Amateur/Mid-Amateur at Lockwood Folly

The WSGA is pleased to announce that two-time WSGA Champion and 2018 winning Curtis Cup Captain Virginia Derby-Grimes will be the guest speaker at the Welcome Party the evening of the practice round.

The host  club for the event June 3-7 will be Lockwood Folly in Holden Beach, NC. Tournament organizers have made arrangements for players, guests and WSGA board members to be invited to the East Coast Shrimp-a-roo and Barbeque Dinner sponsored by the Town of Holden Beach on Tuesday, June 4.

This event will be held at the River Room and Terrace and kicks off with cocktails (cash bar) at 6:30. Dinner will follow and guests will be entertained by a live beach music band. Attire for the event will be casual.

“We would like to say a big thank you to WSGA Chairman Myrna Robinson and Local Club Chairman Gayle Todd for their efforts in getting our tournament players and officials invited as a part of this year’s event in Holden Beach. This party should be a great diversion for the players following their first day of match play,” said WSGA President Janie Carpenter.

Sunday night’s guest speaker Derby-Grimes won her WSGA titles in 1987 and 1996. She was also runner-up 4 times and has the distinction of losing in the finals to two former champions who went on to be LPGA major winners. These were Lexie Thompson, who defeated Derby-Grimes in 2009, and Stacy Lewis, who won the title in 2007.

In addition to being the winning Curtis Cup captain last June, Virginia competed for the USA on the Curtis Cup team in 1998, 2000 and 2006. She played her college golf at Auburn and went on to coach the golf team at her alma mater from 1991-1994. She was inducted into Auburn’s Tiger Trail, which honors outstanding athletes, coaches and administrators, in 2004.

Derby-Grimes won the USGA Mid-Amateur Championship in 1998 and was runner-up in 2004. She won medalist honors in the USGA Women’s Amateur Championship in 1995 and 1997. She was a member of Alabama’s winning team in the USGA Women’s State Team Championship in 1997.

Listing Derby-Grimes’ accomplishments at the state and local  level would be impossible but she has won 5 Alabama Amateur Championships and 3 Mississippi titles. She was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

The WSGA is honored to have Derby-Grimes as a part of their 104th Amateur Championship and 5th Mid- Amateur Championship. “I am so excited that Virginia has agreed to come speak to us at our Welcome Party,” said Host Chairman Robinson, who was instrumental in getting the former champion to come.

Lockwood Folly members and staff are working tirelessly to ensure that this year’s  championships  are among the best ever.