Dawn Coe-Jones
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox golfer Dawn Coe-Jones (October 19, 1960 – November 12, 2016) was a Canadian professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour, and a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. She was the first female Canadian golfer to surpass $1million in career earnings, announcing the arrival of Canadian female golfers upon the world stage in the 1990s.<ref name=CBCnews-2016-11-12-obit>Template:Cite news</ref>
Early years
Coe-Jones was born in Campbell River, British Columbia. Growing up in Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, she worked as a teenager at March Meadows Golf Course in Honeymoon Bay.<ref name=CBCsports-2016-11-12-CP>Template:Cite news</ref>
She had an outstanding amateur career, scoring back-to-back wins in the B.C. Junior tournament in 1978 and 1979 and the B.C. Amateur in 1982 and 1983. She capped her 1983 season with the Canadian Women's Amateur title and won NCAA all-American honours at Lamar University. She won a scholarship in her sophomore year and graduated in 1983 with a degree in elementary education.<ref name=CBCsports-2016-11-12-CP/>
Professional career
Her first LPGA win came at the Women's Kemper Open in 1992. Coe-Jones was accompanied by caddie and childhood friend Kelly Feltrin, who was on her bag when she won the Kemper. She went on to claim the 1994 LPGA Palm Beach Classic and 1995 Tournament of Champions. Her best score ever was 63 at the Safeco Classic in 1998.<ref name=CBCsports-2016-11-12-CP/> In 1993, she became the first female golfer to sink an albatross in a women's major.
Coe-Jones played on the LPGA Tour from 1984 to 2008, winning three tournaments, and over $3 million in career earnings. She competed in over 20 Canadian Women's Opens. Her best chance to win her national open was in 1993, when she was third behind Brandie Burton and Betsy King at London Hunt. She tied for fourth with Canadian Gail Graham in 1998 in Windsor, Ontario.<ref name=CBCsports-2016-11-12-CP/>
Coe-Jones made her farewell appearance at the CN Canadian Open in 2008, finishing 14-over after two rounds and missing the cut.
Personal
She competed under her maiden name, Dawn Coe, until her marriage to Jimmy Jones in November 1992. She moved to Tampa from Texas in 1992 to be near the man she would marry that year, Jimmy Jones, and friends from the tour.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Their son James was born three years later.<ref name=CBCsports-2016-11-12-CP/>
Coe-Jones' favourite hockey team growing up was the Montreal Canadiens, but after living in Florida for many years she adopted the Tampa Bay Lightning.<ref name=remember>Template:Cite news</ref> She was present for their 2004 Stanley Cup victory.<ref name=CBCnews-2016-11-12-obit/>
Death
She died of chondrosarcoma, a form of bone cancer at a hospice on November 12, 2016, near her home in Tampa, Florida, aged 56.<ref name=CBCnews-2016-11-12-obit/><ref name=GlobeAndMail-2016-11-12>Template:Cite news</ref>
She is survived by her husband, Jimmy, son, Jimmy, in-laws Sandy and General James Jones, and brothers Mark and John Coe. Her son is a college golfer at the University of South Florida and winner of the 2015 Florida State Amateur.<ref name="Dawn Coe-Jones Golf Classic"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Legacy
The inaugural Dawn Coe-Jones Golf Classic was held in October 2016 to raise funds for Sarcoma research in her name.<ref name="Dawn Coe-Jones Golf Classic">Template:Cite web</ref>
Honours
Coe-Jones was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2003, and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.<ref name=CBCnews-2016-11-12-obit/><ref name=RCGAhalloffame-profile>Template:Cite web</ref>
Amateur wins (5)
- 1978 British Columbia Junior
- 1979 British Columbia Junior
- 1982 British Columbia Amateur
- 1983 British Columbia Amateur, Canadian Women's Amateur
Professional wins (4)
LPGA Tour wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb, 29 1992 | Women's Kemper Open | −13 (68-70-69-68=275) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon Dottie Mochrie |
| 2 | Feb 6, 1994 | HealthSouth Palm Beach Classic | −15 (67-69-65=201) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon Lauri Merten |
| 3 | Jan 15, 1995 | Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions | −7 (74-70-68-69=281) | 6 strokes | Template:Flagicon Beth Daniel |
LPGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1992 | Oldsmobile LPGA Classic | Template:Flagicon Colleen Walker | Lost to par on first extra hole |
Other wins (1)
- 1992 Pizza-La LPGA Matchplay Championship
Team appearances
Professional
- World Cup (representing Canada): 2005
- Handa Cup (representing World team): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 (tie), 2014
See also
- 1990s wave of Canadian female golfers on the LPGA Tour
References
External links
- Canadian female golfers
- LPGA Tour golfers
- Lamar Lady Cardinals golfers
- Canadian expatriate golfers in the United States
- Golf people from British Columbia
- Sportswomen from British Columbia
- Golfers from Tampa, Florida
- Canadian expatriates in the United States
- Deaths from bone cancer in the United States
- Deaths from cancer in Florida
- 1960 births
- 2016 deaths
- 20th-century Canadian sportswomen