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Class of 1976
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Vinny Giles
Vinny Giles, a native of Lynchburg, placed his name with the elite by winning the amateur championships of America and Britain. He began winning in competitive golf at such an early age that he appears to be an old established pro.
Giles captured his first Virginia Amateur Championship in 1962 and his sixth in 1971. To prove that he could beat the pros at their game, Giles went out and won the 1969 Open Championship of the Virginia State Golf Association. Despite his potential for the pro tour, he made the decision to “never play for pay,” and maintained his amateur status.
Giles won the U.S. Amateur in Charlotte, N.C. in 1972, the final year the tournament was decided by stroke play. His score for four rounds was 73-68-72-72-285, one over par and three shots better than runners-up Mark Hayes and Ben Crenshaw. In 1975 Giles won the British Amateur in Hoylake on the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, edging Dick Siderowf in the semifinals and then walloping Mark James 8 and 7 in the finals.
The golf fans in Virginia saw Giles win their Eastern Amateur Championship in a 1973 playoff over Bob Byman, David Strawn and Dallas McCoy. He qualified for the playoff with a 100-foot chip-in at the 72nd hole of regulation play.
(To Sports Inductees List) |
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