Alice Chen Cited For Leadership & Charity As Dinah Shore Trophy Award Recipient
EDITOR'S NOTE: Alice Chen has won six NJSGA Championships: two Women's Amateurs, two Public Llnks and two Junior Championships. She was part of the NJSGA-sponsored team that won the 2013 U.S. National State Team Championship. In 2017, she and Taylor Totland of Hollywood won the U.S. Women's Four-Ball Championship.
By Julie Paré, Furman Sports Information
Furman women's golfer Alice Chen was honored on May 18 with the 2018 Dinah Shore Trophy, cementing her status as one of the top collegiate female players who has made an impact on the golf course through her leadership and also on society through charitable endeavor.
Administered by the LPGA Foundation, the Dinah Shore Trophy Award recognizes female collegiate golfers who excel in both academics (3.2 on a 4.0 scale) and athletics – playing in at least 50 percent of the team's scheduled events – while maintaining a 78.00 or less scoring average. In addition, nominees must demonstrate outstanding leadership skills and community service.
A senior from Princeton, N.J., Chen became only the 10th four-time all-conference honoree in the history of the Southern Conference following her selection in 2018. She is just the second player in league history to finish among the top three individual four times at the SoCon Championship, which dates back to 1994.
ALICE CHEN GOLF CHANNEL INTERVIEW
Chen currently ranks 57th nationally and is third on the Furman team with a 73.09 stroke average over 32 rounds this season, heading into the NCAA Championships. She won individual medalist honors at the Moon Golf Invitational and tied for third at the SoCon Championships. Overall, Chen has placed among the top ten in four of 11 tournaments this season. She was chosen the 2016 SoCon Co-Player of the Year and the 2015 SoCon Freshman of the Year, and last summer, she teamed with former Furman golfer Taylor Totland to win the 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
A captain on the 2017-18 Furman team, Chen has helped the Paladins to a seventh-place national ranking. The Paladins will begin competition today at the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Chen has not only been a major contributor to her golf team but is also heavily involved in community engagement. As a leadership member of the Furman Fellowship of Christian Athletes, she has been responsible for planning and preparing large group gatherings and has also worked as a summer camp counselor. She earned the 2018 C. Dan Joyner Outstanding Female Leader Award, which is given annually to leaders within the positively impacting their teams as a role model, resource, motivator, and encourager.
The Dinah Shore Trophy Award is a joint effort between The LPGA Foundation, Friends of Golf (FOG) organization and the ANA Inspiration - one of the LPGA's five major championships and the largest contributor to the Dinah Shore Scholarship Fund. As part of the Dinah Shore Trophy Award, a $10,000 grant will be awarded to the Furman women's golf program.
Former winners of this prestigious award include: Stanford University graduate Casey Danielson (2017), Columbia University's Jackie Chulya (2016), East Carolina University alum Katie Kirk (2015), University of Arkansas' Emily Tubert (2014), Michigan State University's Caroline Powers (2013), North Dakota State alum and current LPGA Tour player Amy Anderson (2012), University of California graduate Pia Halbig (2011), University of Central Florida alum and Symetra Tour player Katie Detlefsen (2010), Duke University grad Amanda Blumenherst (2008, 2009), University of Arkansas alumna and 2012 Rolex LPGA Player of the Year Stacy Lewis (2007), and University of South Carolina's Erica Battle (2006).
The LPGA Foundation announced the Dinah Shore Scholarship Fund in March of 1994 in honor of the late Dinah Shore, a Vanderbilt University graduate and an honorary member of the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame. The Dinah Shore Trophy Award has contributed more than $184,000 to women's collegiate golf programs, including this year.
About the contributing organizations:
Friends of Golf (FOG) is a fundraising organization founded and administered by Eddie Merrins, golf professional emeritus at Bel-Air Country Club in Beverly Hills, Calif. FOG contributes annually to collegiate, high school and junior golf programs throughout the country, and Dinah Shore was considered the "First Lady" of FOG.
A part of the LPGA Tour since 1972 when it was founded by entertainer Dinah Shore, the ANA Inspiration (initially the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle and more recently the Kraft Nabisco Championship) was designated as a major in 1983. Three-time champion Amy Alcott began a winner's tradition of jumping into the lake at the 18th hole after her victory in 1991. The event was called the Colgate Dinah Shore from 1972-81 and the Nabisco Dinah Shore from 1982-99. Dinah Shore's legacy and heritage is preserved with the "Dinah Shore Walk of Champions" at the 18th hole at Mission Hills Country Club. In addition, a statue of Dinah Shore, serving as the walk's focal point, was created by noted sculptor George Montgomery, who was Shore's former husband.
The LPGA is the world's leading professional golf organization for women. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla., the association celebrates a diverse and storied membership with more than 2,300 members representing more than 30 countries. With a vision to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the very best of women's golf, LPGA Tour Professionals compete across the globe, while the Symetra Tour, the official development and qualifying tour of the LPGA, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. Additionally, LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals directly impact the game through teaching, coaching and management.
The LPGA demonstrates its dedication to the development of the game through The LPGA Foundation. Since 1991, this charitable organization has been committed to empowering and supporting girls and women through developmental and humanitarian golf initiatives, such as LPGA*USGA Girls Golf.
