TAMPA – The Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) inducted three men into the Florida Golf Hall of Fame at the 2006 FSGA Annual Dinner at Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club in Tampa on Friday, November 17. Gary Koch, Bob Rankin and Bill Baker were honored as the second class of inductees into the Florida Golf Hall of Fame.
Gary Koch, of Tampa, began his golf career early on in 1969 winning the Florida Open at the age of 16. From 1968-1970, Gary won three straight Florida Junior Championships and won the US Junior Championship in 1970. He then captured the Florida Amateur in 1972 and went on to the University of Florida where he was a three-time first team All American and a member of the 1973 NCAA Championship team. In 1975, Gary joined the PGA Tour and won six events over 15 years. Now on the Champions Tour and part of the NBC golf announce team, Gary also keeps busy with his golf course design and development business.
In 1992, the Governor of Florida named him the "Ambassador of Golf."
Bob Rankin played college golf at Ohio State University and won the 1955 Ohio Amateur. After moving to Florida, Bob won the Florida Amateur in 1969 and Mid-Senior in 1972. Other FSGA Championships include the 1989 Senior Four-Ball Championship and 1992 and 1994 Senior Championship. He won Gasparilla twice, the Florida State Senior Golf Association Championship three times and US Senior Challenge Championship four times including three consecutive years. Bob, a founding member of Cypress Run Golf Club in Tarpon Springs, was inducted into the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame in 1996.
In the early 1980’s, Bill Baker began volunteering with the FSGA after attending a Course Rating workshop in South Florida. From there, Bill got extremely involved in both course rating and tournaments and traveled just about anywhere he was needed for more than 15 years. Bill could be seen starting at almost every major Championship and was in charge of all qualifiers in South Florida. Bill was also a Board member and a USGA Committee Member for several years serving on the Senior Amateur Committee. When he wasn’t volunteering, Bill played in a few tournaments.
The FSGA Players-of-the-Year and Volunteers-of-the-Year were also honored at the Annual Dinner.
Blayne Barber, 16, won two State Championships in 2006 earning him the Junior Player-of-the-Year. Blayne captured the Boys Junior Championship and Junior Match Play Invitational during the summer. He also won two Florida Junior Tour (FJT) events and placed second in three events last season. In his hometown of Lake City, Blayne is a three-time Lake City Open Champion.
Rick Woulfe, 56, of Fort Lauderdale, receives the Senior Player-of-the-Year award for the second consecutive year and his third Player-of-the-Year winning in 2002 and 2004. This year, Rick was runner-up in the British Senior Amateur as well as played in his 9th Southeastern Challenge Matches and won the Mid-Amateur Four-Ball South Championship. He also advanced to match play of the US Senior Amateur Championship. Rick placed third in the 2006 Senior Championship and tied for second in the 2006 Mid-Senior Championship.
Steven Jones, of Lakeland, and the Collier County Course Rating Team were awarded the Charlie Bedford Award for outstanding Volunteers.
Jones, an FSGA Committee Member since 2004, traveled North Central Florida to volunteer his time at more than 20 events last season. The Collier County Course Rating Team captained by Don Glaser and Bob Powers has rated over 20 courses this year in Southwest Florida.
Organized in 1913, the Florida State Golf Association is a not-for-profit organization that governs amateur golf in the state of Florida. In addition to conducting 22 championships for amateur golfers in the state, the FSGA is responsible for more than 40 qualifying tournaments for USGA National Championships. The FSGA also maintains the USGA Handicap System, performs course ratings throughout Florida and assists in junior programs and scholarships.
Contact:
Alyson Bartell
(813) 632-3742
abartell@fsga.org
