53. Val Skinner
Golf / North Platte / Born: 1960
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: North Platte High, Oklahoma State Cowboys and 1996 Solheim Cup team
Best athlete from Nebraska played with or against: Skinner mentioned three -- Cindy Tatum, a former track star at North Platte High and at Nebraska; Nan Circo, a member of the Nebraska golf hall of fame who is from Omaha; and Bob Devaney, the former Nebraska football coach whom she golfed with in a pro-am in 1983 during her first year on the LPGA Tour. "He signed my hat and I signed his," she said.
Best moment as an athlete: Her first LPGA win, in 1985, and being on the 1996 Solheim Cup team
Val Skinner could make a Top 100 list for charity work.
The professional golfer from North Platte has helped raise about $5 million since 1988. In 1993, after fellow LPGA pro Heather Farr died of breast cancer, Skinner became an advocate and fundraiser for breast cancer research and prevention.
Then in 1999, following tests that showed a benign lump in her breast, she worked even harder in that area, creating LIFE (LPGA pros In the Fight to Eradicate breast cancer), a program that has had a pro-am since 2000 and has raised about $3 million.
"What I found myself doing is competing in doing something useful," said the 44-year-old, who lives in Bay Head, N.J., and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Skinner has had plenty of experience in being competitive.
She is a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour. She was Golf Magazine's 1982 college player of the year while at Oklahoma State. She's a member of the Nebraska golf hall of fame and the Oklahoma State hall of fame.
And Skinner is still talking about birdies.
Though she hasn't played in an LPGA event since 2003 because of a variety of injuries, Skinner is in her second season as an analyst for the Golf Channel. And in early August, she teamed up with Sandra Haynie to finish tied for fourth at the Women's Senior Golf Tour's BJ's Charity Championship in Quincy, Mass.
"I was a little nervous on the first tee," said Skinner, who added she may play in some LPGA tournaments in the near future. "Age does help with understanding how to hit the ball easier. But physically I have to do it.
"It was exciting playing the event. I still have a lot of game."
-- Nick Piastowski
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: North Platte High, Oklahoma State Cowboys and 1996 Solheim Cup team
Best athlete from Nebraska played with or against: Skinner mentioned three -- Cindy Tatum, a former track star at North Platte High and at Nebraska; Nan Circo, a member of the Nebraska golf hall of fame who is from Omaha; and Bob Devaney, the former Nebraska football coach whom she golfed with in a pro-am in 1983 during her first year on the LPGA Tour. "He signed my hat and I signed his," she said.
Best moment as an athlete: Her first LPGA win, in 1985, and being on the 1996 Solheim Cup team
