On this day, the tiger canonized the gods.
On the morning of March 10, Beijing time, the latest World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held at the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida, and the 46-year-old Tiger Woods officially became the 164th member of the Hall of Fame.
At a special life moment, Woods deliberately chose his 14-year-old daughter Sam as his "introducer" to the Hall of Fame, Woods' first child, born a day after he finished runner-up in the U.S. Open in 2007. At the ceremony, Sam's speech was very emotional.
"Recently Dad, training harder than ever. Just a year ago, you were bedridden and fell into the lowest point of your life. "It was the most terrible moment of your life and that of us, and we don't know if you'll be able to keep your legs." Today, not only are you inducted into the Hall of Fame, but you can also stand here with your legs. ”
Woods is regarded as the greatest star in contemporary golf history, and his induction into the Hall of Fame has ushered in many sports legends - 23 Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps, 23 tennis Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, American football six Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, as well as the most popular Grand Slam champion in golf Jack Nicklaus, and the greatest female golfer of all time, Annika Sorenstein, all witnessed the induction ceremony.
Woods shed the boy's tears
When Woods himself took the stage to speak, the entire venue gave a long round of applause to the 15-seat Grand Slam, 82 PGA Tour champion and 683-week record world number one. It also made the tiger who said "don't cry" in advance cry on the spot. In his speech, he recalled the experiences of golf life over the past 40 years:
"I know golf is a personal sport, but I can't get to where I am. I have wonderful parents, mentors, and friends who have supported me through my darkest times and celebrated my peak moments with me. So, the Hall of Fame is a team award for me, the people who have helped me get to where I am today, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ”
In fact, as early as March 2020, Woods has been unanimously elected by 20 judges as the first member of the 2021 World Golf Hall of Fame. However, due to the epidemic, the selection ceremony was not finally held until March this year. Along with Woods, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame, were Tim Finchem, 74, former president of the PGA Tour Merits, Susie Maxwell Berning, an 80-year-old three-time U.S. Women's Open champion, and Marion Hollins, the late first female golf course designer.
Tiger joined three high-level legends for the Hall of Fame
Everyone has heard of the Hall of Fame, but what kind of existence is the Golf Hall of Fame? How high is its threshold?
What the Hall of Fame is
Literally, the Hall of Fame is a building dedicated to an outstanding individual elected by an organization. In the field of sports, there are often lists of individuals who have made outstanding contributions to a certain sport, and they are recognized for their great contribution to the development of the sport. Not only golf has its own Hall of Fame, but also the NBA, tennis, athletics, baseball and other sports have their own Hall of Fame.
However, golf is one of the few Halls of Fame that recognizes both genders at the same time, and today's Golf Hall of Fame was founded in 1974, after the merger of the American Professional High Association Hall of Fame, the LPGA Hall of Fame, and in 1994 after the establishment of a non-profit organization called the World Golf Foundation, the world golf hall of fame was formed, and has been recognized by 26 golf organizations around the world. Located in St. John's County, northeast Florida, less than an hour's drive from the PGA Tour headquarters, the Hall of Fame's physical building opened in 1998 and houses precious historical memorabilia from all the inducted celebrities.
Golf Hall of Fame in Florida
Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is an extremely high honor and the entry criteria are very strict. From 2020 onwards, members of the World Golf Hall of Fame are divided into two broad categories – "Competitors" for players and "Contributors" for executives, course designers, club players, journalists and other industry practitioners.
Elections to the Hall of Fame are held every year, but the induction ceremony is held only once every two years. A 20-member Hall of Fame Elections Subcommittee will nominate from among eligible candidates, up to a maximum of 5 in the "Competitors" category and up to 3 in the "Contributors" category, followed by a 16-member Independent Selection Committee.
The 16-member independent selection committee is made up of chairmen of major golf tournaments around the world and senior members who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. They will vote on all nominated candidates and will only be admitted to the Hall of Fame if they receive more than 75 per cent of the vote, or more than 12 votes.
Woods left his name in the Hall of Fame
In other words, if a player wants to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he must go through two parts: "nominate first, vote later". So what is the entry threshold for nominations?
The criteria for entry, however, are relatively simple, in terms of male players:
Must be at least 45 years of age;
15 major tournaments (PGA TOUR/DP Tour/Day Tour/Asian Tour/Australia Tour/Southern Tour) or two four Grand Slam/Player Championship titles.
Female players are:
15 major five-tournament (LPGA/European Tour/Day Tour/Korean Tour/Australian Tour) or two five-time Grand Slam titles.
Woods Memorabilia Showroom in the Hall of Fame
From this criterion, Tiger Woods, who has 109 Tour champions and 17 Grand Slam + Player Championship trophies, has approached 8 times the entry standard for the Hall of Fame. And when the 2020 Hall of Fame lowered the age standard from 50 to 45, Tiger cleared the final hurdle for induction into the Hall of Fame today.
Who can represent China into the Hall of Fame?
Clear-eyed netizens may find that if the nomination criteria of the Hall of Fame are followed, Feng Shanshan has basically reached the threshold for entry.
So, "the world's first + Grand Slam champion + Olympic medal in one of the "National Treasure Shan", will also be like Yao Ming, who was elected to the NBA Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, become the second Chinese to enter the Western mainstream sports program and receive the glory of the Hall of Fame?
