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PHOTO GALLERY
[July 28, 2010]
by Buddy
Pearson, Managing Editor, Herald-Citizen,
Cookeville, Tennessee, Tuesday, March 2, 2010.
PHOTO
CAPTION:
Cookeville
golfing
legend Bobby
Greenwood
looks at the
replica of
the late
Bobby
Nichols
Distinguished
Service
Award at
Golf House
of
Tennessee.
Greenwood
was honored
with the
Tennessee
PGA
Distinguished
Career Award
Sunday, one
year after
his good
friend
Nichols was
honored with
the award.
FRANKLIN — Bobby Greenwood
won enough trophies and
plaques during his
competitive golfing days to
fill a house. A member of
three different halls of
fame, Greenwood can add
another honor to his long
list of accolades. The
Cookeville native and former
PGA Tour player has received
the Tennessee PGA
Distinguished Career Award.
Greenwood was recognized on
Sunday night at Golf House
of Tennessee where the new
permanent Distinguished
Career Award display was
unveiled.
“It’s just another award that
I don’t feel like I deserve,”
said the humble Greenwood. “To
be a part of this display and
all the history here, it’s
beyond your wildest dreams.”
The Distinguised Career Award
is the highest honor the
Tennessee PGA can bestow upon a
golf professional. It recognizes
current or former Tennessee PGA
Section members who have had
outstanding careers as PGA
Professionals based on service
to their club, course or
employer, service and leadership
to the association, community
service, professional playing
record and teaching ability. The
Distinguished Career Award
acknowledges these Tennessee PGA
Professionals as vital and
significant contributors to the
game of golf.
A member of the Tennessee
Golf Hall of Fame, Greenwood was
recognized along with fellow
Hall of Famers Pat Abbott,
Cotton Berrier, Joe Campbell,
Harold Elller, Gibby Gilbert,
Lou Graham, Don Malarkey, Cary
Middlecoff, Teddy Rhodes, Loren
Roberts and Mason Rudolph, who
were also receiving the
Distinguished Career Award.
“It was great to see Mason
Rudolph and see him looking so
healthy,” Greenwood said. “It’s
amazing to see some of these
guys and to be recognized along
with them.”
Greenwood joins an elite
group of only 26 other PGA
Professionals who have received
this honor. Among those is the
late Bobby Nichols, who passed
away almost two years ago. As a
long-time PGA Professional and
owner of Ironwood, Nichols
mentored many of the state’s PGA
Professionals while he served
more than 30 years as the head
coach of the TTU golf programs.
As a player, Nichols won more
than 100 tournaments, including
the 1992 Tennessee State Open as
well as the 1994, 1996 and 1997
Tennessee Senior Opens. He
qualified and played in 21 PGA
Club Professional Championships
and two U.S. Senior Open
Championships. Nichols also
qualified for every Tennessee
PGA Cup Match Team from its
inception in 1968 to 2007,
serving as team captain four
times. Two of Nichols’ longtime
friends, Elaine Garrison and Kim
Meredith, were on hand to accept
his replica, which will be on
permanent display.
“It’s bittersweet,” Garrison
said. “I should be happy and
excited but I’m sad. I guess it
will always be that way.”
Nichols and Greenwood were the
best of friends for nearly 50
years. After being introduced to
golf at the Cookeville Country
Club at the age of 12,
Greenwood’s amateur career took
off like a rocket. During the
1960s, he dominated amateur play
in the state of Tennessee,
winning the 1966 State Amateur
and the 1968 State Open,
becoming just the third of eight
golfers to accomplish the feat.
He was one of just seven golfers
to ever win the prestigious
Sunnehanna Amateur twice and was
ranked by Golf Magazine among
the nation’s Top 10 amateurs on
two occasions.
Greenwood began a glorious
collegiate career at Tennessee
Tech, finishing as the Ohio
Valley Conference runner-up as a
freshman. After transferring to
North Texas State, he was a
three-time All-American while
finishing second in three
consecutive Missouri Valley
Conference Championships.
