Sandy Lyle And Peter Alliss Join 2012 Hall Class

With Dan Jenkins also in, we are assured of at least two really good speeches and I'm going out on a limb now and thinking Phil Mickelson will pull out all the stops for his.

Overdue recognitiion for these two:

World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum completes Class of 2012 with Sandy Lyle and Peter Alliss
Duo will join Mickelson, Stacy and Jenkins for Induction Ceremony in May 2012

 London (Dec. 15, 2011) – The World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum will enshrine Sandy Lyle and Peter Alliss as the final members of the Class of 2012. Lyle was elected through the International Ballot, while Alliss was selected via the Lifetime Achievement Category.

Lyle and Alliss will be honored along with fellow 2012 inductees Phil Mickelson, Hollis Stacy and Dan Jenkins at the Hall of Fame’s Induction Ceremony on May 7, 2012 at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. The Ceremony is held on the Monday of THE PLAYERS Championship week.

Both Lyle and Alliss were on hand when the official announcement was made by European Tour Chief Executive and World Golf Foundation Chairman George O’Grady and World Golf Hall of Fame Chief Operating Officer Jack Peter at The European Tour’s Race to Dubai Golfer of the Year luncheon in London.

“This is a special day for The European Tour. Peter Alliss and Sandy Lyle are both very worthy candidates for the World Golf Hall of Fame,” said O’Grady. “Peter followed a highly acclaimed playing career by becoming a hugely admired and wonderfully entertaining commentator. Sandy played a pivotal role in raising the image and popularity of British and European golf with his exceptional winning performances in the 1985 Open Championship, the 1987 PLAYERS Championship and the 1988 Masters Tournament.“

“Congratulations to Sandy and Peter on this well-earned honor,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “Both have had tremendous global impacts on the game. Peter was an accomplished player and millions of fans have come to look forward to his signature broadcasting style. Sandy has an exceptional resume. He is an Open champion, the first British player to win the Masters and the first player from outside the United States to win THE PLAYERS Championship.”

In all, Lyle has won 29 tournaments worldwide, including 18 on The European Tour and three other PGA TOUR titles. His victory at the 1985 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s made him the first British winner since Tony Jacklin in 1969. He broke new ground at the 1987 PLAYERS, defeating Jeff Sluman in a playoff to become its first international champion. Lyle made history again at the 1988 Masters, making birdie on the 18th hole to become Augusta National’s first British winner. In 1987, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

“I am not only delighted, but also very excited to be honored by the World Golf Hall of Fame,” Lyle said. “I would like to thank all who voted for me – to be placed in the company of the greatest names in our game is very special and I am looking forward so much to the Induction Ceremony next May.”

Alliss began his commentating career with the BBC in 1961 at The Open Championship won by Arnold Palmer at Royal Birkdale. Alliss, son of Percy Alliss, one of the finest players of his generation, turned professional when still only 15. He won 23 tournaments worldwide during the 1950s and 1960s, including three British PGA Championships, and captured the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Opens in three consecutive weeks. Twice a winner of the Vardon Trophy, he was selected for every GB & Ireland Ryder Cup team except one from 1953 to 1969 and played 10 times for England in the World Cup. Twice captain of the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland, the first President of the European Women’s PGA and a Past President of the British Greenkeepers’ Association, Alliss has also been associated with the design of more than 50 courses and is a respected author of more than 20 golf books.

“This is all very unexpected,” Alliss said. “I am delighted, surprised, humbled and honored to be thought of in this way and to be given a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame particularly as it is chosen by people all around the world.”

With the full class announced, the Hall of Fame will begin preparations for the Induction Ceremony.

“Sandy Lyle and Peter Alliss are terrific additions to the Hall of Fame,” Peter said. “Along with Phil Mickelson, Hollis Stacy and Dan Jenkins, the Class of 2012 is international, diverse and rich with history. We are thrilled to honor all five inductees this May.”

"When you rattled off that list of credits, you left out my cure for polio, but I'll excuse you for that."

Long overdue, much deserved and well received by his peers, Dan Jenkins becomes the sixth media member to join the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Bill Fields' Golf World bunker item that broke the news.

Doug Ferguson with the numbers and retrospective.

Jenkins, 82, will be only the sixth media member in the hall when he is inducted May 7 at the World Golf Village along with Phil Mickelson, Hollis Stacy and two other inductees who are to be announced Thursday in London.

His career goes from Ben Hogan to Tiger Woods, from the manual typewriter to Twitter, and Jenkins is still going. He previously worked for the Fort Worth Press, the Dallas Times Herald and Sports Illustrated, and he has been writing for Golf Digest since 1985. Jenkins also has written 20 books, including "Dead Solid Perfect."

"Being from Fort Worth, I would follow Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson anywhere," Jenkins said Wednesday on a conference call to announce that he was selected through the Lifetime Achievement category. "Since they're in there, I'm happy to be the third guy from Fort Worth so included.

"I'm delighted to be in such good company with the people who are already in there, especially the players."

