Part-time Coloradan Hollis Stacy set to receive prestigious Legacy Award from Robert Trent Jones Society; presentation set for September at Air Force Academy

By Gary Baines – 7/17/2024

Hollis Stacy started living in Colorado part-time in the 1990s. She used to help the CWGA run U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship qualifying tournaments at Valley Country Club in Centennial. And last fall, she participated in a fireside chat — along with Hale Irwin, Steve Jones and Craig Stadler — at a golden-anniversary gala conducted by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

So it seems only appropriate that when the three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion receives a prestigious golf honor in September, it will be in the Centennial State.

The Robert Trent Jones Society announced this week that Stacy, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012, will receive the organization’s third Legacy Award at the RTJS’ 20th annual meeting, set for the Air Force Academy just north of Colorado Springs. The event is set for Sept. 12-14. Stacy will speak at the event, sharing her views on “expanding the game through more inclusive design and other initiatives.” (It should be noted that Eisenhower’s Blue Course at the Academy was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., and is his only course design in Colorado.)

“From my years of competition around the world, I have come to appreciate and respect the role that golf course architects play,” Stacy said in a release. “The care and detail that designers like Mr. Jones brought to the game is to be celebrated.”

The Legacy Award that Stacy will receive has previously only been presented to Al Geiberger and Lee Trevino. It recognizes considerable contributions to golf over a lifetime.

“The Legacy Award was established in Mr. Jones’ name to honor individuals whose lifetime is committed to expanding the game of golf,” David Cardwell, executive director of the RTJS, said in a release. “It is with great pleasure that we honor Hollis for her numerous contributions to the game, both on and off the course.”

Stacy, the only golfer to have won the U.S. Girls’ Junior title three times (the event was held at Eisenhower’s Blue Course last summer), went on to capture 18 LPGA Tour titles, including four major championships.

About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com