Preserving Golf's History for Future Generations
Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame Members
Lou Graham (1938 - )
Inducted in 1991
Lou Graham of Nashville won the 1975 U.S. Open at Medinah Country Club in suburban Chicago. While in the army, Graham served as a member of the ceremonial Honor Guard that guards the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery and his All-Army golf team won the Inter-Service championship. Graham won six times on the PGA Tour, amassing over $1.4 million in career earnings. He played on three Ryder Cup teams (1973, 1975, and 1977) and the winning 1975 World Cup team. In 1979, Golf Digest presented him with the Comeback of the Year Award.
Dudley "Waxo"Green (1912-1994)
Inducted 1991
Dudley “Waxo” Green was a golf writer for the Nashville Banner for 44 years. He served one term as president of the Golf Writer’s Association of America and was a Golf World correspondent for many years. Green was a member of the TGA Board of Directors and served on the selection committee for the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame. Waxo was one of the most popular golf writers of his time. The Tennessee PGA’s annual Pro-Pro Championship is played in his honor.
Dr. Cary Middlecoff​​ (1921-1998)
Inducted 1991
Cary Middlecoff forsook dentistry to become one of the world’s greatest golfers of his time. Before turning pro, Cary won four consecutive Tennessee Amateur Championships (1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943). He won 37 PGA Tour events, including the 1949 and 1956 U.S. Open and the 1955 Masters. The only Tennessean to have been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, Middlecoff played on three Ryder Cup teams (1953, 1955, and 1959). He was the tour’s leading money winner in the 1950’s. After his retirement in 1963, he became a successful TV golf commentator.
Lew Oehmig (1916-2002)
Inducted 1991
Lew Oehmig of Lookout Mountain won state and national tournaments in six decades. He won the TGA State Amateur eight times (1937, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1962, 1970, and 1971) and the TGA Senior Amateur seven times (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1983), both records. Oehmig won three U.S. Senior Amateur Championships (1972, 1976, and 1985). Until 2003, Lew held the title of oldest U.S.G.A. champion, having won the U.S. Senior Amateur at age 69. In 1977, the USGA named him captain of the U.S. Walker Cup team and in 1994 he received the Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor.
Curtis Person, Sr. (1910-1997)
Inducted 1991
Curtis Person Sr. of Memphis won 149 tournaments. He won two TGA State Open Championships (1953 and 1957) and two Mississippi Amateur titles (1968 and 1969). He won two U.S. Senior Amateur Championships (1968 and 1969). Golf Digest ranked Curtis No. 1 senior golfer in the world for five straight years (1966-1970). In 1958, he was a co-founder of what is now the St. Jude Classic. The TGA State Open trophy bears his name.
Betty Probasco (1929 - )
Inducted 1991
Betty Probasco of Lookout Mountain won her first state championship in 1949 and her final one in 1986, 37 years later. A native of Kentucky, Betty won the Kentucky Women’s Amateur four times (1949, 1951, 1952, and 1953), plus the 1950 National Intercollegiate while attending Rollins College. In Tennessee, she won the Tennessee Women’s Amateur eight times (1954, 1955, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1980, 1981, and 1986) and the State Senior Amateur in 1980. Her other accomplishments included winning the Women’s Southern Amateur in 1955 and serving as captain of the 1982 Curtis Cup team.
Mason Rudolph (1934-2011)
Inducted 1991
Mason Rudolph of Clarksville became the first Tennessee amateur to win a USGA championship. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1950. That same year he qualified for the U.S. Open at the age of 16. He was the first player ever to have won the TGA State Open and the TGA State Amateur in the same calendar year—1956. He won five additional State Opens (1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, and 1972). Mason played for 30 years on the PGA Tour, winning five times.