DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership today announced the following members as winners of the 2018 national awards in acknowledgement of their dedication and achievements: Tina Tombs, Arizona Biltmore Golf Club, Phoenix, Arizona, Teacher of the Year; Kelley Brooke, Bethpage Black Golf Course, Farmingdale, New York, Professional of the Year; Christa Teno, Seminole State College of Florida, Stanford, Florida, Coach of the Year; Mackenzie Mack, The First Tee of Tampa Bay, Tampa, Florida, Junior Golf Leader of the Year.
The national award winners were selected by the LPGA T&CP membership’s Executive Committee from the pool of the section award winners voted on by officers of the six regional sections: Central, International, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Western.
The LPGA T&CP Coach of the Year Award was established in 1980 and is awarded annually to an LPGA Teaching and Club Professional member who is actively engaged in teaching and/or coaching golf at the collegiate or high school level.
A former LPGA Tour player, Christa Teno (Tecumseh, Ont.) has been the head women’s golf coach at Seminole State since 2007 and has coached the Raiders to one National Championship (in 2015), four runner-up spots and two third-place finishes. She was named Southeast Section Coach of the Year by the LPGA Membership in 2008, 2012 and 2015.
“This is an incredible honour for me, my family, my players and Seminole State College of Florida,” said Teno. “Yes, I love what I do, I’ve worked very hard, but this is also a chance for me to say thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. Every day I wake up excited to spend time with my team and my co-workers, so being recognized by the LPGA for simply doing what I love makes me blessed beyond belief!”
Teno went to North Texas State University on a golf scholarship from 1981-1985, graduating from there as a playing professional on the Futures Tour (1985-1997) and the LPGA Tour (1988-1991, 1996). She joined the LPGA Teaching Division in 1997 and won the LPGA Teaching National Championship in 1998. Teno was an LPGA National Evaluator from 2003-2013 and worked as an LPGA Teacher at several locations from 1988-2005.
She was the Head Professional and General Manager at Bainbridge Country Club from 1997-2000, and went on to become the head coach at Seminole State in 2007. Teno was inducted into the Windsor Essex County Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, and into the NJCAA Coaches Hall of Fame in 2017.