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Las Vegas, Nevada (September 30, 2012)--The PGA Tour's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is off and running in Las Vegas. The 2012 Night of Induction for the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame kicked off the festivities with PGA Tour stars Ryan Moore and Charley Hoffman, along with superintendent Don "Mac" McCoy and the historic Valley View Golf Club, being inducted. And these photos reveal a special evening for the Las Vegas Golf Community. --By Brian Hurlburt, Photos MartinPhotoGroup.com
More than 200 people gathered at The Hill at TPC Summerlin for the ceremony on Saturday, September 29. The Hill is a VIP viewing spot during the annual JT Shriners Open which officially kicks off with PGA Tour play October 4-7, 2012, but there are several activities surrounding the tournament including the Charley Hoffman Foundation Pro-Am and the MGM Resorts International Pro-Am.
In addition to the current Hall of Fame members, several previous inductees also attended. Those included Art Sellinger, Chris Riley, Craig Barlow, Laurie Johnson, Louis Redden, Eric Dutt, Joe Kelly, Jerry Roberts, Dwaine Knight, Jeremy Anderson from the 1998 NCAA Championship UNLV Golf team, Jack Sheehan, Dick Huff, and Jimmie Bullard.
Don “Mac” McCoy was the longtime superintendent of Las Vegas Municipal Golf Course, and was responsible for co-designing and building the 9-hole addition of the 18-hole course. With his induction, McCoy became the first superintendent to be recognized by the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame for the prestigious honor. In 1950, he landed in the Parks Department at the City of Las Vegas and in 1952 became the superintendent of the Municipal Golf Course at Vegas Drive and Decatur.
The Valley View Golf Club was organized by 15 individuals in the nineteen fifties. Valley View was initially organized as a means for predominantly Black golfers to unite and fellowship in meaningful golfing competition, especially since certain doors in the community were not yet open to individuals of color. The members of Valley View Golf Club soon began to introduce and promote golfing to minority youth in the Southern Nevada Community. The club has recognized the following individuals as a partial list of the Valley View Golf Club Founders: Felbert Cobbs, Uvalde Caperton, Johnus Geran, Jimmy Bell, Sr., Dr. Garnet Ice, Henry Moore, Willie “Punch” Hughes, Jim Robertson, R.J. Robinson, Marshall Brunch, A.T. McCoy, and Jimmy Gay. The first President of Valley View was Mr. Felbert Cobbs. The Founders had the incredible foresight to promptly affiliate with the Western States Golf Association (WSGA) during the latter part of 1958.
Ryan Moore is a PGA TOUR winner and won the 2004 NCAA individual title and the U.S. Amateur among several other NCAA and amateur events while playing at UNLV. Heis regarded as having the best golf career in the history of the UNLV golf program, but Moore is also known worldwide for possibly putting together the best year ever in the history of amateur golf. In that magical year of 2004, Moore also won the U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Publink Links, the Western Amateur, and the prestigious Sahalee Players Championship. He also earned two other collegiate victories in addition to the NCAA title and finished in the top 10 in 10 of the 13 college tournaments he played. And in 2005, he finished T13 at The Masters, earning the honor of Low Amateur.
Charley Hoffman is a two-time PGA TOUR champion and a member of the 1998 UNLV team that won the NCAA championship. Hefirst fell in love with Las Vegas while attending UNLV as a member of the Rebels golf team, a perennial national powerhouse. Hoffman was a part of the 1998 team which won the NCAA Championship, and will forever be linked to one of the greatest teams in the history of all UNLV sports. In college, Hoffman adhered to the strict regimen of UNLV Golf Head Coach Dwaine Knight, a Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame inductee, but he was also known as a free spirit and for his go-for-broke playing style.
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