Record-matching Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee class draws 420 to induction dinner; Wyndham Clark, Jennifer Kupcho, George Solich, Pat Hamill, Joe Assell and the late Gene Torres make up impressive group
By Gary Baines – 12/2/2024
DENVER — A new class for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame was inducted for the 51st time on Sunday night. Each one of those 51 has been special and memorable, but the 2024 edition — held at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center — was distinctive in some very notable ways:
— With six inductees, it matched the largest class size ever for the CGHOF, which also enshrined a half-dozen people in 1976. The six inducted on Sunday were Joe Assell, Wyndham Clark, Pat Hamill, Jennifer Kupcho, George Solich and the late Gene Torres.
— Sunday’s class featured two of the youngest inductees ever — tour players Clark, who turns 31 on Dec. 9, and Kupcho, 27. In fact, Kupcho is believed to be the youngest inductee of all the 154 who have been enshrined since 1973.
— Never before Sunday had two active major tour players been inducted on a single night. PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions who were inducted while still active on tour include Dave Hill (1973), Hale Irwin (1974), Dale Douglass (1977), Dow Finsterwald (1978, occasional tour events at the time), Steve Jones (1997), Brandt Jobe (2005), Mark Wiebe (2011 on Champions Tour) and Craig Stadler (2016 on Champions Tour). The only previous LPGA player inducted while still active on tour was Jill McGill (2009).
— No doubt because of the general prominence of the 2024 class, including the presence of two major champions (Kupcho with the 2022 Chevron Championship and Clark with the 2023 U.S. Open) — plus due to the number of inductees — about 420 people attended Sunday night’s dinner, including 21 individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame in previous years. CGHOF executive director Jon Rizzi called it the largest attendance ever for the event. And in many ways that 420 featured a veritable who’s who of the Colorado golf community.
“I truly believe we are inducting one of our strongest classes ever,” said Bob Webster, president of the Hall of Fame.
The induction class (from left): Gene Torres’ son, Gene, representing his father; George Solich, Joe Assell, Jennifer Kupcho, Wyndham Clark and Pat Hamill.
The inductions were the first formally held by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame since September 2022 as the 2023 CGHOF celebration was focused on its 50th anniversary festivities and the opening of the organization’s new museum at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
Also honored on Sunday were several award winners: Jim Hillary (2023 Golf Person of the Year); Kathy Walker (Lifetime Achievement), Mark Passey (Distinguished Service), and Charlie Tucker and Logan Hale (2023 Future Famers).
The crowd for Sunday’s induction dinner.
It should be noted here that the 2025 inductee class — which will be formally inducted on a date and at a site to be determined — was announced earlier this fall. It includes elite-level senior amateur players Robert Polk of Parker and Jon Lindstrom of Denver, superintendents Lance Johnson and the late Rollie Cahalane, and PGA pro Tom Apple. In addition, seven CGHOF honorees will be recognized in 2025: Geoff “Duffy” Solich (Golf Person of the Year); Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Keith Schneider and TV broadcaster Verne Lundquist (Lifetime Achievement); superintendent Mitch Savage (Distinguished Service); Miles Kuhl and Tyler Long (Male Future Famers); and Ashleigh Wilson (Female Future Famer). For more about the 2025 class and recently named honorees, CLICK HERE.
Here are a few of Sunday’s notable quotes from inductees:
Kupcho (left), with husband Jay Monahan and parents Janet and Mike.
— From Kupcho — who noted before Sunday’s ceremony that her awards case, which features the trophies from her three LPGA wins, also includes one she received as a 7-8-year-old for placing second in a Colorado Junior Golf Association 10-and-under tournament — regarding hailing from the Centennial State:
“Whether you were the competitors, the tournament organizers, the media, the golf courses or the fans, I continue to take all the lessons that I learned growing up in this amazing state with me as I continue to live out the dream of (competing on) the LPGA Tour. Every individual who has cheered me on (has helped) get me where I am today. I feel very lucky to have grown up in a state where golf is more than just a sport, but a cherished way of life.”
And on going into the Hall of Fame:
“It’s such a great honor to be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. This is a really special moment for me and my family. To be recognized in the company of so many incredible players and contributors to the game of golf in our great state of Colorado really means a lot to me.”
Wyndham Clark.
— From Clark, the No. 6-ranked golfer in the world, who will return to competition at this week’s 20-man Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods in the Bahamas:
“I’m so honored and blessed to be in front of you guys. It’s an amazing group of people being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I do feel very young. I want to say to Jennifer (Kupcho) — we both have three (tour) wins. Let’s try to double that next year.”
