Colin Montgomerie Selected For The World Golf Hall of Fame

Eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame next year after winning an international ballot.

The Scot said: “It is a wonderful surprise. I know I am very fortunate to have enjoyed such a successful career playing the game I love and it makes me feel very proud that my achievements have been recognised in this way.

“While my eight Order of Merit wins were very special, as everyone knows my Ryder Cup experiences have provided the very best moments in my career and receiving this great honour is the icing on the cake.”

Montgomerie dominated The European Tour in the 1990s, finishing number one seven times in succession from 1993 and then capturing another Harry Vardon Trophy in 2005. The Scot also won 31 European Tour titles – a record by a British player – including three successive PGA Championships at Wentworth and, in total, 40 tournaments worldwide.

He also appeared in eight successive Ryder Cup teams from 1991, going unbeaten in the singles with six wins and two halves, in addition to winning 9 and a half points from 14 foursomes and seven points from 14 fourballs.

He then captained the victorious European Team that regained The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in 2010.

Montgomerie, who received an MBE in 1998 and then an OBE in 2005, will be eligible to compete on the European Senior Tour when he celebrates his 50th birthday on June the 23rd next year.

Former European Tour Executive Director Ken Schofield will also be inducted to the Hall of Fame next year in the lifetime achievement category.
 
He said: “I am delighted not just for myself but also for the European Tour. This is an honour for absolutely everyone who in the last 40 years helped the Tour become what it is today.”

The duo will join fellow 2013 inductees Fred Couples, Willie Park Jr. and Ken Venturi at the Induction Ceremony on May 6th 2013, at the World Golf Village in Florida, when the ceremony kicks off The Players Championship week.

George O’Grady, The European Tour Chief Executive, said. “Colin and Ken are unique individuals and their contribution to not only The European Tour, on and off the fairways, but also The Ryder Cup makes them both very worthy candidates for the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“Colin’s achievement in winning the Harry Vardon Trophy eight times, including seven in a row, took considerable talent, skill, imagination, endurance, physical strength and mental resilience.

Any aspiring and ambitious golfer on The European Tour today craves the opportunity to win The Race to Dubai, which has succeeded the Order of Merit, just once, to do it eight times is universally viewed as a superhuman feat.” 

“Colin Montgomerie and Ken Schofield are outstanding ambassadors of the game,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. “Each has made vital contributions to golf’s global expansion.

“Colin’s achievements on The European Tour and the Ryder Cup have gained him fans worldwide, while Ken’s tireless work during his time at The European Tour created new innovations and tremendous international growth.”

When Schofield took the helm, The European Tour comprised of 17 official events with an official prize fund of £599,084. When he retired at the end of 2004, there were 45 official events with official prize money of £106 million.

Schofield also initiated global expansion when he took The European Tour outside of the European continent for the first time in 1982 with the playing of the Tunisian Open. That began a structure whereby the Tour positioned itself internationally with co-sanctioned tournaments with other Tours, which now total 164 events since the inaugural one in South Africa in 1995.

Hall of Fame International Ballot results

Colin Montgomerie – 51%
Graham Marsh – 34
Ian Woosnam – 21%
Padraig Harrington – 19%
Retief Goosen – 18%