HOUSTON (Jan 4, 2007) – The Harmon family, America’s most influential family of teaching pros for more than 50 years, and Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez and Judy Rankin have been honored with three prestigious awards given by the Golf Writers Association of America.
Starting with former Masters champion and Winged Foot pro Claude Harmon and continuing with his four sons – Butch, Craig, Dick and Bill – the Harmon’s influence has touched generations of golfers. As a result, they were honored with the William D. Richardson Award, given annually to recognize individuals who have consistently made an outstanding contribution to golf.
Lopez, the Arnold Palmer of the LPGA, is the 2006 ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award winner. Lopez embodies the award that recognizes a player for cooperation, quotability and for accommodation to the media and for reflecting the most positive aspects of the working relationship between athlete and journalists.
Rankin returned to the broadcast booth after a battle with breast cancer last year to win the 2006 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to an individual who has continued to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness.
They will be honored, along with GWAA Players of the Year Tiger Woods, Lorena Ochoa and Jay Haas at the Annual GWAA Awards Dinner, April 4 Augusta, Ga.
Claude Harmon helped raise the likes of Jack Burke, Jr., and Dave Marr, as well as his sons. Butch worked with both Greg Norman and Tiger Woods when they rose to No. 1 in the world and now works with Adam Scott, Justin Leonard, Darren Clarke, Stewart Cink, Natalie Gulbis and Fred Couples. Craig has been the head pro at Oak Hill since 1972 and Bill is a teaching pro at Toscana Country Club in Palm Springs. Dick, who died last February at the age of 58, was the longtime pro at River Oaks Country Club in Houston before opening the Dick Harmon School of Golf there. He counted Couples, Craig Stadler, Lanny Wadkins and Lucas Glover among his students. The Harmon family narrowly beat former LPGA commissioner Charlie Mechem and TaylorMade founder Gary Adams in the balloting.
Lopez, who turns 50 Saturday, won 48 tournaments during her Hall of Fame career and put the LPGA in the spotlight. She captured everyone’s attention her rookie season, winning nine times in 1978. She embraced the media and remains, three decades later, one of the most cooperative players in the game. Lopez, who was honored with the Richardson award in 2000, became the first woman to win the ASAP SPORTS/Jim Murray Award, edging 2006 Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman and Joey Sindelar for the award.
Rankin, who won both the Richardson Award and Patty Berg Awards in 1999, retired from the game with back problems in 1983, but went on to become one of the most popular television broadcasters. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in May and has undergone three operations. She returned to her role as ABC’s on-course reporter in London for the American Express Championship. She was the first player to be voted in the LPGA Hall of Fame through the Veterans Committee. Rankin edged Tim Simpson.
With so many worthy candidates, the balloting for all the awards were extremely close.
Past recipients of the Richardson Award, named for The New York Times’ William D. Richardson who was instrumental in the founding of the GWAA in 1946, include Rankin, Lopez, Sandy Tatum, Dan Jenkins, Judy Bell, Babe Zaharias, Jack Nicklaus, Ely Callaway, Ben Hogan, Pres. Dwight Eisenhower, Patty Berg, Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Harvey Penick, Peggy Kirk Bell, Frank Hannigan, Kathy Whitworth and Lee Trevino.
Former Hogan award winners include Hubert Green, Bruce Edwards, Jeff Julian, Scott Verplank, Jose-Maria Olazabal, Casey Martin, Paul Azinger, Robert Allenby, Lee Trevino, John Mahaffey, Jim Nelford, Ken Venturi, Terri-Jo Meyers and Steve Jones.
This is the sixth year for the ASAP/Jim Murray Award. Previous winners were Palmer, Nicklaus, Nick Price, Fred Funk and Jay Haas.
The 960-member GWAA takes an active role in protecting the interests of all golf journalists, works closely with all of golf’s major governing bodies and the World Golf Hall of Fame and facilitates a scholarship/internship program which is currently helping students at 17 major U.S. universities.
Contact:
Melanie Hauser
Golf Writers Association of America
713.782.6664
