Tom Woodard, Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Tom Woodard, Golf

Three Top 20 Big Eight Finishes
1976 Honorable Mention All-American
First African-American Golfer At Colorado
2013 Colorado Golf Hall of Fame

Nicknamed the GÇ£Human 2-IronGÇ¥ by one of his coaches, the late Mark Simpson, for his svelte 6-foot-4 frame, he was the first African-American to play varsity golf at the University of Colorado ...? He played for the late Les Fowler for three years and Simpson for his final season ... He had been one of the first blacks to receive the Evans Scholar Caddie Scholarship as a young man, enabling him to attend CU on a full scholarship; he actually made the team in walk-on tryouts as a freshman ... He often played his best in the Big 8 Championship tournaments, first tying for 16th as a sophomore in 1975, then tying for fifth as junior in 1976 and placing sixth as a senior, when he earned an individual berth in the NCAA Championships and was afforded honorable mention All-America honors (he is believed to be the first African-American to have earned the distinction) ... He became the sixth player in program history to twice be named first-team all-conference, garnering the nod in 1976 and 1977 and joining Keith Alexander, Dale Douglass, Hale Irwin, Larry McAtee and Jim English at the time as two-time recipients.

At the time of his graduation, he played the most rounds (111) of any golfer in the CU program ... While his career CU stroke average was a shade over 75, it was still second all-time to Hale Irwin at the time (he led the team in stroke average as a junior), and in the final era before the gameGÇÖs equipment changed the game ... After he graduated, he moved to Florida and played year round for the first time in life and went on to play his best golf in his career ... He competed for two-and-a-half years on the PGA Tour after his collegiate days, and qualified for two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship ... The first person ever to be selected as a three-time Apprentice Player of the Year in the state of Colorado ... He then was twice selected as the Colorado PGA Section Player of the Year ... His first pro win came on the United Golfers Association Tour in 1979 ... He still owns the low round at DenverGÇÖs popular City Park Golf Course, an 11-under par 61 he shot in 1988 ... Since becoming a club professional in 1986, Woodard has made an impact all around the Denver metro area: he served as head professional at City Park (1987-89), Littleton Golf Club (1990), South Suburban (1991-95) and at Buffalo Run (where he was the first head pro in 1996); he was director of golf for the City of Denver from 1997-2006 (the largest golf system in the state, as he oversaw eight courses) ... He has been the general manager and director of golf at Foothills Park & Recreation District in Denver since 2006 ... He co-founded The First Tee of Denver and has also served on the board of directors for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame ... He was inducted into the National Black Golfers Hall of Fame in March 2012 and then selected for induction into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in June 2013; he was selected for the latter based on both his playing record and his post-competitive days working in and promoting the game of golf, especially for youth in his adoptive state (he was born in Midland, Texas, but moved to Colorado with his parents when he was 10 years old and graduated from DenverGÇÖs Manual High School).