Criteria Changes for the World Golf Hall of Fame

[ztexz]

http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/10659142/criteria-voting-changed-world-golf-hall-fame

" Officials have eliminated the PGA Tour and International ballots for men. Instead, the four categories will be for men, women, veterans and lifetime achievement. Active players must have 15 wins on major tours or two majors."

I'm glad they got rid of the distinction between PGA Tour and International.  That made sense back in the day, but the European Tour has come really close in parity to the PGA Tour in terms of quality (if not prestige).

[mvmac]

I like the changes. Here's all the new info

CATEGORIES & CRITERIA

-Female Competitors

A player must have a cumulative total of 15 or more official victories on any of the tours with membership in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (LPGA, Ladies European Tour, Japan LPGA, Korea LPGA and Australia Ladies Professional Golf)  OR at least two victories among the following events: U.S. Women’s Open, LPGA Championship, du Maurier Classic (1979-2000), Women’s British Open (2001-current), Kraft Nabisco Championship (1983-current) and The Evian Championship (2013-current).

A player must be at least 40 years old at the start of the year in which selections are made (example: A player must have turned 40 years old prior to January 1, 2014 in order to qualify for the Class of 2015), or be at least five years removed from being an active participant (as determined by the Tour) on any of the tours with membership in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

- Male Competitors

A player must have a cumulative total of 15 or more official victories on any of the original members of the International Federation of PGA Tours (PGA TOUR, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and PGA of Australasia) OR at least two victories among the following events: The Masters, THE PLAYERS Championship, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship.

A player must be at least 40 years old at the start of the year in which selections are made (example: A player must have turned 40 years old prior to January 1, 2014 in order to qualify for the Class of 2015), or be at least five years removed from being an active participant (as determined by the Tour) on any of the original members of the International Federation of PGA Tours.

-Veterans Category

To be considered for selection in the Veterans category a player’s competitive career must have primarily occurred prior to 1975.  There is no minimum win criterion.  Amateurs and professionals are eligible to be considered in the Veterans category.

-Lifetime Achievement Category

To be considered for selection in the Lifetime Achievement category, an individual must have contributed to the game significantly in areas outside of the competitive arena (i.e. administrator, course architect, innovator, instructor, media, etc.).

Individuals may be nominated in the Veterans and Lifetime Achievement Categories by a member of the Selection Sub-Committee.

[newtogolf]

I like all the changes, but think the age restriction should be;

• A player must be at least 45 years old and / or have been retired from the International Federation of PGA Tours (PGA TOUR, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and PGA of Australasia) for at least 2 years.

I think it's ridiculous that Phil is still winning Majors and was already inducted into the HOF.  When a player gets inducted, they should honor him for the accomplishments he made over his entire career on Tour, not just up to the point he was inducted.