Furyk, Harrington among finalists for World Golf Hall of Fame

Jim Furyk and Padraig Harrington, prolific PGA TOUR/DP World Tour winners and headliners on PGA TOUR Champions, top the list of finalists for the World Golf Hall of Fame that was announced today.

The late Tom Weiskopf, a 16-time PGA TOUR winner whose competitive career peaked with his victory at the 1973 Open Championship at Troon, and who later made his mark as a CBS Golf commentator and golf course designer, also made the list of finalists. So did Johnny Farrell, who learned the game as a caddie, won the 1928 U.S. Open, and went on to become the longtime head pro at Baltusrol Golf Club.

The final vote will be March 8, the Wednesday of THE PLAYERS Championship. The class will be inducted on Monday, June 10, 2024, in Pinehurst, North Carolina, coinciding with the 124th U.S. Open Championship and the Hall of Fame Museum’s opening on the USGA’s Golf House Pinehurst campus.

On the women’s side, longtime CBS Golf reporter Dottie Pepper is a finalist. She won 17 times on the LPGA Tour, including two majors. A fiery presence for the Americans, Pepper compiled a 13-5-2 record in six Solheim Cup appearances. Fellow finalist Cristie Kerr won 20 times, including two majors, and played in the Solheim Cup nine times.

Sandra Palmer, a 19-time LPGA winner, including two majors, is also a finalist, as is the late Beverly Hanson, a 17-time LPGA winner (three of them majors) and women’s golf pioneer. Hanson, of Fargo, North Dakota, started out covering golf as a sportswriter.

Other finalists include Las Vegas-based instructor Butch Harmon, who has taken multiple players, including Tiger Woods, to No. 1 in the world; Jay Sigel, the most celebrated American amateur in the game before turning pro at age 50; and Peter Dawson, the longtime Secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and Chief Executive of the R&A.

The finalists were selected by a nominating committee comprised of select Hall of Fame members, media, World Golf Foundation Board organizations, and at-large selections. Additionally, all living Hall of Fame members were sent ballots and could vote for nominees.

“The Nominating Committee has selected finalists who represent the highest caliber of competitors and contributors,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of World Golf Hall of Fame. “Congratulations to all who have been nominated for this special recognition.”

Furyk, 52, is a 17-time PGA TOUR winner who captured the 2003 U.S. Open and 2010 FedExCup. He played on nine Ryder Cup teams – he captained the 2018 U.S. team – and seven Presidents Cup teams. He is the only player to shoot 59 and 58 on TOUR, has three wins on PGA TOUR Champions, and is the driving force behind the Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS.

Harrington, 51, is coming off a four-win season on PGA TOUR Champions and playing in The Honda Classic on the PGA TOUR this week. (He won it twice when he was a fulltime PGA TOUR player.) He collected three major titles – two Open Championships, one PGA Championship – in 2007-08, played in six Ryder Cups, and was a captain once.

Six of the 13 co-founders of the LPGA are already in the Hall of Fame. The remaining seven – Alice Bauer, Bettye Danoff, Helen Detweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Shirley Spork, Sally Sessions – also were named as finalists Wednesday, bringing the total number of individual finalists to 18.

A 20-member Selection Committee, comprised of Hall of Fame members, media representatives and leaders of the major golf organizations, will be tasked with reviewing the merits and qualifications of each finalist and ultimately selecting the Class of 2024.