Hall of Fame

Hometown: Glens Falls, N.Y. 
Residence: Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Deceased (1942–2020)

Gail Purdy Brophy was one of the most accomplished all-around athletes the Capital Region has ever produced — a two-time New York State Women's Amateur champion, a U.S. Women's Open competitor, a national-caliber speed skater, and, decades later, the author of one of the great comeback stories in New York golf.

A Glens Falls native, Brophy announced herself on the state stage as a teenager. In 1961, competing at Niagara Falls Country Club, she captured the NYS Women's Amateur Championship with a 3-and-2 victory over Ginny Allen, becoming the youngest champion in the event's history to that point. She won the title a second time in 1963. Her game reached the national level as well: she qualified for the U.S. Girls' Junior in 1956 and played in the U.S. Women's Open in both 1960 and 1961, making the cut each time — at a period when only the low 40 advanced to the final 36 holes. In 1960 she finished 39th with rounds of 84-81-81-85—331. At her home club, she was a ten-time Glens Falls Country Club champion.

Then her competitive golf career went quiet for more than four decades — not for any lack of ability, but out of devotion to family and business. When her father fell ill in 1963, Brophy left college and took the reins of the family enterprise, Purdy's Discount Wine & Liquor, running it for the rest of her life while raising two daughters. Even as golf receded, her athletic drive never did. She became an elite short-track speed skater, winning more than 100 titles across the Northeast — including seven North American, National and U.S. Open Short Track championships — and was regarded as a former Olympic hopeful, defeating Olympians along the way.

In 2006, after a 42-year hiatus, Brophy roared back to competitive golf and picked up right where she had left off. She won the inaugural NYS Women's Super Senior Amateur Championship in 2007, successfully defended the title in 2008, and added runner-up finishes in 2009, 2012 and 2013. Closer to home, she swept the 2012 Northeastern Women's Golf Association (NEWGA) Senior and Super Senior championships and defended the Super Senior crown in 2013.

Brophy's standing in New York athletics was recognized well beyond the scorecard. In 1991 she became the first woman inducted into the Glens Falls Hall of Fame, and she remains one of only two women in the Saratoga Springs Hall of Fame, alongside LPGA star and broadcaster Dottie Pepper. NEWGA honored her with its Golf Achievement Award and, in 2017, named a tournament in her honor — a fitting tribute to a lifelong champion and a generous supporter of junior and women's golf.

Gail Purdy Brophy passed away on February 23, 2020, at the age of 77. Across two eras of competition separated by more than forty years, she embodied resilience, versatility and quiet excellence — the rare champion who won at the highest levels of two different sports. Her remarkable career earns her a lasting place in the New York State Golf Association Hall of Fame.

Gail (Purdy) Brophy's Career Highlights

• 2x NYSGA Women's Amateur Champion (1961, 1963)
  • 1961: defeated Ginny Allen 3 & 2 at Niagara Falls CC; youngest champion at the time
• 2x NYSGA Women's Super Senior Amateur Champion (2007, 2008); runner-up 2009, 2012, 2013
• First champion of the inaugural NYS Women's Super Senior Amateur (2007), after a 42-year competitive hiatus
• NEWGA Senior and Super Senior Champion (2012); Super Senior champion again (2013)
• Participant, U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur Championship (1956)
• Participant, U.S. Women's Amateur (1962, 1963)
• U.S. Women's Open: made the cut in both 1960 and 1961
  • 1960: finished 39th (84-81-81-85—331)
• 10x Glens Falls Country Club champion
• First woman inducted into the Glens Falls Hall of Fame (1991)
• One of only two women in the Saratoga Springs Hall of Fame (with Dottie Pepper)
• NEWGA Golf Achievement Award
• The Gail Purdy Brophy Tournament named in her honor (2017)
• Champion short-track speed skater — 100+ Northeast titles, including seven North American, National and U.S. Open Short Track championships