Season 11 Episode 25 Part 2: The Best Player in Tennessee History & Making Junior Golf Fun...
In Part 2 of this week's show, I'm joined by PGA Tour Caddie and in my opinion the best player in the history of the state of Tennessee Kip Henley, and one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers in America Eva Rogers.
Kip Henley has a tremendous resume. As a junior player, he won the Chattanooga City Prep Championship and the Ewing Watkins Award for being the most outstanding junior golfer in the city. In college, he was an All-Southern Conference player at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He later became a Class A Teaching Professional and taught at a few local clubs before becoming a Tour Caddie. His playing accomplishments include:
- The Tennessee Assistant Pro Championship
- Tennessee PGA Section Championship 4 times
- Tennessee State Open twice
- Tennessee Player of the Year 5 times
- Won The Golf Channel's Big Break II in 2004
- He added the Tennessee Senior Open Championship in June of 2023.
He is a fantastic Caddie and has been on the bag for players like Steward Cink, Vijay Singh, Austin Cook, Brian Gay, Boo Weekly, and Grayson Murray.
Kip takes us back to last summer when he won the state Senior Open Championship doing it in honor of his mentor and a staple in Tennessee Golf Warren Huddleston, who passed away. He also shares stories from his time caddying for Brian Gay including their 10-shot victory in the 2009 Heritage Classic.
Eva Rogers was named by Golf Digest as one of the Best Young Teachers in America. She is also a certified US Kids Instructor. She teaches at one of the most historic courses in the country, Medinah Country Club just outside of Chicago. Medinah has hosted several majors including 3 US Opens, 2 PGA Championships, a US Senior Open, and the 2012 Ryder Cup.
Eva shares what it like to call Medinah home and the great membership they have there. She was recently selected to serve on the 2024/2025 PGA Lead Team and we hear what they are working on. We also discuss how she keeps her junior players engaged and enjoying the game in a Tic Toc, immediate gratification world. She reflects on Nelly Korda's current historic run and the call she received from Illinois House Representative Jennifer Sanalitro regarding Eva's success in a male-dominated industry.