Jill McGill (pictured), one of the most successful female golfers that Colorado has produced, gained a spot in the state golf hall of fame on Thursday along with longtime club professionals Keith Schneider and Don Fox, and historical nominee Ruth Harrison.
The four were voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on Thursday and will be inducted on Aug. 23 at Lakewood Country Club.
“That’s awesome,” McGill said in a phone interview Thursday. “I’m excited. Hopefully it’ll inspire girls in the state to play more.”
McGill, a Denver native and Cherry Creek High School graduate, won the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship during the 1990s and has been competing on the LPGA Tour since 1996.
Since 1981, Schneider has been one of the most prominent figures at the prestigious Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, which for 21 years hosted the PGA Tour’s International. Schneider was Castle Pines’ head professional for 22 years before becoming general manager in 2003.
Fox, the retired longtime pro at Loveland Golf Course (now known as the Olde Course), was the first Master Professional in Colorado history. He’s also well known for operating the Junior Academy in Loveland and Fort Collins for 15 years, along with Bill Metier, who also has since been voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.
Harrison was one of the top female players in Colorado in the first half of the 20th century. The Denver Country Club member won the Colorado Women’s State Match Play three straight years starting in 1927. She also claimed four women’s club championships at DCC.
The additions of McGill and Harrison will bring the number of women enshrined in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame to 23.
McGill, 37, said she remembers thinking when she turned 36 that she had spent exactly half of her life in Colorado and half in California.
“I still like to claim Colorado as home,” said McGill, a University of Southern California grad who now lives in San Diego. “In 1994 I got a place in California and I’ve never looked back, but I like it to be known I grew up in Colorado.”
Jill’s father, Gary McGill, still lives in the Denver area.
Before her two USGA victories and pro career, McGill earned the distinction of winning the first sanctioned high school state girls golf tournament in Colorado, in 1990. Prior to girls golf being sanctioned, McGill tried out for the boys team as a Cherry Creek freshman, but didn’t make it. However, she came back the next year and landed a spot on the boys junior varsity squad.
“Nobody from the opposing team wanted to play the girl,” she remembers with a laugh.
A girls golf team was added at Cherry Creek when McGill was a junior, and she won the state title as a senior.
“I’m psyched that girls golf is more prevalent now,” McGill said. “I’d like to think that I had something to do with that, at least at Cherry Creek.”
McGill, who credits Colorado Golf Hall of Famers such as Judy Bell and Joan Birkland for helping run tournaments that were crucial in her formative years, also won a State Girls Match Play championship before really hitting the big time in USGA events. She claimed titles at both the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur Publinks, and finished second at the 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
McGill has yet to win in her 14 seasons on the LPGA Tour, but has finished second three times and third twice. One of those third-place performances came a year ago, when McGill eclipsed $2 million in career earnings.
Though he’s been a mainstay in Colorado golf for 28 years, Schneider came to Colorado “on loan,” so to speak. In 1981, Castle Pines founder Jack Vickers needed a head professional and Jack Nicklaus, who designed Castle Pines, recommended Schneider to fill the role until a decision was made on a permanent hire. Schneider had ascended to the first-assistant-pro position while working for eight years at Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village course in Columbus, Ohio, and he was assured he could return if things didn’t work out at Castle Pines.
“Jack (Nicklaus) said, “˜Keith, if you work hard there’s a good chance that they may hire you,'” Schneider recalled Thursday.
But before that happened, Vickers did interview a couple of other people for the head pro position, including PGA Tour regular Doug Tewell. Schneider himself participated in those interviews. But in the end, Vickers decided to keep Schneider in the prominent position.
“I was the right fit at the right time,” Schneider said. “I grew up with the club.”
Though Castle Pines has long been considered a top-notch golf club, Schneider became one of the most prominent club professionals in the state by virtue of Castle Pines hosting the International from 1986 through 2006. Before moving to Colorado, Schneider had gained plenty of experience working at another PGA Tour site — Muirfield Village, home of Nicklaus’ Memorial tournament.
In the mid-1990s, Schneider said Nicklaus asked him to return to Muirfield Village as the head professional, but Schneider declined. “I was honored and it was difficult to say no, but Colorado is home,” he said.
Schneider, 53, has draw plenty of accolades during his years in the state. He served as president of the Colorado PGA in 1993 and “˜94, and has earned eight annual awards from the Section. He was also named the PGA of America’s national merchandiser of the year (private category) in 1990, and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year in 1992.
Fox, 73, served as head professional at Loveland Golf Course from 1959 until retiring in 1992. To this day, there is a street named after Fox in Loveland — “Don Fox Circle” — not far from Mariana Butte Golf Course.
As a player, Fox competed on the PGA Tour in 1954, made the cut in the 1989 U.S. Senior Open and competed in four Senior PGA Championships. He was named Professional of the Year by the Colorado PGA in 1980. He also received the Section’s Warren Smith Award for lifetime achievement, and earned the Horton Smith honor for outstanding contributions to education in golf. Fox, who became a Master Professional in the 1980s, served as president of the Section in 1981.
Besides voting in new inductees, the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame named other honorees on Thursday. The Golf Person of the Year is Russ Miller, the director of golf at the Broadmoor, which hosted the 2008 U.S. Senior Open. The Distinguished Service Award goes to Jeff Dorsey of HealthOne, the title sponsor which played a key role in reviving the Colorado Open Championships. And the Lifetime Achievement honor will be awarded to Marv Mazone, the longtime director of golf at Hyland Hills Golf Club in Westminster.
