GOLF, Ill. – July 26, 2023 – The Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Selection Committee voted to induct six candidates representing all facets of the game into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Inductees will be recognized at an Induction Ceremony scheduled for Friday, November 10 at The Glen Club in Glenview, Ill., home of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
“This esteemed 20th Illinois Golf Hall of Fame class captures the breadth of golf in the state, with early pioneer and Olympian Margaret Abbott Dunne, modern-day standout player Dave Ryan, behind-the-scenes innovator Dr. Randy Kane, multi-tasker Harry Collis, and charity-minded PGA professionals Tim O’Neal and Bruce Patterson.,” said Selection Committee chair Tim Cronin. “It couldn’t be more diverse or vibrant.”
The following nominees were elected to the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2023:
- Margaret Abbott Dunne – The first American woman to win an Olympic competition, Margaret Abbott triumphed in the 1900 golf competition in Paris, and was awarded a decorated porcelain bowl, gold medals not yet in vogue. Her golf game was honed at Chicago Golf Club, where she was taught by James Foulis and played often with Charles Blair Macdonald and his son-in-law, H.J. Whigham, went from a 19 handicap to scratch in a year, won several club competitions and was second in the 1897 Governors’ Cup at Onwentsia, the leading tournament for female players in the west.
- Harry Collis – Most closely associated with Flossmoor, Harry Collis was a player, club professional, architect, superintendent and turf grass innovator across 40 years. His Flossmoor Bentgrass strain was planted on courses in the Midwest served by his Flossmoor Nursery for decades. His surviving Chicago-area course designs include Glenwoodie and the redesign of Flossmoor. He also finished in the top 10 in four Western Opens.
- Randy Kane – Nicknamed “The Family Doctor” for his close attention to the turf quality of the Chicago District’s courses, Kane has a doctorate in plant pathology from Cornell University and served as the Chicago District Golf Association’s first director of turfgrass programs from 1985 through 2006. He was a leader in identifying problems and passing the solutions to some 400 clubs in the CDGA area.
- Tim O’Neal, PGA – Like mentor Bill Ogden before him, Tim O’Neal has been a mentor to many assistants in his 22-year career as Head PGA Professional at North Shore Country Club. O’Neal was an assistant to Ogden for three years before taking the head job at Country Club of Peoria, returning to North Shore in 1995. Twice a Section Professional of the Year (first in South Florida in 1994, then in Illinois in 2005), O’Neal also served on the Illinois PGA and Foundation boards and is currently President of the Illinois PGA Foundation. Twenty of his assistants and students have become head professionals, directors of golf or instruction across the country. In recent years, O’Neal has been responsible for reuniting hundreds of PGA Professionals with their earned share of a total of $3 million held in a forgotten retirement savings fund created by golf manufacturer Slazenger in the 1980s.
- Bruce Patterson, PGA – A two-time Illinois PGA professional of the year (1993, 1996), Patterson was instrumental in creating and nurturing the Illinois PGA Foundation. The longtime Head PGA Professional / Director of Golf at Butler National Golf Club spent a decade as President of the Foundation and was also the Section President in 1995-96, and also a PGA of America Regional Director. Named the Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year in 2001, he is among the best at getting his players to escape bunkers. He earned PGA Master Professional status with a thesis on hosting a PGA Tour tournament, in Butler’s case the Western Open, at his club.
- Dave Ryan – Coming out of Taylorville, Ryan has built a formidable resume in senior amateur golf. Four times (2009, 2013, 2015, 2016), Ryan’s won the Illinois Senior Amateur. Seven times in an eight-year span from 2009 through 2016, he won the Chicago District Golf Association’s Senior Player of the Year award. Three times he captured the Central Illinois Player of the Year honor. And in 2016, he won the U.S. Senior Amateur at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis. He’s 8-5-2 in 15 Radix Cup appearances.
About the Illinois PGA/Illinois PGA Foundation
The Illinois Section of the PGA of America is a professional organization serving the men and women golf professionals in northern and central Illinois who are the recognized experts in growing, teaching and managing the game of golf. The Illinois PGA is responsible for the administration of competitive golf tournaments, educational opportunities, support programs and growth of the game initiatives. With over 840 members and apprentices, the Illinois PGA is one of the 41 regional Sections that comprise the PGA of America. The Illinois PGA Foundation focuses its community efforts on promoting the goodwill and growth of the game with an emphasis on activities that benefit youth. Foundation initiatives include: GolfWorks Illinois, Youth-based Scholarship Funds and the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. For more information about the Illinois PGA and the Illinois PGA Foundation, please visit www.ipga.com and join us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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CONTACT:
Kevin Quinn
Illinois PGA Communications
(847) 729-4102 direct
(708) 336-1294 mobile
kbquinn@pgahq.com