HALL OF FAME CHANGES CRITERIA

By Torleif Sorenson on 3/25/14

Like a balloon that was inflated just a bit too much, pressure from the public over criteria and voting for the World Golf Hall of Fame became just a bit too much.

On Sunday, the WGHOF announced an overhaul to the schedule, the criteria, and the voting process, which will now occur every other year. A person may be considered under one of four new categories: Male or Female competitors, or the Lifetime Achievement or Veterans categories.

In the Competitor categories, an inductee must be at least 40 years old, or at least five years removed from active competition. The inductee must also have 15 or more official victories on approved tours — or at least two victories among approved major championships.

In the other two categories, the Veterans will include players whose careers were primarily completed before 1975. The Lifetime Achievement Category will continue to be made up of individuals who contributed to the game from outside of the competitive arena.

The nominations will come from a "Selection Sub-Committee" of 20 people, including six Hall of Fame members and what the WGHOF calls "a mix of institutional and at-large seats." Once that happens, the 16-person Selection Commission will elect candidates into the Hall of Fame, with each Inductee needing at least 75 percent of the vote to gain entry.

The WGHOF announced that the 2015 Selection Commission will be co-chaired by Hall of Fame members Nancy Lopez, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Annika Sorenstam. Also voting will be the members of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors (including Tim Finchem) and the aforementioned mix of institutional and at-large seats.

For what it's worth, both Fred Couples and Colin Montgomerie would still be eligible for nomination under the new Competitors criteria.


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