m fortunate enough that I can top it, but it’ s really just hard to describe other than it was the best week of my life.”
• Played four years at UVA and won the ACC individual title in 2016.
• Teamed with Andrew Novak to win the 2025 Grant Thornton Invitational.
• Won the PHC Championship on the Symetra Tour in 2018.
• Brand ambassador for Keswick Club.
DR. BOB ROTELLA
D r. Bob Rotella is one of the most recognizable names in all of sports, especially in golf circles. The client list for the University of Virginia-based sports psychologist includes PGA
Tour players Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Pádraig Harrington, Jim Furyk, and Ernie Els. Also on that extensive list are members of the UVA golf teams and others with ties to the Commonwealth. Rotella was“ very surprised, very honored, and very happy” to be elected to the Virginia
Golf Hall of Fame.
His first time going to the Virginia State Open was at Lake Monticello in 1983, not as a golfer, but as a spectator. There, he watched future Hall of Famers, Bobby Wadkins( Class of 2018) take out a driver and rip it down the middle of every hole and Robert Wrenn( 2024) play an amazing game. He went on to work with both players, as well as inaugural inductee Curtis Strange( 2016).
Among his other former students are fellow Hall of Fame Class of 2026 members Lauren Coughlin and Jay Woodson.
“ I spent a lot of time with Lauren and think the world of her,” Rotella said.“ The first time I ever saw Jay Woodson hit a ball was at the Scott Robertson Junior Tournament. I couldn’ t believe how talented he was.
“ It will be neat going in with them.”
• Best-selling author of a dozen books. His“ Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect” is celebrated as one of the best-selling sports books of all time.
• Serves as a keynote speaker and industry expert.
USGA( 2) vsga. org S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2026 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 31