Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and three-time LPGA major winner Jan Stephenson were among five people inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in a Monday night ceremony that was as much about comebacks as success.
The biennial induction was held the week of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in an effort to attract Hall of Fame members, and 28 attended.
Goosen and Stephenson were selected for their playing careers. Former Augusta National chairman Billy Payne, the late instructor Peggy Kirk Bell and Dennis Walters, who spent more than four decades entertaining and inspiring with golf clinics despite being paralyzed from the waist down, were the other inductees.
FILE - In this Oct. 9, 2003, file photo, Jan Stephenson poses for a photo at the Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Hawaii. Stephenson was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Monday, June 10, 2019. (AP Photo Ronen Zilberman, File)
The induction brings the World Golf Hall of Fame to 160 members.
The final selection is by a 16-member panel, the majority golf administrators.
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FILE - In this July 3, 2006, file photo, Dennis Walters hits off a high tee during his show at the U.S. Senior Open in Hutchinson, Kan. Walters was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Monday, June 10, 2019. (Travis MorisseThe Hutchinson News via AP, File)
FILE - In this March 18, 2013, file photo, LPGA pioneer Peggy Kirk Bell talks after the Founders Cup golf tournament in Phoenix. Bell was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Monday, June 10, 2019. (AP PhotoPaul Connors, File)
FILE - In this April 6, 2016, file photo, Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne smiles during a news conference at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. Payne was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Monday, June 10, 2019. (Curtis ComptonAtlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)