News
Arizona Golf Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 7, 2022
Contact:
David Bataller
Director of Communications
[email protected]
(602) 944-3035
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Arizona Golf Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce the four inductees to the 2022 Class. Three modern candidates were selected by the Voting Delegates: Geri Cavanagh, Del Cochran and Missy Farr-Kaye; and one Legacy candidate was chosen by the Selectors Committee: Alice Cooper. The dinner and induction ceremony will be held Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
Invitations and RSVP’s to the ceremony will be available at a later date.
Geri Cavanagh, Amateur and Philanthropist
An accomplished golfer, businesswoman, philanthropist and volunteer, Geri Cavanagh’s contributions to the game of golf go well beyond her own achievements on the course. Her dedication to the game helped her capture numerous accolades, but perhaps more importantly, countless golfers have benefitted from her generosity over the last 50 years.
As a player, Cavanagh notched the first of her 12 Paradise Valley Country Club Championships in 1974. In all, she won 18 PVCC tournaments, eventually serving as the club’s President. She also served as President of White Mountain Country Club, and held board positions for the Arizona Women’s Golf Association (AWGA) and Phoenix Country Club. Cavanagh won five Arizona State Amateur Championships, three Phoenix City Championships, two Navapache Opens and one AWGA Amateur Stroke Play title – and once qualified as an alternate for the U.S. Women’s Open. At age 32, Cavanagh joined the golf team at Arizona State University and played in the 1983 NCAA Championships at age 36.
Although Cavanagh no longer plays golf competitively, her passion for the game has never wavered. In recent years she has turned her attention and energy into enabling others to thrive. She co-founded the PING Banner Health LPGA Tournament, and alongside her late husband, received the Turquoise Award for their contributions to the tournament and cancer prevention. Over the past 23 years, Cavanagh has donated nearly $1.2 million to junior golf; assisted with and contributed to the development of the ASU Karsten Golf Course; and contributed more than $300,000 to the Silver Belle Championship, LPGA Foundation, Marilynn Smith golf tournaments, PING Junior Golf University and the AWGA.
In 2011, she was awarded the Dorothy Pease Achievement Award – the AWGA’s highest honor. With her induction, Cavanagh joins her late husband, Harry, in the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame.
Del Cochran, Industry Leader
In 1963, Del Cochran made his first trip to Arizona, saw his first palm tree, smelled the orange blossoms, and decided this is where he was going to live. Raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cochran “headed West” to Arizona eight years later, working as an assistant professional at Apache Wells and Dobson Ranch before a two-year stint at El Paso Country Club, in Texas, working under renowned PGA Professional Bill Eschenbrenner. However, his love for Arizona was powerful, and he returned for good to become the first head professional at Pinnacle Peak Country Club from 1977 to 1981. During that time, he served on the Board of Directors of the SWSPGA with his final year as President of the section.
In 1992, Cochran joined his friend Gregg Tryhus to form the team that developed and operated Grayhawk Golf Club. They believed if something was good for golf, for Scottsdale, and for Arizona, they wanted to be at the forefront. Under their leadership, Grayhawk became one of the must plays in Arizona golf and remains so today.
A member of the Thunderbirds for 33 years, Cochran also spent 20+ years serving on the board of directors for Experience Scottsdale. In 2010, the American Junior Golf Association awarded Cochran the Digger Smith award, “honoring longtime service and dedication to junior golf.” Additionally, Grayhawk hosted the PGA Junior League Championship for six years, and is hosting the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships from 2021-2023.
Missy Farr-Kaye, Arizona State University Women’s Golf
Lifelong Arizonan Missy Farr-Kaye has continuously left her mark on golf in her home state over the last four decades. After a standout career at Xavier Preparatory Academy and playing junior golf at Papago Golf Course, Farr-Kaye played at Arizona State University. Shortly after her playing career, she joined ASU’s coaching staff as an assistant, and eventually became the program’s head coach in 2015. In each of her roles at ASU, Farr-Kaye brought the program to new heights.
In 2017, Farr-Kaye led the Sun Devils to the program’s nation-leading eighth NCAA championship. This was her first national championship as a head coach, which completed the rare feat of becoming a three-time NCAA national champion: winning the first as a player in 1990 and the second as an assistant coach in 2009. Over her tenure on the coaching staff at ASU, Farr-Kaye has led her teams to 16 NCAA Championship appearances, two Pac-10/Pac12 titles and a myriad of team and tournament titles.
Academically, her golfers have won the Edith Cummings Mason Award, given to the top female golfer who is both a playing All-American and Academic All-American. She has had four golfers named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, and her 2015 team had the highest grade-point average (3.65) within Sun Devil Athletics. Although Farr-Kaye solidified her legendary status by helping her student-athletes flourish during and after college, her own accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Among them are being named the ASU Alumni Achievement award, as well as four different Coach of the Year awards following the 2017 national championship season.
Most admirably, Farr-Kaye is a three-time cancer survivor and continued to coach through each bout, inspiring everyone around her with her perseverance and strength. For that, she was awarded the Kim Moore Spirit Award by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association in 2009, the first and only coach to receive the honor typically reserved for student-athletes.
LEGACY DIVISION
Alice Cooper, Philanthropist
Already a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Alice Cooper made the Valley his home as a teenager and can now add Arizona Golf Hall of Famer to his resume. In the midst of a flourishing career on the stage, he has found solace on the golf course and has since used the game to benefit others through his philanthropic efforts.
Early on in his music career, Cooper lived a traditional rock-and-roll lifestyle and in 1982, it led him to a doctor’s visit and a wake-up call for him to change his lifestyle. He stopped drinking, but it meant that he needed to find something else on which to focus. That turned out to be golf. Cooper picked up the game quickly and soon found himself playing 36 holes in a day as often as possible. Since then, he has played golf all around the world, but calls Phoenix Country Club his home club. He’s averaged 250 rounds per year, and with a 4-handicap, he has established himself as one of the best golfers on the celebrity circuit.
Cooper credits golf with saving his life, but he also uses the game as a vehicle to benefit the next generation of artists. He regularly hosts, participates in and performs at golf events that benefit his non-profit, Solid Rock, which he founded in 1995. Solid Rock’s mission is to inspire and challenge teens to embrace excellence and reach their full potential through the arts. Cooper regularly hosts and participates in golf tournaments that benefit his organization.
Through Solid Rock, Cooper opened Solid Rock Teen Centers in Phoenix and Mesa, where teens can discover and hone their talents. Equipped with state-of-the-art studios and equipment, the centers provide teens with free training in music, dance, art, recording, lighting, staging and video production.
About the Hall of Fame Committee
The Hall of Fame Committee consists of representatives from six of the allied golf associations serving golf in Arizona: Arizona Golf Association, Cactus & Pine Golf Course Superintendents, Club Managers Association, Junior Golf Association of Arizona and the Southwest Section PGA.