Jeff Knox
MARIETTA, GA (April 30, 2016) - The Georgia State Golf
Association is pleased to announce the 2017 inductees
into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame:
-Stewart E. Cink of Duluth, Ga., is former
standout of the Georgia Tech golf program and a major
champion on the PGA TOUR who has brought honor to
the game both as an amateur and as a professional.
-Joseph Cooper (Joe) Inman, Jr., of
Marietta, Ga., is the head coach of the Georgia State
University men's program and a longtime professional
golfer with success on the PGA and Champions Tours.
-Jefferson B. A. (Jeff) Knox of Augusta, Ga.,
is an accomplished lifelong amateur golfer on the
state and national levels and has made an impact in the
community on and off the course.
-James W. (Jim) Stamps (posthumous
induction) was a head golf professional and teacher
of the game in Georgia with a distinguished playing
career as an amateur and professional.
The Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Induction Banquet
and Ceremony will take place on Saturday, January 21,
2017, at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek.
The Atlanta Athletic Club holds a long and storied
place in the history of golf in the state of Georgia, as
the home club of the greatest amateur golfer of them
all, Bobby Jones, along with no less than 14 other
members of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. The club
hosted its third PGA Championship in 2011, and most
recently hosted the U.S. Amateur Championship, its
sixth USGA national championship, in 2014.
Chuck Palmer, chairman of the Georgia Golf Hall of
Fame Committee, said, "The Hall of Fame Committee,
along with Kim Cox, director of the Georgia Golf Hall of
Fame, thoroughly vetted the nominations for the Hall of
Fame, and we are elated to announce the Class of 2017
who will be inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.
I appreciate all the committee members who
contributed their time and efforts in selecting this
terrific class. We look forward to celebrating the
accomplishments of these worthy individuals."
Biographical information on the four
inductees:
Stewart E. Cink of Duluth, Ga., is a former
standout of the Georgia Tech golf program and a major
champion on the PGA TOUR who has brought honor to
the game both as an amateur and as a professional.
Born in Huntsville, Ala., Cink attended Bradshaw
High School in Huntsville. He moved to Atlanta and
played golf at Georgia Tech from 1992-1995. He was an
All-American in 1993, 1994 and 1995, and was an All-
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection those years
as well. Cink was named ACC Player of the Year in 1995
and was on its academic honor roll in 1992 and 1993.
Cink played in 38 team events while at Georgia
Tech with a career stroke average of 72.47. He was the
recipient of the Fred Haskins Award in 1995, given to
the most outstanding collegiate golfer in NCAA Division
I, and the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year award. He
was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame
in 2005. After a successful collegiate and amateur
career, Cink turned professional in 1995.
Cink is enjoying a professional career that includes
six PGA TOUR victories, highlighted most recently by
The Open Championship in 2009 at Turnberry Resort in
Scotland. He also won the 2008 Travelers
Championship, 2004 MCI Heritage, 2004 World Golf
Championships-NEC Invitational, 2000 MCI Classic and
the 1997 Canon Greater Hartford Open. He was named
PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year in 1997.
In international events, Cink was selected to the
Ryder Cup team five times (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008,
2010) and the President's Cup four times (2000, 2005,
2007, 2009).
He founded Cink Charities in 2011, and the Cink It
Challenge was developed to raise funds for two Atlanta
area charities.
Cink and his wife Lisa reside in Duluth, Ga., and
have two sons - Connor and Reagan.
Joseph Cooper (Joe) Inman, Jr., of
Marietta, Ga., is the head coach of the Georgia
State University men's program and a longtime
professional golfer with success on the PGA and
Champions Tours.
Born in Indianapolis, Ind., in 1947, Inman attended
high school in Greensboro, N.C., and then played golf at
Wake Forest University from 1965-1970. As a collegiate
golfer, Inman was a three-time All-American, including
first-team honors in 1969. Playing under the leadership
of head coach Jesse Haddock, Inman helped his team
win three-consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
titles and top-three finishes at the NCAA Championships
in 1968 and 1969. After graduating with a degree in
history, he turned professional in 1972.
