Padraig Harrington, Sandra Palmer along with the late Johnny Farrell, Beverly Hanson, Tom Weiskopf and the 13 LPGA Founders will be inducted in June 2024 during the 124th U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (March 8, 2023) – Padraig Harrington, Sandra Palmer along with the late Johnny Farrell, Beverly Hanson, Tom Weiskopf and the 13 LPGA Founders will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. Final selections were determined today by the World Golf Hall of Fame Selection Committee and the elite group will become members of the World Golf Hall of Fame at the 2024 Induction Ceremony to be held on Monday, June 10, 2024 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. coinciding with the 124th U.S. Open Championship.
“Congratulations to all of our 12 World Golf Hall of Fame finalists, as each has truly made an indelible mark on the sport and led remarkable careers,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of World Golf Hall of Fame. “We look forward to welcoming the new class into the World Golf Hall of Fame as our Inductees next June and shining a light on their achievements.”
“This is very exciting, obviously a huge honor,” said Harrington. “It’s somewhat humbling. At this stage of my life, it gives me some validation to what I’ve done in golf. Brings back a flood of memories. This is a deep-down satisfaction, and I’m very proud to be included with the players before me. Seeing your name beside the names that I’ve looked up to as a boy and young golfer, it’s very nice. Everybody on the ballot deserves to be there. It’s unfortunate that everyone can’t be in, but it’s great to be included in the Class of 2024.”
“I’m overcome with emotion and very grateful,” said Sandra Palmer. “It gives me an opportunity to thank the people that have helped me along the way. I just couldn’t believe it when I got the call, this is my sixth time to be nominated. What an incredible group of women that I played with over the years. I’m definitely going to have some champagne. It’s one of those times that you sit down and your whole career comes before you. I think about the people along the way that I’d like to thank.”
The LPGA was founded in 1950 by 13 original LPGA players. Alice Bauer, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Sally Sessions and Shirley Spork will join Patty Berg (1974 Inductee), Marlene Bauer Hagge (2022 Inductee), Louise Suggs (1979 Inductee), Babe Zaharias (1974 Inductee), Marilynn Smith (2006 Inductee), Betty Jameson (1998 Inductee) who are currently in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
“We owe the LPGA’s long and illustrious history to the dedicated efforts and incredible commitment of our 13 Founders. Their leadership created the most successful women’s sports organizations in the world, and they made it possible for women to pursue golf as a passion and as a career,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “Inducting all of our Founders into the World Golf Hall of Fame is a fitting recognition of the group’s vision, resilience and pioneering work that changed not only Women’s opportunities in golf, but also elevated women in sport and in society more broadly.”
The 12 finalists were Peter Dawson, Johnny Farrell, Jim Furyk, Beverly Hanson, Butch Harmon, Padraig Harrington, Cristie Kerr, Sandra Palmer, Dottie Pepper, Jay Sigel, Tom Weiskopf and the LPGA Founder.
The Class of 2024 is elected by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, who discussed the merits of the finalists. The Selection Committee is a 20-member panel that includes Hall of Fame Members Beth Daniel, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Annika Sorenstam, as well as media representatives and leaders of the major golf organizations.
The finalists were nominated by the Hall of Fame’s Nominating Committee, which vetted candidates that met the qualifications.
Click here to download press kit materials for the Class of 2024. For more information on the Induction process, visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org.
Class of 2024 Selection Committee
Hall of Fame Members
Beth Daniel
Colin Montgomerie
Mark O’Meara
Annika Sorenstam
Institutional Seats
Will Jones, The Masters
Mollie Marcoux-Samaan, LPGA
Jay Monahan, PGA TOUR
Keith Pelley, European Tour
Martin Slumbers, The R&A
Seth Waugh, PGA of America
Mike Whan, USGA
Media
Max Alder, Golf Digest
Iain Carter, BBC
Jaime Diaz, Golf Channel
Doug Ferguson, Associated Press
Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek
Amy Rogers, Golf Channel
At-Large Seats
Peter Bevacqua, NBC Sports Group
Jim Nantz, CBS
Jerry Tarde, Golf Digest/Discovery
The 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Monday, June 10, 2024 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. coinciding with the 124th U.S. Open Championship and the Hall of Fame Museum’s opening on the United States Golf Association’s (“USGA”) Golf House Pinehurst campus next year. In July 2022, the World Golf Hall of Fame and USGA announced plans to create a new visitor experience for the Hall of Fame in the historic golf community.
