University of North Carolina Athletics
Former UNC Golfer Receives Award
September 14, 2012 | Women's Golf
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. - Suzy Whaley, a former Tar Heel golfer and an 18-year veteran of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP) is the recipient of the 2012 Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award, which recognizes an LPGA professional who gives back to the game in the spirit of Nancy Lopez. Whaley is currently the teaching professional at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
The Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award was created in 2007 and is given to an LPGA professional who emulates qualities valued by Lopez: Leadership; Passion; Giving; and Approachability. Lopez is a 48-time LPGA Tour winner and four-time Rolex Player of the Year. She was inducted into the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame in 1987 and captained the victorious 2005 U.S. Solheim Cup Team.
In June of 2003, Whaley participated in The Greater Hartford Open, only the second woman ever to qualify for a PGA Tour event, following the legendary Babe Zaharias, 58 years before her.
Whaley is actively involved in her profession. She is a member of the Connecticut PGA Board of Directors and is the 2011 Growth of the Game chairperson. Whaley also serves on the National Board of Directors and is the National Junior Golf Chairperson. Whaley also hosted an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Fair in 2012 with close to 1000 participants.
"Suzy is the perfect example of an LPGA member who goes above and beyond to share her love of the game with others," said Nancy Henderson, Executive Director for the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Membership." "She certainly embodies the LPGA Values of Leadership, Passion, Giving and Approachability."
Whaley's teaching accolades include: Top 50 Teacher by Golf Digest, America's 50 Best Women Teachers by Golf Digest, nominated for GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Teacher list, and a Top 50 US Kids Teacher. She is also a two-time LPGA Northeast Teacher of the Year and a two-time PGA Teacher of the Year honoree in the Connecticut PGA Section.
"I am very excited to receive the Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award from the LPGA. Nancy's spirit, graciousness, and enthusiasm for golf have inspired me during my career as a golf professional over the last 20 years. To receive an award in her name is so humbling. I will continue to strive each and every day to live up to this incredible honor."
Whaley, formerly Suzy McGuire, was born in Cherry Hill, N.J., but spent much of her young life with her family in Syracuse, N.Y. She attended Carolina where she played on the women's golf team 1986-89 and graduated with a degree in economics. She earned her LPGA Tour status immediately after completing college. She played on the LPGA Tour for two years before starting a family.
In 1991, Suzy married Bill Whaley, a PGA Professional and Suzy's coach. Bill is the National Director of Golf for PGA Tour Properties and the General Manager and PGA Director of Golf at TPC River Highlands.
The Whaleys live in Farmington, Conn., and have two daughters, Jennifer, 17, and Kelly, 15; and a black lab, Bella. Jennifer will play Division 1 Golf for Quinnipiac College in the fall of 2012 and Kelly is the 2011 CT Amateur Golf Champion and the 2011 CT PGA Junior Champion.
![Images from the first round of the 2026 Gators Invitational on Friday, March 6, 2026 at Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. [Photo by Matt Pendleton Photography for North Carolina Tar Heels Athletics]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Func.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F3%2F7%2F260306-NCAAWGOLF-UNC-GatorsInvitational-0828-MattPendleton_copy.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
