PINEHURST, N.C. — Padraig Harrington grew up in Ireland dreaming of the Claret Jug and the Wanamaker Trophy rather than the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Though the Hall of Fame is primarily an American thing, Harrington was well aware that it was a title bestowed upon the best players, especially on the PGA Tour Champions, where he heard many players of his generation referred to as “Hall of Famers,” including Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Fred Couples.
“When you see these guys, it makes you want to be one of them, be a part of it,” Harrington said. “A lot of the guys on the Champions Tour were guys that I looked up to when I turned pro because they were a little bit further ahead of me in their careers. They were guys that I watched on TV in pro events.”
“So it’s nice to be part of that crowd.”
Harrington was scheduled to be inducted Monday night at the World Golf Hall of Fame’s first induction ceremony since the hall moved from St. Augustine, Fla., to Pinehurst when the USGA established a second location.
Located on the second floor of the USGA Experience Building.
Harrington, a golfer with 21 victories worldwide, including the 2007 and 2008 British Opens and the 2008 PGA Championship, joins LPGA star Sandra Palmer as the second living Hall of Famer.
LPGA great Beverly Hanson, former British Open winner and golf course architect Tom Weiskopf and former U.S. Open champion Johnny Farrell were set to be inducted posthumously.
The seven remaining founders of the LPGA Tour — Alice Bauer, Betty Danoff, Helen Detwiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Sally Sessions and Shirley Spork — will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a group; the other six founders were previously inducted individually.
This will be the largest World Golf Hall of Fame induction class since 2008.
Harrington was a star in his class, an Irishman with a brilliant mind and a willingness to try anything to improve – and he tried many times – and his first big breakthrough came at Carnoustie in 2007, when he overcame a double bogey on the final hole to beat Sergio Garcia and win the British Open.
A year later he won the British Open at Royal Birkdale and then became the first European to win the PGA Championship in 78 years.
He has three other wins on the PGA Tour, 12 on the European Tour and five on circuits around the world, and has played on six Ryder Cup teams, including as captain for the 2021 match at Whistling Straits.
Harrington, 52, is a seven-time PGA Tour Champions winner, including the U.S. Senior Open two years ago.
“When you win tournaments in your career and you get awards and accolades, you always assume that the awards and accolades are going to continue, and you keep winning, and you always think there’s going to be another one,” he said, “and at the time, you might not enjoy the awards and accolades as you should.”
“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame brings up a lot of emotions. It’s the recognition, without a doubt. It’s satisfaction, without a doubt. It’s a deep satisfaction that I did it and that I did it well.”
Palmer won 19 LPGA championships and two major championships. It took her seven years to win her first LPGA event in 1971, but she went on an incredible winning streak after that. Her first major was the 1975 U.S. Open.
Weiskopf, who died in August 2022 from pancreatic cancer, won 16 times on the PGA Tour, including his only major championship at the Royal Troon Open. His contributions also extended to golf course design and his candid, always accurate commentary on television. His design work was known for its short par 4s, some of the most exciting and enjoyable holes.
Hanson was known not just for the number of wins she had, but also for who she beat. The North Dakota native won 17 times on the LPGA Tour and three major championships. She won her first professional tournament, beating Babe Zaharias, and won her second major, beating Louise Suggs.
Farrell was previously a member of the PGA Hall of Fame at Pinehurst before it moved to Florida and became the World Golf Hall of Fame. A 22-time winner, he is best known for winning the 1928 U.S. Open by one stroke in a 36-hole playoff against Bobby Jones. He spent the latter part of his life as a club professional at Quaker Ridge and Baltusrol.