The other five media members in the Hall of Fame are writers Herbert Warren Wind, Bob Harlow, Herb Graffis, Bernard Darwin and television producer Frank Chirkinian. They were inducted posthumously.

For some fun reads from the archives, SI goes into the vault for some best of Dan, Guy Yocom's interview is a must as is Jaime Diaz's 2005 tribute.

And some highlights from the transcript, starting with a elated and overjoyed Tim Finchem who surely wanted Dan in for years and just couldn't convince his fellow committee members of the health benefits derived from biennial readings of You Gotta Play Hurt.

TIM FINCHEM:  Thank you, Jack.  I was excited to have the opportunity to announce Phil Mickelson when we were in Singapore a few weeks ago and talk a little bit about his great career.  I know that the recipient from the international ballot will be announced tomorrow in London by George O'Grady along with another announcement.

Today I'm very pleased to do something really fun, which is to recognize a unique individual for the lifetime achievement category, an individual who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this May and rightfully so.  That is Dan Jenkins.  A legendary, how shall I put this ‑ writer, humorist, commentator, critic from time to time, a great part of what sports in the United States is all about and has been all about for many, many, many years.

Dan has had a spectacular career, and I think I should note that over the years the World Golf Hall of Fame has been very sparse in their recognition of people from Dan's craft, only recognizing the very, very best. 

And now for Dan...

DAN JENKINS:  Tim, thank you very much.  When you rattled off that list of credits, you left out my cure for polio, but I'll excuse you for that.  You got all those other things in there.

I'm delighted and flattered and overwhelmed to take a spot in there with my old friends, Herbert Warren Wind and Herb Graffis and people like that who actually covered the sport.  I wish I had known Bernard Darwin, but I came along too late for him.

And we have a comedian on the line asking about memorabilia Dan might donate.

Q.  Any Western Union clips?

DAN JENKINS:  Right, yeah.  I do go back that far, actually.  I missed Postal Telegraph, but I was around for Western Union.  They used to garble your stories pretty bad.  Somebody told me one time they only improved them, really.  That may or may not be true.  But I do go back that far.

I went through the age of faxing, and now I'm in the computer age, and now I'm in the tweeting age.  So I've covered a broad spectrum of ways to transmit thoughts and people want to hear or are outraged to hear at some times.  Even though I was making a stab at humor, I don't think I ever wrote a line I didn't believe.

On where his sense of humor came from...

DAN JENKINS:  Well, when you grow up in Texas and you don't like sports, they drown you, that's number one.  If you've ever gambled at golf, which all of us did as kids and college and all of that, your sense of humor has to go with it because you get beat so often.  It just came natural.

I understand golf is a religion to a lot of people.  Never really a religion to me, but a great sports event.  Any great sports event required a sense of humor.  It just came natural.  I don't try to be funny, but sometimes I think that way.

I've always told young people who asked me about sports writing and golf writing and stuff, when something great happens, like when an Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods or Ben Hogan happens, you don't have to be funny, you just have to be accurate.

When you have to be funny is when you're on deadline, and somebody like Jack creeps up on you.  That's when you have to tap dance because it doesn't make any sense.  We have more and more of that these days, don't we?

Sadly, so true.

And the conclusion...

DAN JENKINS:  Thank you very much.  And thank you, again, Tim, and thanks to all of those people that called in with having nothing better to do.  I can't wait until May 7th when you put some (Indiscernible) on my shoulder and give me a saber.

TIM FINCHEM:  Thank you, Dan.  We look forward to seeing you here in Florida in a few months.

Update on 2011-12-15 16:00 by Geoff

**Garry Smits admits to idolizing His Ownself.

Dan's 82 now and hasn't lost the hop on his fastball — and still throws a mean brushback pitch when it comes to taking spoiled golfers, stonewalling agents, pompous governing body suits and money-hungry sponsors to task. You can still read his columns in Golf Digest the issue after major championships and his comments on Twitter (you can teach an old dog new tricks) show that Jenkins can say more in less than 140 characters than almost all of us in full-page stories.

Steve Elling refers to Jenkins as the "multi-media sportswriting icon."

Forget Phil, Are We Going To Get A Dan Jenkins HOF Announcement?

The ancient Twitter/pisser-offer is long-overdue for induction. Phil only has what, 10 years of playing ahead of him if he wants. If it doesn't happen, I smell an Occupy St. Augustine on our hands.

The WORLD Golf Hall Of Fame's International Wing...

In a Golf World Monday extended story, John Huggan looks at the absurdity of the World Golf Hall of Fame having an "International" ballot. This is one of those stories which, combined with several things pointed out by Huggan, where you sense the silly induction of George Bush last year (and his subsequent no-show) has opened the flood gates to questions about the Hall's credibility (I've noticed more negative comments than in the past regarding Phil Mickelson appearing on the ballot while still an elite player).

Don't miss Huggan's case for Peter Alliss and Sandy Lyle joining the hall. You'll love reading about their records versus other "internationals" who are in.

Els: "I was lucky ... I got the breaks in life and won at the right time."