On his mom, Lise, who passed away in 2013 after battling breast cancer:
“She’s kind of the inspiration of why I do what I do — not only on the golf course, but off the golf course. I’m so thankful for what she instilled in me at such a young age. I wish she could be here today. I know she’d be super proud of me.”
Clark with girlfriend Alicia Bogdanski .
And … “I cannot believe that I’m here. I’m very young. I didn’t think I’d be giving speeches like this for the Hall of Fame at the age of 30. So I’m so blessed. I love this game, but I feel golf goes beyond (the course). My mom instilled in me this great motto which is to ‘play big.’ Play for something bigger than yourself. So I stress to anyone — both young kids and adults — to not view your profession just for your own personal accolades but to do something for something greater than yourself. If that’s giving back, if that’s influence, if that’s growing the game of golf or your business, do that.“
George Solich.
— From Solich, a former University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum who spearheaded the effort to bring the PGA Tour’s 2014 and 2024 BMW Championships to Colorado and helped found the highly regarded and often-recreated Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy. (He, along with older brother Duffy, were inducted into the Western Golf Association’s Caddie Hall of Fame this year.):
“Thank you to the (Colorado Golf) Hall of Fame board. Thank you for considering an old caddie for the Hall of Fame — and that I’m a worthy recipient of this amazing honor.”
Regarding Duffy, who led his younger brother to become a caddie at The Broadmoor back in the late 1970s:
“Thank you for being my partner in the caddie yard.”
Solich became the fourth former CU Evans Scholar to be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, joining Mark Crabtree (2006), Tom Woodard (2013) and Gary Baines (2022).
“Becoming an Evans Scholar and getting a full ride to college when higher education wasn’t really even close to being in the cards was such a fabulous, positive turn in my life. I’ll really spend the rest of my life trying to pay back all that this unique and wonderful, fabulous scholarship gave to me. … What I’ll always appreciate is not only a college education but all that it did for me.”
Solich with CGHOF president Bob Webster. Both are CU Evans Scholar alums.
On golf in general:
“I think we are blessed tonight to be part of the greatest game that was ever invented. It has such a rich history and is full of great traditions. It’s enormously challenging, it’s unquestionably full of some great people and in one form or another it can last a lifetime. The game of golf has enriched my life so much.”
Pat Hamill.
— From Hamill, who played such a crucial role in resurrecting the Colorado Open two decades ago after it fell victim to mismanagement by the event’s previous organizers, and who has made both the Colorado Open and the Colorado Women’s Open the gold standards of state opens, thanks partly to raising the purses to $250,000, with the winner receiving $100,000 in each case:
“Ultimately, what the spirit of this (CGHOF) award is all about is how we do things and do them right. Improving our game in hopes of making our communities — where we live and where we work — a little better for everyone. … Tonight, I want to encourage every golfer in this room and every person in this room to be the best version of themselves and do something to give back this next week — something little, something small. But do one thing to give back, something that will help us improve our game, improve the communities in which we live — which is the true spirit of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, and what this award is all about.”
Hamill is in the midst of founding a new country club and course near Parker Road and E-470 in south Aurora.
Joe Assell.
— From Assell, the co-founder of GOLFTEC (with Clayton Cole) and the longtime CEO, reflecting on the early years of the company, which has become one of the world leaders in golf instruction, club fittings and training systems:
“I wouldn’t say (Cole) was on ‘Team Joe’; I think I was on ‘Team Clayton’ at that time. … I was the only employee. I was the head of finance, the head of marketing, head of teaching golf, the head of bathroom cleaning. I have 1,500 employees now; I tell them I did all of their jobs at one point.”
In early 2022, the PGA of America named Assell the national Golf Executive of the Year.
The late Gene Torres.
— From the late Gene Torres’ son, also named Gene, speaking for his father, who won a Colorado Open and a Colorado state high school individual title but passed away in 2005:
“I would just like to say, on behalf of my family, I am grateful and honored that the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame has honored my father with this prestigious award. I know that (the man known as) ‘The Rock’ is looking down and is smiling that he received this great accolade.”
The elder Torres, a native of Trinidad who won more than 80 tournaments, also is a member of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.
For more information about the accomplishments of Sunday’s inductees and honorees, CLICK HERE.
Jim Hillary: 2023 Golf Person of the Year.
Mark Passey (right, with Webster): Distinguished Service Award.
Kathy Walker: Lifetime Achievement Award.
Charlie Tucker: Male Future Famer for 2023.
Logan Hale: Female Future Famer for 2023.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com