***
About the World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame celebrates and honors the legacies of those who have made golf great. The Hall of Fame opened in 1974 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, where 71 members were inducted prior to the transition (in 1998) to its St. Augustine, Florida location. In 2024, the World Golf Hall of Fame will open a new visitor experience at the USGA’s Golf House Pinehurst campus in partnership with the USGA. World Golf Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under the umbrella of the World Golf Foundation. To learn more, visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org.
____________________
2024 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Finalist Bios
Johnny Farrell
Country: United States
Born: April 1, 1901
Died: June 14, 1988
Category: Male Competitor
Official Victories: 22 (all on PGA TOUR)
Majors/THE PLAYERS:
- 1928 U.S. Open Additional
Career Highlights:
- Ryder Cup: 1927, 1929, 1931
Beverly Hanson
Country: United States
Born: December 5, 1924
Died: April 12, 2014
Category: Female Competitor
Official Victories: 17
Majors:
- 1955 LPGA Championship
- 1956 Women’s Western Open
- 1958 Titleholders Championship
Additional Career Highlights:
- 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion
Padraig Harrington
Country: Ireland
Born: August 31, 1971
Category: Male Competitor
Official Victories: 21 (15 on European Tour)
Majors/THE PLAYERS:
- 2007 The Open Championship
- 2008 The Open Championship
- 2008 PGA Championship
Additional Career Highlights:
- Ryder Cup: 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2020 (Captain)
Major Awards:
- European Tour Order of Merit: 2006
- European Tour Golfer of the Year: 2007, 2008
- PGA Player of the Year: 2008
- PGA TOUR Player of the Year: 2008
Sandra Palmer
Country: United States
Born: March 10, 1943
Category: Female Competitor
Official Victories: 19
Majors:
- 1972 Titleholders Championship
- 1975 U.S. Women’s Open
Additional Career Highlights:
- 2 Victories on JLPGA
Major Awards:
- 1975 LPGA Player of the Year
- 1975 Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year
Tom Weiskopf
Country: United States
Born: November 9, 1942
Died: August 20, 2022
Category: Male Competitor
Official Victories: 18 (16 on PGA TOUR)
Majors/THE PLAYERS:
- 1973 Open Championship
Additional Career Highlights:
- Ryder Cup: 1973, 1975
13 Founders of the LPGA (6 were previously inducted)
• Patty Berg (1974 Inductee)
• Marlene Bauer Hagge (2022 Inductee)
• Betty Jameson (1998 Inductee)
• Marilynn Smith (2006 Inductee)
• Louise Suggs (1979 Inductee)
• Babe Zaharias (1974 Inductee)
Alice Bauer
- 1927-2002, from Eureka, S.D.
- Sister to WGHOF and LPGA co-Founder Marlene Bauer Hagge
- Inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2015
- Inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022
Bettye Danoff
- 1923-2011, from Dallas, Texas
- One professional victory, the 1953 Hardscrabble Open
- 2000 LPGA Commissioner’s Award recipient, along with her fellow LPGA Founders
- Inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022
Helen Dettweiler
- 1914-1990, from Washington, D.C.; graduated from Trinity College
- One major victory, the 1939 Women’s Western Open, the first tournament she ever entered
- The Women’s Western Open was recognized as a major once the LPGA was founded until 1967; all winners of the event dating back to 1930 were designated major winners by the LPGA
- Became the first female baseball broadcaster in 1938
- Was a former cryptographer for the United States Army Air Forces’ Air Transport Command during WWII, and in 1943 joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots
- Inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022
Helen Hicks
- 1911-1974, from Cedarhurst, N.Y.
- Two major championship victories before founding the LPGA, the 1937 Women’s Western Open and the 1940 Titleholders Championship
- A multiple amateur champion, including the 1931 U.S. Women’s Amateur
- Inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022
Opal Hill
- 1892-1981, from Newport, Neb.
- Started golf at the age of 31 and turned professional in 1938
- Two major championship victories before founding the LPGA, the 1935 and 1936 Women’s Western Open
- A multiple amateur champion, including a three-time winner of the Women’s Western Amateur (1929, 1931, 1932)
- Inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1968 and LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022
Sally Sessions
- 1923-1966, from Detroit, Mich.
- First secretary for the LPGA upon its origin in 1950
- Was the first woman to break par 72 at Pinehurst, with a score of 69 in 1947
- Inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1987, the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 1988 and LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022
Shirley Spork
- 1927-2022, from Detroit, Mich.
- Integral in the formation of the teaching division of the LPGA, now known as the LPGA Professional
- 1959 and 1984 LPGA Teacher of the Year Award recipient
- Inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 1968, the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981, the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2019 and LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022