That was Ernie Els accepting his Hall of Fame induction, according to Garry Smits who does a nice job wrapping up the evenings activities from St. Augustine.

As for the no-shows Jumbo Ozaki and George Bush, Smits writes:

Ozaki, who was elected through the international ballot, is the most prolific winner in the history of Japanese golf, with 113 worldwide titles. Unable to travel because of back problems and the recent natural disasters in his country, his brother Joe Ozaki accepted on his behalf.

And as for the former President, who had no business being inducted except for his willingness to put up with Tim Finchem, the official line was that 41 was busy.

President Bush was unable to attend because of scheduling conflicts.

Meet The New WGHOF Inductees...

There hasn't been much buzz about this year's golf Hall class for a few reasons, most notably that an active player (Ernie Els) is the headliner while two others (Jumbo Ozaki and George Bush) are less than ideal inductees who are not appearing to accept their place in golf's impressive shrine. Here is the entire group courtesy of a nice PGATour.com synopsis page.

Also, Deane Beman (with Adam Schupak's help) pens a My Shot this week for SI on inductee Frank Chirkinian, writing this about the legendary CBS producers' skill:

If you watched the Masters on CBS this year you saw Frank's artistic legacy. Tiger's tournament hinged on his putter at the 12th on Sunday. CBS got that. It wasn't that he had to make his birdie putt, it was that he couldn't miss the second putt, for par, which is what he did. He needed to step on the 13th tee feeling confident, make the birdie there, on the short par-5, and he didn't do that either. CBS showed all of that. A good broadcast paints the picture of how a player builds a round, or dismantles it for that matter. That's why Chirkinian showed fewer players making more shots. When golf is good on TV now, it's when producers follow Chirkinian's example.

President Bush Stops In At Redstone; Still Passing On St. Augustine

Bob Strauss caught this shot of former President George H.W. Bush for PGATour.com attending the Shell Houston Open with son Jeb. Great to see he's looking well as always, which only makes his decision to skip his World Golf Hall of Fame induction that much more of a headscratcher.

President Bush Will Not Be Attending World Golf Hall Induction

For immediate release...

World Golf Hall of Fame announces 2011 Induction host and presenters Nantz, Rupert and Hicks to attend Hall’s May ceremony

St. Augustine, Fla. (March 30, 2011) – The World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum is pleased to announce that Jim Nantz, Johann Rupert and Bob Goalby will be at the Induction Ceremony as presenters for the Class of 2011. The Hall of Fame also welcomes Dan Hicks, who will host the annual Induction Ceremony on May 9.

Nantz, the play-by-play anchor of CBS's golf coverage, will be presenting former President George H.W. Bush. Nantz is a close friend of the Bush family and will be on hand to represent it. Bush is unable to attend the Induction Ceremony and will accept his induction in a pre-recorded video address.

Speechless. Hope it's not a health related absence.

It will be a busy night for Nantz, who will also present 2011 Inductee Frank Chirkinian. Nantz got his start at CBS under the tutelage of Chirkinian, who became a mentor to him.

Ernie Els will be presented by his South African compatriot Johann Rupert. As a long-time supporter and now current chairman of South Africa’s Sunshine Tour, Rupert has been able to watch Els rise from a star junior player to success on the world stage.

Bob Goalby, winner of 11 PGA TOUR events including the 1968 Masters, will be on hand to present fellow Masters champion Doug Ford.

Rounding out the Class of 2011, Jumbo Ozaki will remain in his native Japan for the Ceremony. He and the late Jock Hutchison will be celebrated with video tributes.

Hicks, the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC’s golf coverage, is the Ceremony’s host. It’s an ideal fit, as he’ll stay in the area to broadcast THE PLAYERS Championship later in the week.

“It is a privilege to have presenters and a host of this caliber at the 2011 Induction Ceremony,” said Jack Peter, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Hall of Fame. “We are eager to welcome the Class of 2011 to the World Golf Hall of Fame family. The Induction Ceremony is a signature event on golf’s world calendar and we’re very much looking forward to our new date and kicking off a great week of golf and THE PLAYERS Championship.”

The 2011 Induction Ceremony will be May 9 in the St. Johns County Convention Center, located adjacent to the World Golf Hall of Fame at World Golf Village. The post-event Gala will be inside the Hall of Fame. 

"I hope it happened in time, because I don’t have a whole lot of time left."

Sean Martin posts a Q&A with Frank Chirkinian on the CBS producer/director's Hall of Fame induction.

Q: What is your thought on golf on TV today?

A: I’m ambivalent about that. I think that there are too many graphics on the screen today. They miss an awful lot of live golf shots. That was my forte. I showed a lot of golf shots live, and therein lies the difference. My only problem is that it looks like they’re all doing the same thing. They all look alike.

Frank Chirkinian In Hall After "Emergency" Vote

It was a topic raised here not long ago and it seems the folks running the hall made their second unorthodox move in the last year (after Tim Finchem's call to jam his undeserving crony George Bush in the hall). At least in this case the man is considered a pioneer in his field.

Michael Bamberger on the surprise move.