Willie Park Jr. will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013
Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director and Chairman of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors, announced on November 15, 2012, that Willie Park Jr. will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum next year.
He will become the second member of his family to be inducted, as his father Willie Park Sr. is already a member of the Hall of Fame.
Park Jr. will be honoured along with two other inductees, Fred Couples and Ken Venturi, in the Class of 2013. The Scotsman will be inducted through the Veterans Category.
The induction ceremony of the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum will be staged at the World Gоlf Village in St. Augustine, Flоrida, on Monday, May 6, 2013. The ceremony will also kick off The Players Championship week next year.
Park Jr. is known for his impressive track record in The Open Championship, having won the tournament two times in his career.
In addition to that, he also recorded 12 top-finishes in the oldest major golf championship in the history of the game.
Park Jr. also designed or modified more than 200 golf courses all over the world. The Sunningdale Golf Club outside of London is regarded as one of his best designed course in Europe.
Apart from that, he was also an esteemed author with two golfing books published. In 1896, he became the first professional golfer to write a complete book about golf, after writing and publishing ‘The Game of Golf’.
His second book, ‘The Art of Putting’, was available in the market in 1920.
“The addition of Willie Park Jr. to the Hall of Fame is a significant one,” said Hall of Fame Chief Operating Officer Jack Peter.
“The Hall of Fame celebrates the rich history of the game, and that story cannot be told without the tremendous contributions of the Park family”.
While making the announcement to add Park Jr. in the Hall of Fame, Davis said that the Scotsman made huge contributions to the game of golf and played a key role in developing the sport in the United States.
Therefore, he truly deserved the recognition as one of the best players, authors and golf course architects in the world.
Talking to the media, Mungo Park, Willie Park Jr.’s great nephew and family historian, said that it was a great honour for his family to have another member recognised by the Hall of Fame.
“Willie Jnr, possibly more than any other, marked the transition from the old-school caddy and player to the modern professional golfer and businessman,” he said.
He added, “He gave up high-stake money matches for energetic golf course design. His playing skill was undoubted, particularly with the putter, but it is his courses that provide the most impressive legacy”.
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