Last night, PGA Tour Player Chris Smith and
President of the PGA of America Ted Bishop were inducted into the Indiana Golf
Hall of Fame at Meridian Hills CC. While
Smith and Bishop have had very different paths in golf, last night they were
recognized for their many achievements and contributions to the game.
Chris Smith began tagging along on the golf course
with his father and two older brothers when he was just four years old. He
began competing shortly after on the Indiana Junior Golf Tour and it quickly
became clear he had special talent on the golf course.
After a successful junior golf career, Smith played
collegiate golf at Ohio State University and continued to excel. Upon graduation, he turned professional and
ventured onto the Nike Tour (now the Web.com Tour).
His professional career includes five Nike Tour
victories, one PGA Tour victory, 17 top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour, 28 top 10
finishes on the Nike and Web.com Tours and over $5.6 million in career
earnings.
“Out of all my accomplishments, including my PGA
Tour win, my best golf memories are from here in Indiana,” Smith said.
Last night, Smith, 43, joined his brother, PGA Professional Todd Smith of Peru
(2004), as the first brother combination in the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame.
Ted
Bishop, a native of Logansport, Ind., graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s
Degree in Agronomy in 1976 and began his professional career as a PGA
Professional and superintendent at the Phil Harris Golf Course in Linton, Ind.
He was elected to PGA membership in September 1985, and has served in a
leadership capacity at either the Section or National levels since 1989.
Bishop is the General Manager at The
Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Ind., where he oversaw construction and
development of the facility in 1991. He was instrumental in the process that
saw the Indiana Golf Office move to its current location which provided
tangible space for the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame.
In the
Fall of 2012, Bishop made Indiana Golf history after being elected to serve as
the 38th President of the PGA of America. With his election, Bishop became only the
third person from Indiana to be elected as President of the PGA of America,
joining Don Padgett and Mickey Powell.
During his first year as President
of the PGA, Bishop has spent many hours in the spotlight representing the
27,000 PGA Members and Apprentices across the country. Bishop oversaw the
hiring of the PGA of America’s new CEO, has worked tirelessly to build more of
a team atmosphere both at the PGA of America headquarters as well as on the PGA
Board of Directors and has been the voice of the PGA in the recent anchoring
debate with the USGA.
Bishop was very honored to be inducted into the
Indiana Golf Hall of Fame. Last night he
remarked that he did not experience an emotional release when becoming
President of the PGA of America, but he received the news about being inducted
into the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame he became very emotional.
“This is a great honor and I am humbled to be recognized
in Indiana. It is very special to me.”