Henderson, Murphy, Dailey receive annual LPGA T&CP Division annual awards

Contact Leslie King
LPGA Tour
386-274-6270

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 3, 2001) -- The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Division has announced the 2001 recipients of its prestigious annual national awards, all of which are presented by Spalding: Nancy Henderson, LPGA International, Daytona Beach, Fla., Professional of the Year; Kathy Murphy, Arizona State University (ASU) Karsten Course, Tempe, Ariz., Teacher of the Year; and Dianne Dailey, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., Coach of the Year. The LPGA T&CP Division's Executive Committee selects the national award winners from the pool of sectional award winners voted on by the members of the LPGA T&CP Division's five regional sections.

Henderson, Professional of the Year

Henderson, a Class A member of both the LPGA T&CP Division and PGA, is well-known for her role as director of golf and general manager of LPGA International, the home course of the LPGA. Under her direction, the 39-hole facility (two 18-hole championship courses and a three-hole practice facility) hosts the annual LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament each fall, as well as hosted the 2000 Arch Wireless Championship, the LPGA's season-ending event for the top-30 money winners on the Tour, and the 2001 LPGA T&CP Southeast Section Championship.

Henderson, who joined the LPGA T&CP Division in 1990 and achieved Class A status in 1994, began her tenure at LPGA International in August 1999. As director of golf, Henderson plans, directs and supervises all aspects of the day-to-day operations and management of the entire golf complex, including clubhouse operations, food and beverage, course maintenance and public relations. She is responsible for a staff of 135 (golf operations, maintenance and food and beverage). She coordinated the opening of LPGA International's 20,000 square-foot clubhouse in January. Henderson implemented an employee newsletter and has decreased employee turnover by more than 50 percent since she began as director of golf.

At LPGA International in 2001, Henderson has hosted numerous golf clinics, including a PGA workshop with Craig Shankland and Moe Norman in February and a "(Breast cancer) Survivors Golf Clinic" in conjunction with the Daytona Beach Race for the Cure in May. She has also hosted several LPGA T&CP Division National Education Programs and evaluator training sessions. Off the golf course, Henderson hosts the weekly "LPGA International Golf Radio Show" on WNDB-Daytona Beach and is an advisor for the Volusia-Flagler Junior Golf Association.

"When I think of all the outstanding professionals who have won this award before me, I feel truly honored to be selected as LPGA Professional of the Year," said Henderson, a graduate of Southern Methodist University, which she attended on a four-year golf scholarship. "With all of the growth at LPGA International-opening the new clubhouse and getting LPGA Tour qualifying school moved to the Legends Course-it's been a busy year for me. So to receive this award really caps off a great year. It makes all the hard work worthwhile."

The LPGA Professional of the Year Award presented by Spalding, established in 1980, is awarded annually to a woman golf professional who is involved directly in the entire golf operation.

Murphy, Teacher of the Year

Murphy, a golf educator at Arizona State University (ASU) Karsten Golf Course, has been a member of the LPGA T&CP Division for nearly 25 years. She joined in 1977, achieved Class A status in 1982 and became a master professional in 2000. She has similarly worked her way up the ladder of golf employment-starting as a member of a golf course maintenance crew, then assistant golf professional, resident golf professional and teaching professional before securing her first head professional position at Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Fla., in 1985.

As a golf educator at the ASU Karsten Golf Course, Murphy provides golf instruction and education to golfers of all skill levels and ages. She has been coordinator of the LPGA Girls Golf Club Phoenix Future Stars Program since 1996, and six girls from the program are ranked in the top 135 of the Golfweek Performance Index. She instructs Brooke Todare, one of the top junior players in the United States, as well as Thuhashini Selvaratnam, an amateur champion ranked first in Arizona. She also instructs one of the top senior golfers in the area, provides golf education programs for students with learning limitations and has served as volunteer coach for the ASU women's golf team (1998-2001).

Murphy is chairperson of the LPGA Education and Research Advisory Board and has been lead instructor for the LPGA National Education Program series since 1997. She has contributed to the USGA Golf Journal and was listed among Golf for Women magazine's top-50 teachers and Golf Digest's best teachers in Arizona in 2000. She now adds her Teacher of the Year award to her 1988 Professional of the Year award. Murphy is only the second woman in LPGA T&CP Division history to collect more than one of the division's national awards (Mary Dagraedt owns three-1974 Teacher of the Year, 1981 Coach of the Year and 1984 Teacher of the Year).

"For a number of years, I have put in a lot of time with our National Education Program," said Murphy, who graduated from Miami University in 1973, "and I have enjoyed that so much-just the opportunity to meet so many young professionals and learn how many really great teachers we have in our association. They each, on a daily basis, dedicate their time and efforts to the game of golf and to their students. It is truly an honor to be selected as LPGA Teacher of the Year from such an outstanding group."

The LPGA Teacher of the Year Award presented by Spalding was established in 1958 and is presented to the woman teaching professional who best exemplifies her profession during the year.

Dailey, Coach of the Year

Dailey is the head women's golf coach at Wake Forest University, a position she has held since retiring from full-time competition on the LPGA Tour in 1988. Over the past 13 years, her team has earned 19 victories and made nine NCAA Championship appearances, finishing third in 1995, which stands as the second-highest finish for an ACC school in women's golf. Under her direction, the women's golf team has been ranked in the top-20 over the past nine years and won two ACC Championships (1994-95). She has coached two members to ACC Player of the Year honors (Stephanie Neill and current LPGA Tour standout Laura Diaz) and two to ACC Rookie of the Year honors (Alexandra Armas and Marta Prieto). Last season, the Demon Deacons finished the year ranked 15th nationally and second in the ACC. Four of her eight players posted sub-80 scoring averages and six of eight made the Dean's List.

Dailey also currently coaches two SBC Futures Tour players, Neill and Selena Wilkes.

In addition to her coaching duties, Dailey has served as Wake Forest University associate athletic director since 1996 and supervises five sports. Prior to taking on that position, she was the women's athletic director from 1988-96 and senior woman administrator from 1988-99. She has developed a series of clinics, which began in October, for high school coaches, and is associate director of the College Golf Foundation, a board member of National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) and a member of the United States Golf Association (USGA) Collegiate Affairs Committee. In January, Dailey was inducted into the NGCA Hall of Fame.

Prior to becoming the women's golf coach at Wake Forest University, Dailey competed on the LPGA Tour from 1979-88, where she recorded nine top-10 finishes. She was president of the LPGA Tournament Division in 1986 and served on the LPGA Board of Directors from 1985-86.

"This is the first time I have ever won a national award, and I am thrilled," said Dailey, who joined the LPGA T&CP Division in 1991 and achieved Class A status in 1992. "There are so many good coaches who are LPGA members, and it's getting better and better as the years go on. So many LPGA professionals are out there working with junior golfers, shaping and molding their games-it really makes my coaching job easier! I'm fortunate to get them after they've been taught by such strong role models."

The LPGA Coach of the Year Award presented by Spalding, established in 1980, is awarded annually to a woman golf professional who is actively engaged in teaching and/or coaching golf at the college, university or high school level.

Spalding Sports Worldwide and its Top-Flite, Strata, Etonic and Ben Hogan brands have been a long-time sponsor of the LPGA T&CP Division.

keywords: LPGA, T&CP, Nancy Henderson, Professional of the Year, Kathy Murphy, Teacher of the Year, Dianne Dailey, Coach of the Year, Spalding Sports Worldwide