After turning pro in 1969, he
made the cut in 72 PGA events,
finishing in the Top 10 six
times and in the Top 25 in 15
different tournaments. “People
are the most important thing,”
said Greenwood, who is also a
member of the North Texas
University and Riverside
Military Academy Hall of Fames.
“I’ve got trophies and plaques
where the name has fallen off
and I can’t remember where I won
them. People are the most
important thing in the world.
“It’s such an honor to have
people who care about you come
down and be a part of this,”
Greenwood continued. “To see
friends of Bobby Nichols come
down — they love me, too.”
PHOTO CAPTION:
Cookeville’s Bobby
Greenwood, right,
poses with fellow
Tennessee Golf Hall
of Famer and
Distinguished Career
Award recipient
Mason Rudolph
Sunday night at
Tennessee Golf
House.
u
Bobby
Greenwood's Christian Faith
Backsliders celebrate 60th
By JIM ROGERS
Herald-Citizen,
Sunday, October 4, 2009
COOKEVILLE -- In 1949 or 1950, when Bobby
Greenwood was a young boy, his father, Bob
Greenwood, started taking him to Backsliders
Class at First United Methodist Church in
Cookeville. Impressionable Bobby was
especially taken by the President of the
class -- smart, polished and a deeply
committed Christian. Although Bobby thought
he could never be good enough to hold that
position, in 2006-2007 the class elected him
president.
Organized on Oct. 1, 1949, the Backsliders
met for the first year at Vaughn's Grill on
the Square near the church building. "Young
Men's Fellowship" was the original name for
a variety of reasons, chiefly because ladies
were not invited for several years. Men
continue to outnumber ladies in the class,
but not in significant numbers.
In its early days, the group did not sing
because they claimed they could not. Mr. and
Mrs. Jeff Wall, he a noted local Gospel
singer and she a gifted accompanist, began
leading them and all heaven broke loose.
Greenwood testifies that their music was
instrumental in his accepting Jesus as
Savior and Lord of his life. Although the
Walls went to their reward years ago, echoes
of old Gospel hymns reverberate through the
building in which Jeff Wall Hall is located.
Members who wish to contribute funds may,
and those moneys have gone to support
numerous struggling churches and para-church
organizations. In addition to supporting
church ministries such as the Ministers'
Emergency Fund and the Food Pantry, they
reach out to the community with financial
aid to Mustard Seed Ranch, Cookeville Rescue
Mission, Fellowship of Christian Athletes,
Heart of the Cumberlands and many others.
When former class president Jim Ross became
a Backslider in 1969, he was struck by the
diversity of class members ranging from
top-level executives, local business owners
and millionaires to regular working people
who had not been accustomed to participating
in religious activity. Retired Army Col.
Hubert Crawford served as the city's police
chief and would on occasion bring inmates to
class on Sunday mornings. As its name
suggests, pomposity is far from being a
trademark of the Backsliders. When the
Pharisees attacked Jesus for hanging out
with tax collectors and sinners, he answers
them, It is not those who are healthy who
need a physician, but those who are sick."
(Matthew 9:12) Their goal has been to search
out and help those who were not connected
with any church and proclaim the Gospel to
them.
When Fred Moore, a history professor at
Tennessee Tech, was one of the regular class
teachers, he provided them with this
unofficial motto: "They ain't no hypocrites
here cause we don't claim to be nothin'."
The official motto became and is this: "Any
person regardless of state can become the
person he should be through the power of
Jesus Christ." For several years, teaching
duties were assigned to specific teachers
for the various Sundays of the month. In
more recent years, a committee of six
people, each of whom arranges two months of
programs, has been in effect. This has
resulted in an interesting array of speakers
and subjects.
On Sunday, Oct. 11 in the Christian Life
Center of First Methodist Church, beginning
at 12:30 p.m., there will be a 60th birthday
celebration for the Backsliders Class. The
program will include music by the Webb
Sisters. All former Backsliders are urged to
attend this joyful celebration. To determine
how many porkers need to make the supreme
sacrifice, notice of your plans to attend
would be appreciated by the planners. Call
president Dave Thomas...
I may
have to be a few minutes late but I plan to
be there. I hope to see many former and
present Backsliders.
