Pádraig Harrington stood at a lectern, his head cocked characteristically to one side, a smile playing on his face. It wasn’t the first time that all eyes were trained on the Irishman, three times a major champion, but this time not because he was facing a slippery 4-foot downhill putt on a green as smooth as glass. This time it was because Harrington was speaking at his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, having been introduced to the several hundred guests in an amusing speech by Paddy, his older son. He spoke with humour, modesty and passion and, as always, at length.
In this he caught the tone of the evening, the induction of the WGHOF’s Class of 2024, a ceremony that took place on Monday night of U.S. Open week in Pinehurst. It was there on a summer’s night in 1974 that the hall had been inaugurated, and President Gerald Ford was in attendance. The 50th anniversary, honoring Harrington, Sandra Palmer, the late Johnny Farrell, Beverly Hanson, Tom Weiskopf and the seven of the 13 LPGA founders not previously enshrined, was a glittering occasion, the greatest gathering of male and female professional golfers since, well, since the last ceremony, in March 2022.
It was held in the storied Carolina Hotel, and the old girl and its glorious golden dome set among the village’s eponymous pine trees was at its best. It gleamed in the late-spring sunshine, and one of her staterooms echoed to laughter, conversation, tinkling glasses, the buzz of friendship, the shedding of tears of sadness and happiness. Those present shared a bond. They were hymning golf to the rafters.
Proceedings began with the alphabetical introduction of the 29 hall members in attendance, from A (Isao Aoki) to W (Dennis Walters). Then Anne Murray, the Canadian singer, spoke about her friend Sandra Palmer, whose excitement and exuberant personality were obvious from the moment she burst onto the stage as if catapulted from a cannon. “Sandra may be tiny [she is 5 feet, 1½ inches],” Murray said, “but in golf she is mighty.”
In her reply to these gracious words, Palmer told of having many lessons with the late Harvey Penick, the famous teacher, and how one day she asked him why he didn’t charge more for lessons. “If I charged big money, I’d have to use big words,” Penick replied. Palmer, who teaches to this day, said of Penick: “I still feel his hand on my shoulder.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY AT GGP+ AND TO SIGN UP FOR FREE GGP SUBSCRIPTIONS