World Golf Hall of Fame Welcomes Dame Laura Davies

Class will be celebrated at Induction Ceremony on July 13, 2015 at St Andrews

St. Augustine, Fla. (Oct. 15, 2014) – Dame Laura Davies, David Graham, Mark O’Meara and A.W. Tillinghast will be enshrined into the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum as the Class of 2015.  The Induction Ceremony will be held on Monday, July 13, 2015 at the University of St Andrews, just blocks from the Old Course, host site of that week’s 144th Open Championship.

This is the first Class to be elected by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Commission, which debated a group of 16 Finalists.  The four members of the Class of 2015 each passed the required 75 percent voting threshold – approval by at least 12 of the 16 members.

The Selection Commission was co-chaired by Hall of Fame members Nancy Lopez, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Annika Sorenstam and included the members of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors and a mix of institutional and at-large seats.

“We are thrilled to welcome Laura, David, Mark and A.W. into the World Golf Hall of Fame,” said Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR Commissioner, Selection Commission member and chairman of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors.  “The new selection process provided a thorough examination of the candidates by a diverse, international group and we’re delighted with the outcome.  Congratulations the Class of 2015.”

The Commission elected the Class of 2015 from 16 Finalists, which were vetted by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee met earlier this summer and vetted every candidate that met the qualifications of the Hall of Fame’s four Induction categories. It presented the following group of Finalists to the Commission:

Laura Davies

With more than 70 victories worldwide and four LPGA majors, Davies is considered by many to be the most successful female British player of all time.  After an accomplished amateur career, Davies made it clear she would be a force when she won both the Rookie of the Year and the Order of Merit on the Ladies European Tour in 1985.

In 1987, while still only a 23-year-old member of the LET, Davies outdueled future Hall of Fame members Ayako Okamoto and Joanne Carner in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Women’s Open at Plainfield (N.J.) Country Club.  In the mid-1990s, Davies became one of the dominant players in the world, winning the 1994 and 1996 LPGA Championships at Dupont (Del.) Country Club. She added a fourth major with the 1996 du Maurier Classic.

Davies has represented Europe a record 12 times in the Solheim Cup, playing in every competition from 1990-2011. Among her numerous awards are the Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year in 1994 and 1996, and the 1994 Golf Writers’ Trophy from the Association of Golf Writers.  She was named a Member of the British Empire (M.B.E.) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 2000.

“I’d like to thank the Selection Sub-Committee and the Selection Commission for bringing me into the Class of 2015; it is a wonderful honour,” Davies said.  “I am especially looking forward to the Induction Ceremony at St Andrews in 2015.  It really will be a special event.”