Source:
Herald-Citizen,
published Sunday,
October 4, 2009,
Cookeville,
Tennessee.
u
Media Release:
"On tour with the Tour"
Buddy Pearson
Herald-Citizen Managing Editor
Saturday, Jun 20, 2009
COOKEVILLE — For seven years, Bobby
Greenwood was a regular on the PGA
Tour. A player who made several cuts
and consistent money, Greenwood
competed in a lot of PGA Tour events
at several different courses.
More
than 30 years since teeing it up in
his last PGA Tour event, Greenwood
is taking a walk down memory lane
with his wife Elma and 10-year-old
daughter Viola with a tour of the
Tour.
Photo caption: Bobby
Greenwood stands near
one of the scoreboards
at The Players
Championship in Ponte
Vedra Beach, Florida.
There
are 20 PGA Tour tournaments or
courses where PGA tournaments are
being played this year that
Greenwood has played in or played
on.
There
are also four on the Champions Tour
schedule.
“It’s
bittersweet because I feel like
without the injuries I would have
won more,” said Greenwood, whose
career was cut short by a wrist
injury. “It hurts you a little bit
when everyone knows what you could
have done but I didn’t get to. At
the same time I’m very proud of what
I’ve done. I should have done a lot
better.”
A winner
of over 150 amateur and professional
tournaments, including the PGA
Tour’s Rhode Island Open, Greenwood
has been giving his wife and
daughter a first-hand look of what
life was like on the Tour in the
1970’s.
“This is
what my life used to be,” said
Greenwood. “This is what I worked 25
years for.”
Greenwood and his family went to the
Ryder Cup matches last year at
Valhalla and the Grand Slam of Golf
in Bermuda.
“Considering my background, where I
came from, a third world country,
you can only imagine how exciting it
is for me to meet and talk with
superstars in the world of golf,”
said Elma, who is from the
Philippines. “I enjoy watching Bobby
meet old friends that he played with
while on the PGA Tour, and to visit
places and famous golf courses where
Bobby Greenwood competed while on
the PGA Tour is a rare experience.”
One of
the best experiences for Elma and
Viola came last month when Greenwood
returned to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte
Vedra, Fla., where Greenwood used to
be the head professional.
“We took
pictures where I used to give
lessons on the range and we went
down to where my condo was,” said
Greenwood. “It brought back a lot of
memories.”
Greenwood was recognized at a
breakfast in conjunction with The
Players Championship, which is held
annually at TPC Sawgrass.
“When I
was introduced, it thrilled Elma and
Viola,” Greenwood said. Seeing
Greenwood get the recognition from
the former and current PGA Tour
players makes his wife and daughter
gush with pride.
“It is
interesting that Bobby doesn’t
realize the importance and great
things that he accomplished during
his playing career,” Elma said. “My
husband is a very humble and kind
man. Viola just enjoys everything
and thinks her dad is a superstar.”
Photo
caption: PGA Tour
golfer Jim Furyk
signs a flag for
Viola Greenwood at
the Grand Slam of
Golf.
The next
stop on Greenwood’s tour of the Tour
will be in October at Harding Park
Golf Course in San Francisco. The
President’s Cup will be held there
but Greenwood played the course when
it was the San Francisco Open.
“It
sometimes seems bittersweet to Bobby
to revisit a tournament where he
competed,” Elma explained. “As we
visit various tournament sites,
Bobby would share with me his
experience and anecdotes that
happened with fellow PGA Tour
players. I really enjoy hearing the
firsthand accounts of things that
happened and being there at the
spot.”
While
Elma enjoys hearing the stories,
Viola enjoys getting the autographs
of current PGA Tour players. She got
Jim Furyk to sign a flag at the
Grand Slam of Golf and Phil
Mickelson signed a ball at The
Players Championship.
“Viola
has turned into an autograph hound,”
said Elma. “She said, ‘When I get
Tiger Woods’ autograph, I will
retire.’”
Until
then, the Greenwoods plan on
continuing their tour of the Tour.
