Three-time major champion Padraig HarringtonDottie Pepper, double major winner and swing coach, were two of 12 finalists announced Wednesday by the World Golf Hall of Fame for the 2024 class.
The 31-member panel that nominated the nominees reduced the list to four men and four women, as well as four contributors. To vote on induction, a 20-member selection panel made up of Hall of Fame members, media leaders and leaders of major golf clubs will meet at the Players Championship on March 8.
Induction into the Hall of Fame is now every two years. The 2024 class will be inducted at the U.S. Open next April at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
Harrington was a finalist in the last tournament. He won 21 victories in total, most notably at Carnoustie 2007 where he won the Open Championship. In 2008, he became the first European player to win the PGA Championship in 78 years. He won at Oakland Hills.
To be eligible for the induction, players must have reached the age of 45. Jamie Anderson, Bob Ferguson, and Bob Ferguson, who were both three-time Open champions (1877-1882), are the only eligible players with at least three majors.
The other male nominees for the finalists were Jim FurykWith 17 PGA Tour wins and a FedEx Cup title; and nine consecutive Ryder Cup teams; he was the late Tom WeiskopfJohnny Farrell, who won the 1928 U.S. Open, was a former Open Championship winner, and is now a television analyst and golf course architect. Farrell was also a finalist last year.
Pepper, in her late 30s, retired due to back injuries. But she did not retire before she captured 17 titles on LPGA Tour. Two of those were at the Nabisco Dinah Shore. She was a pioneer in the Solheim Cup and has been a top analyst for NBC and CBS for the past 20 years.
Sandra Palmer, with 21 wins, two majors and two majors, is joined by Beverly Hanson (with 17 wins, three LPGA Tour majors and the 1950 U.S Women’s Amateur); and Cristiekerr, who won two majors in her 20 LPGA Tour titles. Hanson was a finalist last year.
Harmon is the son Claude Harmon, a former Masters champion and part of one golf’s most renowned teaching families. He worked with three players who reached number one in the world. He worked with three players who reached No. Greg Norman, Tiger WoodsAnd Dustin Johnson. Woods’ swing was reshaped when he went on a tear during the 2000s. He held all four majors at once.
Harmon has been voted No. Since 2001, Harmon has been voted No. 1 on Golf Digest’s annual ranking of the top 50 golf instructors.
Others from the contributors category are retired Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson; former amateur great Jay Sigel, who played on nine Walker Cup teams. The six other founders have already been inducted.
