Davis Love III, who captained the United States to victory in the Ryder Cup earlier this month, was elected to the World Golf Hall of Game in St. Augustine, Fla.
Also elected in the Class of 2017, which will be enshrined on Sept. 26, 2017, before the Presidents Cup at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, are Ian Woosnam of Wales, Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, Meg Mallon and Henry Longhurst of England.
“Davis is a fixture on the PGA Tour and has been for decades,” Commissioner Tim Finchem of the PGA Tour said. “He has contributed so much to the image of the game because of who he is, and the way he handles himself.
“Love is extremely well-respected by the other players, so having him contribute his time and energy to making the organization work better has been a very impactful thing. It makes us all smile to see him get the recognition he deserves and be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.”
The Hall of Fame Selection Committee was co-chaired by Hall of Fame members Nancy Lopez, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player of South Africa and Annika Sorenstam of Sweden, and included the members of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors and a mix of institutional and at-large seats.
The 52-year-old Love, who has been a recipient of the Payne Stewart and Bob Jones awards, has 21 victories on the PGA Tour, including the 1997 PGA Championship and the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He played on six Ryder Cup teams and six Presidents Cup teams, and was captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team twice.
Woosnam, 58, has 52 victories in his pro career, including the 1991 Masters, and was No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 50 weeks in 1991 and 1992. Woosie played for Europe in eight consecutive Ryder Cups from 1983 to 1997 and was European Tour Player of the Year in 1987 and 1990. He was awarded the Queen’s honor of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2006.
Ochoa, 34, won 27 times on the LPGA Tour, including the 2007 Ricoh Women’s British Open and the 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship, before retiring in 2010 to start a family. She was the LPGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2003 and Player of the Year four consecutive years from 2006-09, and was No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for 158 consecutive weeks from 2007-2010.
Mallon, 53, collected 18 victories on the LPGA Tour victories including four majors, winning the U.S. Women’s Open in 1991 and 2004. She was a member of nine U.S. Solheim Cup teams and was captain in 2013. Mallon was selected as the Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year in 1991.
Longhurst was a weekly columnist for the London Sunday Times for 40 years, and also is considered to be the first golf TV personality for his colorful commentary on the BBC from the 1950s until his death in 1978 at the age of 69. He also was a member of the British Parliament for Acton in West London during World War II.
