TAMPA, Fla. – Longtime FSGA volunteer, Karen Korf, and FSGA Players of the Year, Doug LaCrosse and Rick Woulfe have been selected as the 2020 FSGA Hall of Fame inductees. These three exceptional individuals have all been involved with the FSGA for more than 30 years and have done so much for the game of golf in Florida.
The 2020 class will be inducted into the FSGA Hall of Fame at the FSGA’s Annual Meeting and Dinner in Tampa in January 2021. The Annual Dinner celebrates the best players in the state, tournament volunteers, board members and many other important individuals involved in the game of golf in Florida.
Korf first began volunteering with the FSGA in 1987 and her commitment to the game of golf has been incredible. She will join her husband, Cal, in the FSGA Hall of Fame.
“I don’t even know how to put this into words. I never expected this,” Korf said. “I’m extremely honored to join these remarkable and talented people.”
Born in Missouri, she discovered her love for the game at a young age, playing recreationally with friends and family. Korf first began volunteering in golf when she was living in Birmingham, Alabama. She had been doing charity work in the medical field, but was looking for something different. Korf met up with some friends who were golfers and they got her involved with volunteering in golf.
While in Alabama, Korf served as the president of the Riverchase Women’s Golf Association and the Inverness Women’s Golf Association, as well as the president of the Ladies Birmingham Golf Association.
She and Cal moved to Sarasota in 1980. Not long after the move, Korf became involved with the Florida Women’s State Golf Association. She saw a need for volunteers and wanted to help, going on to serve as the association’s president and a member of the board.
When Cal became the FSGA Executive Director in 1982, Korf also began volunteering with the FSGA and took a liking to working on the scoreboards and practicing her calligraphy. She learned the art from a golf pro’s wife and has been a staple at FSGA competitions ever since. Korf has also been a FSGA Course Rating Captain since 1987, and currently leads a team of five.
“To see the growth of the association over the years has been phenomenal,” Korf said. “It’s been 30 years and I’ve seen it grow into the largest association in the country. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
In addition to her work with the FGSA, Korf serves as the president of the Mission Valley Women’s Golf Association and Mid-Gulf Women’s Golf Association. She was a member of the USGA Women’s Handicap Procedures Committee for 14 years. Korf was also the president of the Women’s Southern Golf Association and currently is an honorary director.
LaCrosse has been competing in FSGA events since 1990, building an extensive golf resume over the past 30 years. He has captured 14 FSGA championships and has been named a FSGA Player of the Year four times on his way to this honor.
“When they called to tell me, I couldn’t believe it. I’d never thought about it, so it means a lot,” LaCrosse said. “To do this with Rick, it couldn’t be more fitting.”
Growing up in Tampa, LaCrosse first picked up golf in sixth grade, when he joined the junior golf program at Carrollwood. At the urging of a friend, LaCrosse joined the golf team at Hillsborough Junior College, before getting a scholarship to play at the University of South Florida for two seasons, winning the State Intercollegiate Tournament.
After graduating from USF in 1975, he took a step back from golf to focus on work, but the competitive spirit never left him. LaCrosse got a taste of high-level competition again in 1989, when he qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. From then on out, his goal was to practice and play more to compete in more top-tier events.
Two years later, LaCrosse captured his biggest win at the 1992 Amateur Championship. He considers this a big step in his amateur career because of who he defeated to win the title.
“When you play the game, you want to beat the best. The best was Rick,” LaCrosse said.
LaCrosse was paired with Woulfe in the final round. The field faced thunderstorms and high winds that week and the championship was shortened to 36 holes, but it was LaCrosse who prevailed.
The Tampa native added victories at the 1995 Mid-Amateur Championship, 1996 Amateur Match Play Championship and was named the FSGA Amateur Player of the Year three times, along with competing in over 15 USGA championships.
Two memories stand out the most for LaCrosse. One was winning the Parent-Child Championship, with his daughter Cindy in 1997. The other came in 1999 at the Florida Cup, when he and Joe Alfieri were competing in a Four-Ball match against Woulfe and Mark Leetzow. Alfieri holed out on the seventh hole, on their way to a 2-and-1 victory over Woulfe and Leetzow.
Since becoming senior eligible, LaCrosse has earned the 2013 Senior Player of the Year by winning both the Senior Amateur Championship and Senior Amateur Match Play. He has competed in two U.S. Senior Amateurs, two U.S. Senior Opens and added a Super-Senior Amateur Championship win in 2018.
Woulfe has been a household name in the world of Florida amateur golf over the past 30 years. He has amassed 15 state championship victories in his career and is a 12-time FSGA Player of the Year.
“It’s a big deal. I’m not going to downplay it at all,” Woulfe said. “I’m particularly excited to do this with Doug. I’ve known Doug for a long time, we are great competitors and teammates. It really just means a lot.”
The Fort Lauderdale native started playing golf at 13 years old. His father purchased a new set of clubs, and asked his son if he wanted to learn with his old clubs. Woulfe started playing with his neighbors at a small par-3 course in downtown Fort Lauderdale and his love for the game grew quickly.
When it came time for college, he headed north to Michigan State University. Woulfe put together a standout college career in East Lansing. He earned All-American honors, led the Spartans to the NCAA Championships for four years and helped Michigan State win its first Big Ten Championship.
The summer after his senior season, Woulfe played in every amateur tournament he could. While he played well that summer, he hadn’t won anything and he realized professional golf wasn’t for him. Golf moved to the back burner for the next 10 years, as Woulfe went to law school at Washington and Lee University and moved back to Florida to start his career.
In 1981, Woulfe learned about a new USGA championship, the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship for players 25 and older. This was all it took to get Woulfe back into competitive golf, qualifying for the first time in 1983.
Over the next 37 years, he put together a remarkable amateur golf career. Woulfe is a three-time FSGA Amateur Player of the Year, a nine-time Senior Player of the Year and has won 15 FSGA championships. In 2007, Woulfe captured the Senior Amateur, Senior Amateur Match Play, Mid-Senior and Mid-Amateur Four-Ball South Championships. He became the oldest winner of the Mid-Amateur Championship in 2012 at 62 years old.
In addition to his FSGA accomplishments, Woulfe has competed in 25 USGA championships and 12 British Senior Amateur Championships.
When asked about his most memorable moment from a long career, that one came easily. It is beating a 16-year-old Tiger Woods in the semifinals of the 1992 Dixie Amateur. Woods had just won his second-straight U.S. Junior Amateur and everyone knew he was going to be something special, but that day at Bonaventure Country Club it was Woulfe that came out on top, defeating Woods, 4 and 3.
“It has been great fun,” Woulfe said. “And I don’t plan on slowing down.”