Inman won four times as a professional - once on
the PGA TOUR and three times on the Champions Tour.
He won the 1976 Kemper Open on the PGA TOUR, and
on the Champions Tour, he won the Pacific Bell Open in
1988 and 1999, and the SBC Open in 2000. He had
nearly 100 top-25 finishes on each circuit and earned
over $5 million.
Inman currently serves as the head coach of the
men's golf team at Georgia State University, where he
has raised the level of success expected by the
program. In his first year, Inman led the Panthers to the
NCAA Regionals in 2009. During the 2013-14 season, he
guided his team to a school-record four wins, a second-
place finish at the NCAA Regionals and a No. 43 ranking
in the country.
Inman is active in the community, serving on the
board of directors of the First Tee of Atlanta, and
founded the Larry Nelson-Joe Inman Foundation, which
supports youth golf initiatives.
Inman and his wife Nancy reside in Marietta, Ga.,
and have three children - Craig, Sally and Kate.
Jefferson B. A. (Jeff) Knox of Augusta, Ga.,
is an accomplished lifelong amateur golfer on the state
and national levels and has made an impact in the
community on and off the golf course.
Born in Augusta, Ga., Knox attended Thomson High
School, and later the University of Georgia, earning a
degree in Finance in 1984.
Knox has played in several Georgia State Golf
Association competitions. He won the Georgia Mid-
Amateur Championship in 2008 at Cuscowilla on Lake
Oconee in Eatonton, and in 2009 at White Columns
Country Club in Alpharetta. He finished runner-up in the
Georgia Mid-Amateur four times (2001, 2003, 2004,
2005). In the Georgia Amateur Championship, Knox
also earned runner-up honors in 1998, 2006 and 2007.
He has won the Azalea Amateur Championship, Peach
Blossom Invitational and is a two-time Charlie Coe
champion.
On the national circuit, Knox has qualified for and
competed in several USGA championships. He's played
in four U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships (1999, 2002,
2004, 2006) and three U.S. Amateur Championships
(1995, 1999, 2001). He represented Georgia at the
USGA State Team Championship in 1999 and 2003.
Knox oversees the Knox Foundation, and he is board
member of the University of Georgia Foundation and the
First Bank of Georgia.
Knox and his wife Catherine reside in Augusta, Ga.,
and have three sons - Jefferson, Lee and Austin.
James W. (Jim) Stamps was a head golf
professional and teacher of the game in Georgia with a
distinguished playing career as an amateur and
professional.
Stamps was born in Coweta County, Ga., in 1921
and attended high school in College Park. Raised by his
mother and older sisters, he picked up the game of golf
by caddying at a local course in College Park. Stamps
served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.
After serving and earning the rank of Sergeant, he was
honorably discharged and continued his amateur golf
career.
Stamps became the assistant professional at
Fairyland Golf Club in Tennessee, then thereafter moved
back to Georgia and became the head golf professional
at Dalton Golf and Country Club in 1956. During his
time in Dalton, he was recognized as one of Georgia's
best golfers by his peers and developed a strong junior
program, where he taught hundreds of juniors.
As a competitive player, Stamps was the winner of
many tournaments in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as
an amateur and professional. He won the Georgia Open
in 1958 and 1962, and the Georgia PGA Championship
in 1961 and 1965. Stamps also won the PGA National
Club Professional Championship in 1962.
Stamps passed away in 2011.
The Class of 2017 was selected by the Georgia Golf
Hall of Fame Committee and approved by the GSGA
Executive Committee. These four inductees will bring
the total number of Georgia Golf Hall of Fame members
to 111.
The Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, which came under
the management of the Georgia State Golf Association
in 2010, is dedicated to the preservation and promotion
of Georgia's golf traditions, heritage, achievements and
excellence.