The white smoke has risen from Vatican City after the election of the new Pope and the white smoke in the form of a press conference by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem has risen from the Hall of Fame after the election of Vijay Singh. Without a doubt Vijay Singh deserves to be in the World Golf Hall of Fame, but why was this decision made so early in his career?
Vijay Singh has become the youngest player to be elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame at the age of 42. Singh has had a remarkable career playing both on the PGA Tour and internationally. Vijay Singh has carved his path to success with 25 PGA Tour victories to date, including three major championships. Vijay also has 22 international victories on his résumé, including wins in Malaysia, France, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Spain, Germany, England, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan and Canada.
In the 2004 season, Vijay Singh clearly showed that he deserved to be the number one golfer in the world after winning nine times and earning a record setting $10,905,166. Singh became the first player to win over $10 million in a single season and also was honored as the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
As written on The Sand Trap earlier this year, Vijay Singh was one of thirty-three players listed on the ballot. Singh received 56 percent of the votes on the returned ballots. One must receive 65 percent of the votes to be elected. How was he elected with less than the required number of votes? Another rule states that when nobody receives the “required” 65-percent the highest vote-getter will be inducted. Larry Nelson was Singh’s closest competitor with 55 percent of the votes. Other players on the ballot to receive a high number of votes were Curtis Strange (50 percent), Henry Picard (49 percent), and Craig Wood (41 percent).
Now you are probably left thinking, “If Vijay Singh can be inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame this year then why couldn’t Tiger Woods have been?” Well Tiger Woods is only 29 years old and according to the rules of eligibility of the Hall of Fame a candidate must be at least 40 years of age. While Vijay Singh may meet both the age requirement and the skill requirement, could this decision have been made prematurely? The fact that 44% of the voters chose not to vote him into the Hall seem to indicate that there was some dissension in the ranks. There is a chance that the 44% of the voters found Singh’s youth to be a factor in their decision. The fact that he has only won three majors may have played a role in not voting for him also. Fortunately for Singh, his record set him apart from the other candidates.
Vijay Singh was elected through the PGA Tour/Champions Tour voting council and he is just one among other players to be inducted. Other players will be elected through the International ballot, LPGA ballot, and Veterans ballot. Additional inductees for 2005 will be named at a future date. The induction ceremony will be held November 14, 2005 at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida. If you are interested in attending the induction ceremony you can contact the World Golf Hall of Fame by telephone at 904-940-4123 to request more event information.
Feel free, also, to discuss this in our forums.
I think the practice of voting someone in “just so we have someone to vote in” yearly is dumb. They’re going to dilute the prestige and honor of being in the Hall of Fame. Vijay should be there – you bet – but maybe after he retires. What’s so wrong with not having a PGA Tour member one or two years in a row?
I agree, it is silly to enshrine Vijay at the height of his career just because no one else hit the 65 percent threshold. Maybe the system should be that if no one hits 65 percent of the vote, then the non-active PGA Tour player (such as a senior player) with the highest vote total over a certain percentage gets in.
Or, do like the LPGA. If you meet a certain statistical requirement (based on wins, major championships, etc.), you’re in automatically once you reach the age/years played requirements. That’s why it wasn’t weird to see Annika Sorenstam enshrined a couple years ago while she was still at her peak (or almost there, since she keeps dominating). She didn’t back her way into it, she earned it by satisfying specific requirements.
First off, congrats to Vijay! The hard work definitely paid off.
With that being said, I agree with the other 2 guys before me. I don’t think anyone should have been voted in this year since nobody got the 65 percent required. If they make that number, then it should mean something. Basically the 65% is just a silly number now.
But congrats again, it wasn’t his fault!
The men’s criteria for being inducted into the World Hall of Fame is becoming a jocke. Now Kenny Perry, Jay Haas and Darren Clarke has been added to the list. I do believe that since Tiger Woods has achieved just about every accolade in golf (including the majors grand slam – ie. The Open, US Open, Masters and PGA – 3 times over), he should be inducted as soon as he turns 40. I would dare anyone to cast a vote against his getting in!
I thought Nick Faldo was the youngest Hall of Fame inductee. Wasn’t he 41 when he got in?