The Greatest Virginia Golfers EVER

FORE … er, 10

The reunion of famed Virginia golfers Vinny Giles, Curtis Strange, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins and Robert Wrenn for a 1 p.m., Oct. 5 exhibition at Independence Golf Club in Midlothian (benefitting the Virginia State Golf Association Foundation; tickets at 804-378-2300) raised the question:

Was this the best golfing group ever in the state?  Quite possibly.

With that much talent assembled, we got to thinking about rating the state’s best golfers ever.

Here’s one man’s list:

1. Sam Snead
Snead’s record-setting 81 PGA Tour victories, including seven majors, place him at the head of the class.

2. Curtis Strange
Back-to-back U.S. Open titles. No one had done it since Ben Hogan; no one has done it since. Strange spent 200 consecutive weeks ranked in the world’s top 10.

3. Lanny Wadkins
U.S. Amateur champion, winner of the 1977 PGA Championship and 29 other titles. Nine-time Ryder Cup participant.

4. Vinny Giles
U.S. and British Amateur champion, four-time Walker Cup participant and this year’s U.S. Senior Amateur champion.

5. Lew Worsham
Beat Snead in the 1947 U.S. Open, and won the first televised tournament by holing a fairway shot on the final hole.

6. Chandler Harper
Won the 1950 PGA Championship.

7. Bobby Cruickshank
Runner-up three times in the U.S. Open; won six Virginia State Opens in seven years.

8. Bobby Mitchell
Won the 1971 Cleveland Open to get into the ’72 Tournament of Champions, then it, too, in a head-to-head battle with Jack Nicklaus.

9. Bobby Wadkins
Three wins on the Champions Tour, including a major, nicely complemented by three wins in Europe and Asia.

10. Robert Wrenn
His winning score of 26-under par at the 1987 Buick Open was just one stroke off the record at the time.
 

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Jim Ducibella is author of Par Excellence: A Celebration of Virginia Golf, a history of the greatest players, courses and events in Virginia.