These outstanding LPGA Professionals represent the Hall of Fame Class of 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., September 3, 2026 – Sandy LaBauve, an LPGA Professional from Scottsdale, Arizona, and founder of LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, and Rita Reasons, an LPGA Professional from Nashville, Tennessee, and former Midwest Section president, have been inducted into the 2026 LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame. The two women are being recognized for their extraordinary dedication, outstanding achievements and steadfast commitment to growing and advancing the game of golf.

Throughout their distinguished careers, LaBauve and Reasons have made an immeasurable impact on the game, creating opportunities for women and girls to learn, play and thrive in golf while inspiring generations of golfers and fellow professionals along the way.

Sandy LaBauve

In 1988, Sandy LaBauve recognized a need, or more accurately, a lack of girls participation in the game of golf. She saw an opportunity to change that and made it her life’s mission to grow girls’ golf. More than three decades later, that mission has reached more than one million girls.

Like many great leaders, LaBauve’s passion for golf was inspired by those closest to her. Introduced to the game by her mother and coached by her father, she went on to play collegiate golf at the University of Georgia. While in college, she met her husband Mike LaBauve, a collegiate golfer at Louisianna State University. Together, they would go on to become a powerhouse couple in the golf industry.

In 1985, LaBauve joined the LPGA Professionals Membership and immediately sought mentorship from world-renowned Professionals Kerry Graham, Carol Mann, Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilson. Recognizing LaBauve’s passion, dedication and potential, Graham approached her in 1988 with a challenge: help grow girls’ golf in the United States.

LaBauve started small, partnering with Girl Scouts of America and local sports teams to introduce girls to the game through clinics, fun games and activities designed to make golf accessible and enjoyable. But she knew there was an opportunity to do more.

She developed a larger program, Junior Girls Golf Club, while learning from her mentors and simultaneously creating a manual for other golf professionals interested in developing girl-friendly junior programs.

What began as a handful of local programs, soon evolved into a global movement. The LPGA Foundation embraced LaBauve’s framework and helped launch the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Program. In 2023, the program reached the milestone of one million Girls Golf members and continues to grow, carrying forward the legacy LaBauve began more than 35 years ago.

LaBauve’s impact extends well beyond Girls Golf. She has been a dedicated member to the LPGA Professionals community, serving as a committee chair from 1992-2016 and volunteering her expertise to organize educational seminars and tournaments for members. As an LPGA and PGA Professional, she has conducted teacher-training workshops, spoken at National Conventions and hosted section seminars. Most recently, she served on the Educational Committees and as Vice President of the Central Section.

LaBauve has also continuously sought ways to elevate and recognize the women who make an impact throughout the golf industry. Alongside fellow LPGA Professional Tina Tombs, she co-founded the Arizona Women’s Golf EXPO to spotlight LPGA Teachers and showcase the latest in women’s golf, instruction, equipment, merchandise and personal health. The event also raised thousands of dollars for Girls Golf while increasing awareness of the program.

Despite her extensive work with the LPGA and Girls Golf, LaBauve has remained dedicated to teaching. Alongside her husband at LaBauve Golf, she continues to offer private lessons and corporate outings, coach a girls’ high school golf team, and mentor golfers of all ages. In the summer, she takes her talents to Basalt, Colorado. Over the course of her career, she has taught more than 40,000 lessons. For LaBauve, the opportunity to learn from her students and develop countless liefling relationships has been one of the greatest rewards of her career.

Her impact has been recognized with numerous honors. In 2014, she was named a Golf Digest Best Instructor, and in 2017 a Top 50 LPGA Instructor, a distinction she has continued to earn throughout her career, reaching Elite status in 2026. In 2010, she was inducted into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame. In 2018, she received two of the LPGA Professionals highest honors: the Ellen Griffin Rolex Award and the Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award, further recognizing her profound impact on the game.

“Being inducted into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame is a distinct honor,” said LaBauve. “My initial calling was to grow girls’ golf. The LPGA Foundation embraced the seed I planted. I am grateful to them. LPGA USGA Girls Golf has grown into a program that has touched the lives of over a million girls. This is an honor for all of those involved as well.”

Rita Reasons

Rita Reasons path to the game of golf was unlike many others. Before becoming an accomplished LPGA Professional, nationally recognized instructor, mentor and leader, Reasons built a successful career in banking and performed with the Nashville Symphony after earning a degree in Music Performance.

She discovered golf later in life and eventually became a student of fellow LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame member Nancy Quarcelino. What began as an introduction to the game, soon evolved into a lifelong profession and a passion for helping others experience the transformative power of golf.

Today, Reasons co-owns the Nancy Quarcelino School of Golf at Gaylord Springs Golf Links in Nashville, Tennessee, where she has built a distinguished career as an award-wining instructor. Throughout more than three decades of teaching, she has worked with golfers at every level, from beginners and juniors to professional athletes, Tour players and club champions.

Her diverse experiences have helped shape her approach to teaching. Whether performing in a concert hall, building a career in the business world or competing on the golf course, Reasons understands that success requires preparation, discipline, perseverance and confidence. She has carried those principles to the lesson tee, combining her technical knowledge of the game with the ability to communicate, motivate and inspire her students.

A guiding influence throughout Reasons’ career came from LPGA legend Peggy Kirk Bell, who encouraged her to “take care of the new golfer, as they are the future of the game.”

Reasons embraced that philosophy throughout her career, creating opportunities to welcome and support those new to the game, particularly women and young girls. She established the first LPGA*USGA Girls Golf chapter in Tennessee and directed the program for 25 years. She also founded the Women’s Beginner School, which has introduced thousands of women to the game over more than three decades.

Her commitment to growing the game has extended far beyond her own students. Reasons has been a dedicated leader within the LPGA Professionals community, serving as Treasurer of the Southeast Section and President of the Midwest Section. She has also shared her expertise through the LPGA Professionals Executive and Leadership Committee, along with numerous other committees that have helped shape the direction of the organization and strengthen support for its members.

Most recently, Rita could be found on the first tee, sending off the Professionals competing in the 2025-26 LPGA Professionals Championship in Nashville, a fitting example of her continued commitment to the organization and its members.

Reasons’ dedication to teaching, service and development of future generations has been recognized with some of the LPGA Professionals’ highest honors, including the LPGA National Teacher of the Year, LPGA Midwest Section Teacher of the Year, Goldie Bateson Service Award, Sarah Hunter Junior Achievement Award and the Jeri Reid Spirit of Golf Award.

Her accomplishments as an instructor have also earned national recognition, She has been named an LPGA Top 50 Teacher, GOLF Magazine Top Regional Teacher, Golf Digest Tennessee Best Instructor, Golf for Women Magazine Top 50 Teacher and US Kids Golf Top 50 Teacher.

But for Reasons, her impact reaches far beyond the honors and titles she has earned throughout her career. It can be found in the thousands of golfers she has taught, the women and girls she has introduced to the game and the Professionals she has mentored and influenced along the way.

For more than three decades, Reasons has dedicated her career to helping others discover what golf can offer. Through her teaching, leadership and service to the LPGA Professionals, she has helped grow the game and create opportunities for generations of golfers to follow.

“Being inducted into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame is the greatest honor of my career,” said Reasons. “It is especially meaningful because my career has always been about serving the LPGA, growing the game, and creating opportunities for others. I am deeply grateful to the Founders who built this organization and to those who have helped shape my journey. I have always believed that our greatest responsibility is to leave the game and our profession stronger for those who follow. To have a career dedicated to that purpose recognized by the LPGA Professionals is an honor I will forever cherish”.

Sandy LaBauve and Rita Reasons to be Inducted into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame

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