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 MINNESOTA PGA/MGA GOLF HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES |
MINNESOTA PGA/MGA GOLF HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES HONORED
The Minnesota PGA and the Minnesota Golf Association honored Jerilyn Britz, Bob Clark, Jim Sorenson and Jim Stuart as they were officially inducted into the Minnesota PGA/MGA Golf
Hall of Fame Monday, October 29th at Rush Creek Golf Club. Minnesota PGA president Kathy Swanson and MGA President John Valliere presented the four inductees. Jerilyn Britz and
Jim Stuart were present to accept their honor. Tom Purcell accepted on behalf of the Clark family and Keller Golf Course, and long-time friend Ron Peterson accepted on behalf of
Jim Sorenson.
JERILYN BRITZ
Jerilyn Britz was an All-American type girl on the LPGA Tour. She carried a basketball with her to every event and was shooting baskets constantly.
Joining the Tour in 1974, Britz’s first title was the 1979 USGA Women’s Open Championship at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut in which
her 72-hole score of 284 tied the low aggregate score for the event at that time. Britz also finished second that year in the LPGA Championship and
was awarded the LPGA’s Peter Jackson Award for her performances in the majors that year. Britz won her second LPGA title the following year in the
Mary Kaye Classic and remained on the LPGA Tour through the 1999 season.
Britz, who took up the game at age 17 in Luverne, Minnesota, did not turn professional until age 30. She spent five years teaching
high school and three years teaching college before turning professional. Britz also won the 1969 Minnesota Women’s Public Links Championship.
BOB CLARK
Bob Clark was a friendly, happy-go-lucky weekend golfer at Keller Golf Club who never took the game too seriously
and was content to play with anyone. Clark, a dapper dresser, played high school golf in Cedar Rapids, Iowa before
he came to Saint Paul, Minnesota in the late 1920’s.
Clark won the 1940 USGA Public Links Championship at Rackham Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan in record setting fashion,
8 and 6 over Mike Dietz. Clark then went on to win three consecutive Minnesota Public Links Championships in 1941, 1942 and 1943.
In the next years Clark eased out of tournament golf and spent more time bowling, a sport in which he was considered one of Saint Paul’s best.
JIM SORENSON
Jim Sorenson of Bloomington, Minnesota had a hunch in the finals of the 1985 USGA Public Links Championship at Wailua Golf Club in Hawaii
that it might be his day and what a hunch. Sorenson defeated Jay Cooper 12 and 11 in the final which was the largest winning margin in
the 63-year history of the event. A year later at Tanglewood Park Golf Course in North Carolina Sorenson found himself trying to defend his
Public Links title against Billy Mayfair, only to lose to the future PGA Tour Player 3 and 2.
Sorenson also fared well in Minnesota, winning the 1984 Minnesota Public Links Championship, the 1986 Minnesota State Open and qualifying for
three consecutive USGA Amateur Championships in 1985, 1986, and 1987. In 1987, Sorenson was regarded as one of the country’s ten best
amateurs and was selected to the USGA Walker Cup team that was victorious at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, England.
Sorenson currently resides in Mount Pleasant, Iowa were he is President of Momentus Golf.
JIM STUART
Born in Saint Petersburg, Florida, golf was never pushed on Jim Stuart, baseball was his first love. At age fourteen, having the
advantage of two seasons in Minnesota and Georgia, Stuart caught the golf bug from his father, professional Everett Stuart at
Northland Country Club in Duluth, Minnesota. Stuart attended junior college in Alabama where he won the 1978 National Junior
College Championship, finished seventh in the 1979 Minnesota Amateur Championship, and was voted Division II All-American
while attending Columbus College in Columbus, Georgia in 1980.
After six years as a touring professional and club professional, Stuart regained his amateur status in 1990 and proceeded
to win back to back USGA Mid-Amateur titles in 1990 and 1991. In 1990, Stuart defeated Mark Sollenberger 1-up at Troon
Golf and Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona and successfully defended his title in 1991 by defeating Bert
Atkinson 1-up at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Stuart currently is in the insurance business and resides in Macon, Georgia with his family.
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