Multiple major champions among World Golf Hall of Fame finalists
The World Golf Hall of Fame has announced a stellar list of 18 finalists shortlisted for the Class of 2024.
Three-time major champion and former Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington is one of the headline nominees this year.
Harrington won back-to-back Open Championships in 2007 and 2008 straight after Hall of Fame member Tiger Woods achieved the same feat.
The Irishman also bagged the 2008 PGA Championship in what was an incredible period for the now 51-year-old, who is building another healthy portfolio of wins on the PGA Tour Champions.
He captained Team Europe at the most recent Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, only to lose to a dominant Team USA by a record margin.
Former US Open champion Jim Furyk has also been nominated. Furyk won his national championship in 2003 and also the FedEx Cup seven years later after a memorable up and down from the bunker on the final hole at East Lake.
He represented America in nine Ryder Cups and was defeated as the captain in 2018 against a rampant Europe at Le Golf National in France.
The late, great Tom Weiskopf also made the list for a fantastic career in which he won 16 times on the PGA Tour including picking up the Claret Jug at the 1973 Open Championship at Troon.
Tributes flooded in for Weiskopf who died at the age of 79 in 2022 having battled pancreatic cancer since 2020. He was one of the stand-out players in the 1970s while competing against the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer.
The 1928 US Open champion Johnny Farrell is also a finalist. Farrell famously learned about golf as a caddie and later became the head professional at Baltusrol.
Two-time major champion Dottie Pepper was also named as a finalist along with fellow dual major winner Cristie Kerr. The pair have 37 LPGA Tour wins and 15 Solheim Cup appearances between them.
Two more major champions in Sandra Palmer and Beverly Hanson, who sadly died in 2014, have also been nominated to complete the representatives from the women’s side.
The remaining seven members of the 13 who founded the LPGA – Alice Bauer, Bettye Danoff, Helen Detweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Shirley Spork, Sally Sessions – were also nominated.
Legendary golf coach and broadcaster Butch Harmon has also made the finalist group. Harmon has worked with a number of PGA Tour stars in his illustrious career, none more well-known than Woods who he helped become World No 1 and a golf icon.
Jay Sigel, one of the most recognised amateurs in the game, and long-time R&A secretary Peter Dawson were also selected by a committee made of Hall of Fame members, media, and World Golf Foundation Board organisations.
The final vote will take place on March 8 in the week of the Players Championship as the PGA Tour’s top players battle it out at TPC Sawgrass.
A committee of 20 members will select the class of 2024 who will be honoured on June 10 at Pinehurst, North Carolina next year. This corresponds with the US Open and the Hall of Fame Museum opening on the USGA’s Golf House campus.
Which of these nominees should be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame? Tweet me and let me know!
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spoken to the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, to name just a few.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
