Hall Passes

Those of you that follow such stuff (and you really do need to get out more) might recall that the election of Fred Couples and especially His Montyness to the World Golf Hall of Fame engendered such criticism that the Hall's selection process has been dramatically changed.  No longer would the ink-stained wretches of the world control the process, but rather a self-selected committee of golf's nattering nabobs would guide us towards the light.

Additionally and perhaps more significantly the process has been downsized to every-other year,

hopefully avoiding the need to let somebody in in order the schedule an induction ceremony in St. Augustine for all the players to skip.  And because golf doesn't have enough committees these days, you'll no doubt be gladdened to know that the process actually involves two, one to develop a list of finalists and the second to make the actual selections.  It's a relief to know that all those Ponte Vedra and Far Hills toadies have access to first class travel and generous per diems.

So, here's the list of finalists generated by Committee No. One:

Candidate                     Category

Laura Davies                 Female Competitor

Johnny Farrell               Male Competitor

Max Faulkner                Veterans

David Graham               Male Competitor

Beverly Hanson             Female Competitor

Catherine Lacoste          Veterans

Henry Longhurst            Lifetime Achievement

Davis Love III                Male Competitor

Meg Mallon                   Female Competitor

Graham Marsh               Male Competitor

Mark O’Meara                Male Competitor

Sandra Palmer              Female Competitor

Calvin Peete                  Veterans

Samuel Ryder               Lifetime Achievement

Jan Stephenson            Female Competitor

A.W. Tillinghast             Lifetime Achievement

Jan Stephenson?  Is Maggot somehow on the committee?  Stephenson was a better player than she's given credit for, but when the lasting memory of your career is recreating the iconic Marilyn Monroe subway vent photo you probably don't belong in the HOF.

By now you've no doubt heard that from this list Laura Davies, Mark O'Meara, David Graham and Tillie were chose.  Much more on that last guy, but first some thoughts on the players.  

Laura Davies:  Here's the case for her in a nutshell:

Even with more than 70 wins worldwide and four major championships, Laura Davies of England never had a week like this. 

Davies was chosen as one of four inductees to the World Golf Hall of Fame. The announcement Wednesday came one day after she was at Buckingham Palace to receive her insignia as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. 

"I can match the two awards up on a level playing field," Davies said. "They're both great honors, something I never thought about 30 years ago when I turned pro."

I haven't done her any favors with the choice of photo, but I find her idiosyncratic golf swing endlessly fascinating.  But she was a great player, she was very significant and she should have been in the Hall already.

Mark O'Meara - The case for Marky Mark is a little thinner:

O'Meara had been overlooked in previous voting even though he had a stronger record.

Along with a U.S. Amateur title, he became the oldest player (41) to win two majors in one season in 1998 and won tournaments on five continents. He also played on five Ryder Cup teams. 

"I was hoping this time was going to come, and fortunately it did," O'Meara said. "I think all of us realize this is the pinnacle of golf. ... As a young person, you have dreams of someday being in the Hall of Fame."

Meh.  The totals are 16 Tour wins and the two majors in '98.  There's obviously a case to be made based upon Freddie's selection that O'Meara is worthy.  But Freddie was at one time, admittedly little more than a weekend, the best player in the world.  Was O'Meara ever a top ten player?  

How you come out is all about 1998, when he took advantage of a soft year, talent-wise.  The Norman-Faldo-Seve-Langer generation was fading, and he was competing with the Montys and Tom Lehmans of the world, and those guys weren't all that good.

No doubt a nice guy and an over-achiever, and he really benefited from his friendship with Tiger.  

David Graham - This is a really tough one to assess.  Cameron Morfit finds him worthy, as per this:

Graham racked up 35 professional victories, including two majors, eight PGA Tour titles, and five on the Champions Tour. His closing 67 at the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion is a benchmark for tournament golf. Graham hit every fairway but the first, and essentially every green in regulation (his ball twice rolled onto the fringe). In phoning the winner, Ben Hogan praised Graham for, “one of the best rounds of golf I've ever seen.”

 That last sentence is the very definition of "praise from Caesar", no?

Adam Schupak is also on board, as apparently were some influential types:

“There’s a lot of guys that are in there that deserve to be in there but not before David,” said his good friend Hall of Famer Lee Trevino. “He won two majors, and they’ve got guys that haven’t even won one sitting up there on the stage with Jack Nicklaus. Are you kidding me?”

Graham is a proud man and a gentleman, so he didn’t campaign on his own behalf. But you know who did? Nicklaus, Player and Arnold Palmer. They recalled a self-made man who rose from humble beginnings in Australia. Graham’s first golf clubs were left-handed, and despite being a natural right-hander, he taught himself to become a 2-handicap. When he finally converted to the right side, it took him two more years to return his game to the previous level. Still, he saw a future in golf and quit school at age 13, against the strong opposition of his father.

If Trevino, Nicklaus and Palmer think he belongs, and of course they played against the man, who am I to quibble?  And for the record, I wa sat Merion all four days of that '81 Open, though I was following that Nicklaus guy for as long as I could,  

Albert Warren Tillinghast - So you have this Hall of Fame thingy, you let architects into it such as Macdonald, Ross and Mackenzie, and you can't find a slot for Tillie?  Euro tour hack Ken Schofield warrants a slot, but not Albert Warren?

And we're supposed to take you seriously?  I actually think there should be a separate wing for architects, and Old Tom should be selected for his contributions here, and Harry Colt, Perry Maxwell, William Flynn and Seth rRynor (and this list could be way longer) should have their day in the sun.

For Tillie, let me simply direct you that which you'll want to read.  First, Golfweek's Bradley Klein pens an appreciation:

Albert Warren Tillinghast (1874-1941) embodied the strengths and weaknesses of a

textbook Roaring Twenties artist. He was born into a wealthy Philadelphia-area family, untamable as a youth, indulgent in his private life and reckless with money in his business. And more so than any other Golden Age architect, Tillinghast parlayed his excesses into a vision about golf. He was confident to a fault, well lubricated in his intake, boastful to the point of showmanship in his work life and died virtually penniless in pursuit of his love of golf. A fine player, he also was a brilliant writer, editor and satirist.

And that Shackelford guy has an item at The Loop on Tillie as a quasi-renaissance man 

Master Photographer. He took one of the most striking images of Old Tom Morrisand documented his travels, publishing some of the best early images of golf courses and players. He knew how to best capture courses and published many of those images with his articles in publications like Golf Illustrated, which he helmed as editor.

I'm assuming that's the photo in question, though apparently Tillie also took this one of father and son:

Do read both pieces on Tillie, as you'll learn quite a bit.