World Golf Hall of Fame invites five new members for 2019

The World Golf Hall of Fame has invited five new members into the fold, each having left a significant impact on the game. Here are the men and women who will be enshrined next summer.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, three-time major winner Jan Stephenson, former Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Billy Payne, paraplegic golfer Dennis Walters, and the late Peggy Kirk Bell will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame next June.

Inductees received calls from members of the committee. Goosen was called by Gary Player. He was on the practice putting green at the time.

“It’s always great hearing Gary’s voice, but he sounded extremely excited, and when he told me, yeah, I sounded very excited,” Goosen said about receiving the news. “So, it was a great moment, and I felt shaky after that. Missed a lot of putts, but it was very exciting. We can’t wait for the actual day to come around, and getting to that great place, the Hall of Fame.”

Jan Stephenson said she heard from Nancy Lopez who has called her in several other years, when she did not get the votes for an induction.

“I was crying when Nancy Lopez called me yesterday because I knew she was going to tell me I didn’t make it again,” Stephenson began. “You know, two years ago, she said, ‘I know you’ve worked so hard for the LPGA but you didn’t make it.’”

Lopez began the recent call the same way and then transitioned to tell Stephenson the good news.

“I’ve been crying, goosebumps, couldn’t couldn’t sleep. It was like winning the U.S. Open all over again,” Stephenson admitted.

Dennis Walters heard from Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Jack Peter, president of the World Golf Hall of Fame, all at once.

“I can’t walk, but when I got that call I felt like I could fly,” Walters said.

His phone call went like this. The number for Jack Peter popped up on his cell. Jack said hello. Then, Jack Nicklaus chimed in, followed by Gary Player.

Walters said he knew it had to be good news.

“They are not going to call me and say, sorry,” Walters said. “So, they all chimed in in a chorus, ‘Congratulations.’”

Most of the inductees have not decided who will present them at the ceremony. In fact, they were surprised to know that there was a presenter. However, Dennis Walters was ready.

"“This summer I was at the U.S. Open and I got the Bob Jones Award, and I had Jack and Barbara Nicklaus as my presenters,” Walters explained. “That was pretty cool. I would say I’d like to go with Jack again and Gary Player, if I could do two.”"

Billy Payne was asked what was more of a challenge, being Chairman of Augusta National or bringing the Olympics to Atlanta being the CEO of the games.

“Being chairman of Augusta National is a hundred times easier,” Payne answered, mainly because it’s a community of friends who want to help each other be successful.

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“Running an Olympics, on the other hand, you discover fairly quickly that everybody wants a piece of the action.”

One of the interesting developments during Payne’s tenure as Chairman of Augusta National was creating the Drive, Chip and Putt contest. When asked who created it, Payne admitted it was his wife’s idea.

"“She commented to me one day how great she thought it would be if we could use the aspiration of playing golf at Augusta to inspire kids to take up the game, and to give it a try,” Payne explained. “And so, we reached out to the ones that do most of the work, the PGA of America, and asked them to be our partner, and they do just a monumental amount of work to make it successful and we’re pleased to host the finals.”"

Summarizing a few of the achievements of the inductees:

Peggy Kirk Bell (Posthumous), United States, Lifetime Achievement Category

Bell began playing golf in her teens and eventually became a charter member of the LPGA. In 2007 she received the “First Lady of Golf” award from the PGA of America. Her career in golf spanned decades. She and her husband owned Pine Needles Resort in the Pinehurst area. Bell was also known as an excellent teacher of the game and won the 1961 LPGA Teacher of the Year Award. In 2004 she became a member of the Golf Magazine World Golf Teacher Hall of Fame.

Retief Goosen, South Africa, Male Competitor Category

Goosen, who is from South Africa, has 33 worldwide tournament victories, including the 2001 and 2004 U.S. Opens. In 2001 he was the European Tour Player of the Year, and he led the European Tour Order of Merit in 2001 and 2002. Goosen participated in six consecutive Presidents Cups from 2000 to 2011. He is truly a world player with victories in the U.S., Europe, South Africa and on the Asian Tour. He has represented South Africa in the World Cup, Dunhill Cup, Dunhill Challenge and Presidents Cup.

Billy Payne, United States, Lifetime Achievement Category

Billy Payne was Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club for 11 year. During that time, he debuted the Drive, Chip & Putt National Championship with the USGA and PGA of America, and he established the Asia-Pacific Amateur and Latin America Amateur tournaments, both of which grant spots in the Masters to the winners. Payne received the Olympic Order after being president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. According to many, Payne was important in bringing golf back to the Olympics in 2016.

Jan Stephenson, Australia, Female Competitor Category

In 1974, Stephenson was named LPGA Rookie of the Year. She went on to won 20 professional titles, 16 of them on the LPGA Tour. She is a three-time major champion with victories at the 1981 du Maurier ( a major at that time), the 1982 LPGA Championship and the 1983 U.S. Women’s Open. She is one of the founders of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour and has been involved with golf course design. In 2018. Stephenson received the Order of Australia Medal in 2018 for her contributions to the game of golf.

Dennis Walters, United States, Lifetime Achievement Category

Dennis Walters was an elite golfer until a golf cart accident left him paralyzed from the waist-down at age of 24. Since that time, he has since dedicated himself to sharing life lessons and inspiring fans and disabled golfers through his golf clinics. Walters has made more than 3,000 appearances around the world. He is one of only 11 honorary lifetime members of the PGA of America. Walters received the 1978 Ben Hogan Award from the Golf Writers Association of America and the 2018 Bob Jones Award from the USGA.

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The Selection Commission for the World Golf Hall of Fame is Co-Chaired by Hall of Fame Members Nancy Lopez, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam. It also includes members of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors and a mix of institutional and at-large individuals.

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