DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., September 17, 2014 - The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership has selected the following members for national recognition as a result of their achievements: Tina Tombs, Arizona Biltmore Golf Club, Phoenix, Ariz., Teacher of the Year; Malia Folquet, Palm Valley Country Club, Palm Desert, Calif., Professional of the Year; Patty Post, University of Delaware, Newark, Del., Coach of the Year; and Louise Ball, Tennessee Golf Academy, Knoxville, Tenn., Junior Golf Leadership award.
The national award winners were selected by the LPGA T&CP membership's Executive Committee from the pool of sectional award winners voted on by the members of the five regional sections: Central, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Western.
The LPGA established the LPGA National Teacher of the Year Award in 1958. The award is given annually to the woman golf professional who has most exemplified her profession during the year.
As Director of Golf Instruction at the Arizona Biltmore Golf Club in Phoenix, Ariz., since 2001, Tina Tombs has developed a premier teaching program for golfers of all ages and skill levels, from youth programs to corporate clinics to women’s groups to professionals. This year, Tombs built a state-of-the-art facility at the Arizona Biltmore, including a cover shot mobile canopy system with two teaching bays.
“I am honored and very grateful to receive this prestigious award and feel very fortunate to have my name added to this distinguished list,” said Tombs. I’m thankful for the opportunities the LPGA has given me throughout my career and want to say thank you to all of you who have mentored me, believed in me and supported my vision to help better the game of golf through advanced teaching technologies and instruction.”
As an amateur, Tombs won the New Hampshire Junior Golf Championship in 1979 and followed by the New Hampshire State Championship in 1981. She captured the 1982 New England Amateur Championship title and in 1984 became the Eastern Amateur champion. Tombs was ranked among Golf Digest's top-10 amateur golfers in 1984. She was inducted into the New Hampshire Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. As a collegiate player at Arizona State University, she captured two tournament titles and was a two-time All-American. In 2006, Tombs was inducted into the Sun Devil Athletic Hall of Fame.
Tombs joined the LPGA Tour in 1988 winning the LPGA Jamie Farr Classic in 1990 and in 1993 had a career-best round of 64 en route to a runner-up finish after a 3-hole playoff in the Sara Lee Classic. Tombs toured the world with the LPGA and with two daughters, Sarah and Heidi. She was one of the original founders of the LPGA Smucker’s Day Care Center in the early 1990’s. This day care center has continued to grow and has allowed women with children to follow their dreams on the LPGA tour.
As a member of the LPGA Tour, Tombs trained with the best psychologists, coaches, and instructors the game has to offer. She decided to share this wealth of knowledge with the community around her by becoming a member of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Division. She earned her Class A certification in one year.
In 2012 Tina partnered with Barrows Neurological Institute in Phoenix to host The FORE Barrow Challenge. This team event, featuring LPGA Seniors and current LPGA players, raised funds to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of the Barrow Neurological Institute and the Phoenix Crisis Nursery. Tombs was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of two.