Source:
Herald-Citizen
u
Bobby
Greenwood had a very hectic and fun 2008. Being a spectator
to these PGA Tour tournaments - The Players at Sawgrass,
Ryder Cup at Valhalla and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in
Bermuda, brought back memories for him when he played the
PGA Tour... However, due to a busy schedule, updating this
website and uploading new photos, etc. has been delayed. We
hope to remedy this in the coming months. ~ GreenwoodPGA.net Team, 3/4/2009.
u
Please
click
here to see the NCAA/MVC College Career Photo Gallery.
u
NEW NEWSPAPER CLIP uploaded -
"The Bobby Greenwood-Jack Nicklaus Match" - at the
SELECTED ARTICLES Section of this site...
u
NEW LINK added to this site -
NCAA/Missouri Valley Conference/College Career of Bobby
Greenwood.
u
Please STANDBY for more updates on this website as we also
update the PHOTO ARCHIVE/GALLERY.
u Read
the latest media article below on
Bobby Greenwood, written by Buddy Pearson, Managing Editor
of Herald-Citizen, July 27, 2008.**
Personal Note by Bobby Greenwood, July 27, 2008:
"Buddy Pearson, Managing Editor of
the Herald-Citizen, is too kind. He can make even me look
good with his rare talent as a writer."
uFor NEW UPDATES, check Bobby
Greenwood's OFFICIAL BLOG at:
http://greenwoodpga.wordpress.com/
Greenwood appreciating
past success these days
by
Buddy Pearson,
Herald-Citizen
Managing Editor,
Sunday, July 27,
2008
Photo Caption:
Bobby Greenwood
first learned to
play golf at the age
of 12 at the
Cookeville Country
Club. His
accomplishments in
Amateur and
professional
tournaments
throughout his
illustrious career
are being recognized
more and more these
days.
COOKEVILLE —
When you have
accomplished as
much in golf as
Bobby Greenwood
has, it’s kind
of hard to keep
up with it all.
But the hall of
famer has found
a new
appreciation for
his success on
the links. Like
a treasure
that’s been
discovered and
put in a museum
for everyone to
see, Greenwood’s
golfing
achievements
have been found
again and put on
the Internet for
the world to
view. With the
help of his wife
Elma,
Greenwood’s
storied golf
career is
chronicled on
the Internet at
www.greenwoodpga.net.
“Honestly, the
Internet and my
website and the
wonderful articles
by the sports editor
of the paper
validated what I
did,” said
Greenwood. “Even I
had forgotten.”
Some of Greenwood’s
more memorable
golfing escapades
are already noted in
five different
books: My 55 Ways to
Lower Your Golf
Score by Jack
Nicklaus; My Story
by Jack Nicklaus;
Southern Golf
Association: The
First Hundred Years
by Gene Pearce; The
History of Tennessee
Golf by Gene Pearce;
and, most recently,
The History of
Sunnehanna Country
Club and the
Sunnehanna Amateur
by John Yerger III.
But once he and Elma
began researching
his past successes
for the website,
even Greenwood was
impressed.
“When my wife put
this stuff together
and we put the stuff
together for the
paper, I should of
had more confidence
(as a player),”
Greenwood admitted.
“I was a better
player than I
realized. I think
it’s important for a
golfer or an athlete
to make a note of
his accomplishments
and awards and read
those while they are
playing. We forget.”
Greenwood’s career
is hardly
forgettable. Once he
began teeing it up
at the Cookeville
Country Club at age
12, his work ethic
and desire to be the
best helped propel
him to star status
as an amateur and in
college.
During the 1960s, he
dominated amateur
play in the state of
Tennessee, winning
the 1966 State
Amateur and the 1968
State Open, becoming
just the third of
eight golfers to win
both tournaments. He
was ranked by Golf
Magazine among the
nation’s Top 10
amateurs on two
occasions. He is
just one of seven
golfers to ever win
the prestigious
Sunnehanna Amateur
twice, setting the
course record with a
63. Most recently,
Greenwood was
honored in June by
the tournament
officials at
Sunnehanna in
Johnstown, Pa., for
his past success as
a two time champion.
“It was a moving
experience. It was
really gratifying
the way they treated
me,” said Greenwood.
“They gave me a
sport coat and some
framed pictures and
they were glad to
see me. That’s
always nice.”