Yao Ming was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016
To date, Feng shanshan has won 10 LPGA, 7 women's day tour and 7 women's European Tour trophies, and the total number of champions has reached 24, meeting the hall of fame winning criteria. The only obstacle seems to be her age – at 32 years old, she is at least thirteen years away from the minimum threshold of 45 years (2034). Judging from the fact that the Hall of Fame only holds the "odd number of years" to hold the induction ceremony, in theory, she will have to wait one more year – that is, it will not be until 2035 at the earliest, and we may see Feng Shanshan, like Woods, be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The problem is that nomination does not mean that you will be eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame. In fact, only among the Asian players who have been ranked first in the women's world, in addition to Feng Shanshan, Zeng Yani in Chinese Taipei, Shin Ji-ae, Park In-fei, Liu Xiaoran and Park Seong-hyun in South Korea, Miyali Lan in Japan, and Aria in Thailand are eligible for the Hall of Fame candidate list. However, among the 167 "celebrities" that have been produced so far, only Kōnen Aoki, Shoji Ozaki, Hisako Higuchi, Ayako Okamoto, and 5 Asians from South Korea's Park Se-ri District are less than 3% of the total number of people in the Hall of Fame! And shoji Ozaki, who was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, is already in the past in 2011...
The first sister, Feng Shanshan, is the closest Chinese to the Hall of Fame
Among the other "iconic figures" of Chinese golf, Zhang Lianwei has won a total of 6 (1 DP + 5 Asian Tour, plus tour champions are not counted) Hall of Fame "certification event" champions, although the age has reached the standard (56 years old), but it is still 9 crowns away from the minimum threshold for winning. Liang Wenchong also has 6 titles (1 DP + 2 Daily Tour + 3 Asian Tour, the same Asian 4 crowns are not counted), and the age of 43 is two years away from the nomination threshold.
Wu Ashun, who has just won the fourth victory of the DP Tour, has also accumulated 6 certified event titles (4 DP + 2 day tourers), and the 36-year-old is still nine years away from being nominated for the Hall of Fame, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. As for Li Haotong, who has the most outstanding record in the men's world ranking and Grand Slam record, because he only has 2 DP Tour champions (the same Asian 2 crowns are not counted), there is still a long way to go from the Hall of Fame, but he is only 26 years old and also has the most valuable wealth - time.
China's own Hall of Fame?
The Golf Hall of Fame isn't the only one, though. The LPGA, for example, has its own LPGA Hall of Fame, which has a unique set of entry criteria. In fact, the LPGA Hall of Fame has a higher barrier to entry than the World Golf Hall of Fame. However, it is also regarded as the goal of professional golf women - including Feng Shanshan.
Park In-fei has been inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, and Feng Shanshan and Gao Baojing are still working on it
"My next goal is to enter the LPGA Hall of Fame." After winning the 2017 Blue Bay Masters, Feng Shanshan, who first came to the world number one, said, "From the perspective of qualifications, I am still one slam away from the possibility of queuing, and when I become an old woman, I will be in line." ”
How hard is the LPGA Hall of Fame? First of all, its entry threshold is:
Must have played in the LPGA for ten years;
Won a Grand Slam title, or the Veil Award (the lowest stroke of the season), or the Player of the Year award;
Meet 27 points.
Feng Shanshan, who joined the LPGA in 2008 and won the LPGA Championship, has actually met the first two items. However, the "27 points" in the third item is a graben. LPGA Hall of Fame points are calculated as 1 point for a regular Tour champion, 1 point for a Veil Award or Player of the Year, and 2 points for a Grand Slam champion.
The LPGA Hall of Fame was extremely difficult to shortlist
With 10 wins over the LPGA, including a Grand Slam, Feng Shanshan has already accumulated 11 points. There is still a 17-point difference from the Hall of Fame point threshold.
For example, we are familiar with the "treasure island sister" Zeng Yani, she has won 15 LPGA championships, 5 Grand Slam titles, 1 player of the year, 1 Weier Award, but still only 22 points, still 5 points away from the threshold of the LPGA Hall of Fame!
In fact, since the LPGA Hall of Fame was launched in 1951, only 25 celebrities have been born so far! The most recent finalist, back to Park In-fei in 2016. In other words, in the past six years, the Hall of Fame has not been joined by "new Ding"! Compared to the 41 women inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame, it is not a difficulty order.
Tu Ayu (third from right) was inducted into the Japan Golf Hall of Fame
In addition to the LPGA Hall of Fame, Japan, the most developed golf country in Asia, also has its own "Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame (日本プロゴルフ殿)".
The Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame was established in 2012 and, like the World Golf Hall of Fame, is nominated by the selection committee first, and then elected by resolution to elect each new member, which has been elected for 9 sessions so far. The awards are divided into two categories: male and female players who made special contributions to the Japanese golf world before 1972 (legendary division), and male and female players who have been active in the golf arena since 1973 (player division).
So far, a total of 3 Chinese have been inducted into the Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame, and they are both from Taiwan, both from Treasure Island Taiwan - Chen Qingbo and Chen Qingshui (deceased) who were shortlisted as the "Legendary Department", and the 71 women's Japanese Tour champions who were selected as the "Players Division" and Tu Ayu after the 7th Japanese Tour bonus.
Several of the champions of the international arena represent the players
This can't help but make people full of reverie, when will Chinese golf have its own "Hall of Fame"?
Since August 24, 1984, the opening of Zhongshan Hot Spring Golf and Country Club, the first golf course in New China, has gone through 37 years of history. Although we have not developed much longer than traditional golf powers such as Europe, the United States and Japan, we also have a history that spans several generations. If one day, the "China Golf Hall of Fame" can be established, the names of legendary players such as Zhang Lianwei, Liang Wenchong, Cheng Jun, Feng Shanshan, Zhang Na, etc., will surely find their respective "celebrity" positions one by one and enter the room.
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