PGA Tour professional Justin Leonard of Dallas headlined a list of seven Texans who were inducted into the 2012 Texas Golf Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the San Antonio Country Club.
“I feel like I have so much more to give the game and I have so much enjoyed the (golf) journey I have been on” said Leonard, who was recognized as the most successful Texas native PGA Tour champion since Lee Trevino with 12 career wins, a British Open title and one of the most famous putts in Ryder Cup history.
Among the other honorees were club professionals David Price of the Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas, recognized nationally and worldwide as one of the foremost authorities on golf rules, and Charlie Epps, the director of instruction at Redstone Golf Club and personal instructor to two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, along with Fort Worth amateurs Mina Hardin, a former U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion and a multiple winner of Texas Amateur women’s titles, and John Grace, a veteran of more than 40 USGA national championships, a former Walker Cup member and winner of multiple Texas Amateur titles.
In addition, the late Robert Dedman, who founded the Dallas-based ClubCorp private club management company, was honored in the contributor category and San Antonio golf organizational executive, the late Sam Goldfarb, Sr., was inducted in the pioneer category.
Houston’s Champions Golf Club was also added to the registry of historic Texas courses.
“I think I’m here because of my belief in family, my golf family who are all here tonight,” said Epps. “You think about all the fun things in golf, this is neat, this is really cool.”
“It’s really all about family,” said Price. “The family we have here and the family we have in all of Texas golf.”
“It’s been a lifetime of hard work, dedication and love for the game,” said Hardin. “I am so grateful for this.”
“It just knocks me over to see my name on the Texas Golf Hall of Fame plaque,” said Grace. “I’ve played 53 years of competitive golf, but this No. 1 for me.”
Ben Crenshaw represented Champions founder Jack Burke, Sr. and complimented the work of Burke and co-founder Jimmy Demaret, a three-time winner of the Masters. “They were the best 1-2 punch of anybody in Texas golf,” he said. “The course is a culmination of their total experience and a very special place for the game of golf.”
The Texas Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is located at the historic Brackenridge Park Golf Course clubhouse, an outside Walk of Fame and in the Borglum Studio in San Antonio.