The day after
Greenwood flew home
to Cookeville, his
record fell to one
of the participants
in the Sunnehanna
tournament after 43
years.
“They thought the
course record was
going to last
forever because it
had for 43 years,”
Greenwood said.
“I’ve had somewhere
around 30 course
records. This was
the last course
record that hadn’t
been broken.”
Records were meant
to be broken and
Greenwood certainly
had his share. In
college, he began
his career at
Tennessee Tech where
he finished as the
runner-up in the
Ohio Valley
Conference
tournament as a
freshman. He then
transferred to North
Texas State where he
was a three-time
All-American,
placing second in
three consecutive
Missouri Valley
Conference
Championships.
Perhaps his most
notable, and
gratifying, golfing
experience came
during his college
years when he
playing at Colonial
Country Club in
Memphis. Greenwood
took on Jack
Nicklaus, who has
won more major
championships than
any other golfer,
and beat him in
match play.
“All I thought about
was winning a
tournament,”
confessed Greenwood.
“If I finished
fourth or fifth, it
didn’t mean
anything. I went to
Niagara Falls last
year and I told Elma
I played in the
Porter Cup there. We
went to Niagara
Falls Country Club
and they remembered
me. They pulled out
the program and said
‘Hey, you finished
fourth.’ Fourth
meant absolutely
nothing to me at the
time. It was just
another failure.
Then you look down
the list behind me
and those great
players, who
accomplished a lot
more than I did, I
beat them at that
time. I didn’t know
that.”
Greenwood beat some
good players while
he was on the PGA
Tour. After turning
pro in 1969, he made
the cut in 72 PGA
events, finishing in
the top 10 six times
and in the top 25 in
15 different
tournaments. His
lone victory on the
Tour came in 1970
when he won the
Rhode Island Open.
But injuries played
a key role in
Greenwood’s decision
to leave the Tour in
1975.
“The last tournament
I played on tour was
the Mexico Open in
Mexico City. I
remember having a
three or four foot
par putt and
thinking this will
be the last putt I
will hit as a Tour
player and it was,”
recalled Greenwood.
“My wrist was in bad
shape and my back
was bad. I had neck
problems and it was
becoming pretty
tough to play so I
quietly retired.”
Greenwood began
living the life of a
club pro after
retiring from the
Tour, taking over
the No. 1 club job
in America at TPC
Sawgrass. He
recently returned to
TPC Sawgrass and
enjoyed some
fellowship with
current PGA Tour
players during a
recent PGA
tournament.
“It was nice,” said
Greenwood. “I had
breakfast with the
Tour players and
they introduced me
as a former Tour
player. It was very
gratifying.”
The attention and
accolades Greenwood
has been getting
lately is very
gratifying for the
69-year-old. In
2002, he was
inducted into the
North Texas Hall of
Fame. This past
year, Greenwood was
one of the charter
members inducted
into Riverside
Military Academy’s
Sports Hall of Fame.
At Riverside, in
addition to golf, he
excelled in baseball
and basketball.
But for his golfing
achievements,
Greenwood was
enshrined in the
Tennessee Golf Hall
of Fame last fall,
becoming the 30th
member of the
distinguished group.
“It’s an honor,”
said Greenwood.
“It’s nice to be
appreciated.”
While Greenwood has
found a new
appreciation for his
career, he also
appreciates the
people around him
such as his wife and
his 9-year-old
daughter Viola. He
also appreciates a
man who was his
longtime friend and
golfing partner
Bobby Nichols. After
giving Greenwood’s
introduction speech
at the Tennessee
Golf Hall of Fame
ceremonies, Nichols
died a few months
later from
complications in his
fight against
cancer.
His loss has been
felt more by
Greenwood than any
loss on the golf
course.
“I miss him,” said
Greenwood. “He and I
were like brothers.
There will never be
another Bobby
Nichols.”
Greenwood doesn’t
get out and play
much golf anymore.
He spends time with
his family and is
still in the golfing
business, giving
lessons and working
as a golf architect
when called upon. If
he wants to remember
something from his
great golfing past,
all he has to do is
log on to the
Internet and look at
his website and take
a walk down memory
lane.
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