Nov. 22, 2004

Long recognized as one of the elites in his profession, South Carolina men’s golf coach Puggy Blackmon has been selected for induction into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies will take place Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2004, at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Banquet in New Orleans, La.

“I am somewhat humbled by such an honor and feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach such outstanding student-athletes,” said Blackmon, a native of Ridgeland, S.C.

Other inductees include Colorado’s Mark Simpson, former Allegheny golf coach Norm Sundstrom and Eddie Twiggs, coach of Stanford from 1932-47.

Blackmon’s teams have earned 20 consecutive postseason appearances, advanced to the NCAA Championships 17 times and finished in the top 10 on six occasions.

Blackmon has been the men’s golf coach at South Carolina since 1995. Blackmon began his coaching career at Georgia Tech in 1983 and served as the Yellow Jackets head coach until accepting the same position at South Carolina in 1995.

He has also coached nine Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars, 17 All-ACC selections, 13 All-SEC team members, three ACC Players of the Year and one SEC Champion. Blackmon was named ACC Coach of the Year four times and Region Coach of the Year in 1991.

While at Georgia Tech, Blackmon won five ACC championships and the NCAA East Regional in 1991. Two of his players – David Duval and Stewart Cink – were honored with the Jack Nicklaus Award, which is presented to the college player of the year. Golfers under Blackmon have earned PING All-America honors 30 times. Golfers coached by Blackmon who have played on the PGA Tour include Duval, Cink, Briny Baird, Tripp Isenhour, Charlie Rymer, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Clark II, David Seawell, Tom Shaw and Kyle Thompson.

“My career has led me to two outstanding institutions who are both committed to excellence,” said Blackmon. “The universities have certainly played a major role in any successes I have achieved.

“I am as excited as ever about winning an NCAA championship at USC and feel our past two recruiting classes will put us in a position to do so,” said Blackmon.