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Behind the scenes or on grand stages, the five people selected this year for inclusion into the Southland Golf Hall of Fame have had a tremendous impact on golf in Southern California. While most people know Vin Scully for his broadcasting work in baseball and football, he also was a golf announcer for CBS Sports at a key time in the sport's history. Working with Ken Venturi and Pat Summerall, Scully's smooth and comfortable presence made viewers pay attention to a game that was still largely seen as a rich man's sport. Two-time major champion Mark O'Meara now lives in Florida, but the Southern California native still maintains ties with Mission Viejo Country Club and works with Mission Viejo High School's golf team. Maggie Hathaway was a tireless crusader for golf integration, experiencing first-hand the sobering reality that many public courses in the Los Angeles area were closed to blacks in the 1950s. She worked for decades trying to bring golf to the city's most disadvantaged youths. Mesa Verde Country Club's Tom Sargent is one of the most decorated, and respected, PGA professionals in the region. From teaching junior and adult golfers to his role in helping shape the policy and direction of the SCPGA, his impact goes beyond sheer numbers. The same can be said about Earl Woods, the late father of Tiger Woods, who was a primary force in the creation of the Tiger Woods Foundation and the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim. Whether known for playing the game, calling the game, teaching the game or using the game to impact society at large, all five of our inductees are worthy recipients of our humble honor. Earl Woods Southern California connection: Lived in Cypress from 1975 until his death in May. Accomplishments: Raised the greatest contemporary golfer in the world, Tiger Woods. Exposed his son to the game, was his first coach, and used it to teach discipline and character. Guided his son through a successful junior and amateur career. Helped establish the Tiger Woods Foundation in 1996, and was the driving force in its early years, encouraging Tiger to host junior golf clinics for disadvantaged youths. Played a key role in convincing his son to choose Anaheim as the site of the first Tiger Woods Learning Center. Notable: Grew up in Kansas and was the first black person to play baseball in the Big 8 Conference. Didn't begin playing golf until age 42 but, at one point, had a 3 handicap. Lowest score was a 63 at the Navy Course. After watching Tiger take his first swing at the age of 9 months, he said it was "the most frightening thing I'd ever seen." Served two terms in Vietnam as a Green Beret. Before he died, publicly stated that he hoped his family's house in Cypress would be turned into a national historic monument. Quotable: "I never treated Tiger like a kid. I treated Tiger as an equal. We transcended the parent-child relationship and became best friends a long time ago." - Golf Digest, 2001 Tiger Woods on his father's death: "I'm overwhelmed when I think of all of the great things [Earl Woods] accomplished in his life. He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend. I wouldn't be where I am today without him, and I'm honored to continue his legacy of sharing and caring." Mark O'Meara Southern California connection: Grew up in Mission Viejo, graduating from Mission Viejo High School. Played on Cal State Long Beach golf team. Father was Mission Viejo Country Club's first president. Accomplishments: Won the California State Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in 1979. A 16-time PGA Tour winner, including the Masters and British Open in 1998. Won the AT&T Pebble Beach five times and the Buick Invitational in San Diego once. Also won eight international tournaments, including the 2004 Dubai Desert Classic, his most recent win. Earned more than $14 million on the PGA Tour, placing him 36th at the end of 2006. Helped design the TPC at Valencia, which opened in 2003. Notable: O'Meara's main charitable endeavor is raising money to fight multiple sclerosis, which his longtime caddie, Donnie Wanstall, was diagnosed with in 1994. Loves fly fishing. Still involved with Mission Viejo Country Club, where he worked picking up range balls as a teenager, and Mission Viejo High School. Still considers himself a neat freak and a chronic car washer. Says he prefers lodging at a Comfort Inn to more opulent hotels. Eligible for the Champions Tour in January. Quotable: "You can always say 'if/would have/could have,' but there's a lot of luck in golf, and a lot of luck at the right time that doesn't have anything to do with how far you hit your drive. I think I could've won more tournaments than I have. Is that just part of the percentages in playing golf for a living? You spend a lot more time losing than winning." - Golf Digest, 1999 Vin Scully Southern California connection: Lived here since moving with the Dodgers from Brooklyn in 1957. Accomplishments: The Dodgers announcer since 1949 has also been involved in broadcasting 25 World Series and 12 All-Star Games. Lead announcer for the NFL and PGA Tour events for CBS from 1975-82. Called first golf tournament, the Bing Crosby National in 1960, for a Los Angeles radio station. Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 and American Sportscasters Hall of Fame in 1992. Notable: Nearly left the Dodgers in the late '70s because of his contract status with CBS. But CBS, recognizing his long-time attachment with the team, allowed him to skip some golf broadcasts. Used to play golf regularly with Dodgers announcing partner Jerry Doggett. The Masters tournaments that were on CBS during his tenure included Jack Nicklaus' dramatic one-shot victory over Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf in 1975; Tom Watson's birdie putt on 17 that iced his victory over Nicklaus in 1979; Seve Ballesteros' triumphant gallop in 1980; and Craig Stadler's playoff victory in 1982. Quotable: "He didn't know the players like in baseball, but he was so knowledgeable about the game," said broadcasting colleague Ken Venturi. "He had compassion for them and treated golfers on the fairway just like he would like to be treated by them. He'd been around sports for so long that he could do anything. That's what makes him one of the most respected people in [broadcasting] to this day." Tom Sargent Southern California connection: Born in San Diego and is the head professional at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa. Accomplishments: Joined the PGA in 1981 and has served in nearly every leadership position. Won the 1989 PGA Junior Golf Leader award, and received the organization's most prestigious award in 1997 when he was named PGA Golf Professional of the Year. Named Section Teacher of the Year three times, and is a certified rules official for the PGA of America and the U.S. Golf Association. Head pro at Yorba Linda Country Club for 17 years before moving to Mesa Verde Country Club in the mid-'90s. A member of the SCPGA Board of Directors since 1982 and president of the section's Junior Golf Advisory Board since 1991. Notable: Has taught hundreds of players over the years, including some of the best junior golfers in Southern California, such as LPGA stalwart Kelle Booth, the PGA Tour's Bob May, Huntington Beach's Jennie Lee and 2006 U.S. Open qualifier and USC graduate, Taylor Wood. Quotable: Greg Flores, director of communications for the SCPGA and Sargent's associate for 20 years: "Golf professionals make their impact in their ways - they impact their members, they impact people they teach, and they impact through their service. Tom has made a huge impact in all of them. He's run some of the higher profile clubs in Orange County, taught thousands of players, including some of the best players to ever come out of Southern California, as well as teaching other pros how to teach both locally and nationally through clinics. And as past president of the SCPGA, he was responsible for programs that reach out to the community and grow the game. But I'd say his biggest impact [has been as] president of the SCPGA Junior Tour, helping shape it from a summer tour with 50 to 60 events to a year-round program with close to 2,000 kids ranging from beginners to elites participating in more than 200 programs." Maggie Hathaway Southern California connection: A longtime community and civil rights activist who helped break the color barrier on Los Angeles' public golf courses. Died in 2001. Accomplishments: Former president of the Beverly Hills/Hollywood chapter of the NAACP. Helped found that organization's Spirit Award, which honors artistic achievements of people of color. A golf columnist for 30 years for the Los Angeles Sentinel. Longtime coach and director of golf at the Jack Thompson Golf Course, which was renamed for Hathaway in 1997. Primary force behind the integration of Chester A. Washington Golf Course on Western Avenue, where players like Charlie Sifford learned the game. Founded the Minority Associated Golfers in 1963, one of the first organizations that encouraged minority golfers. The tournament relied on grants and donations. Frequent donors were Jim Brown and Jack Nicklaus. Notable: Was a talented singer and actress, and often served as a double for Lena Horne. Began playing golf after winning a bet with boxer Joe Louis in 1955. Was a fine golfer, with a 14 handicap, but found she couldn't play on many local courses. Worked aggressively trying to get local golf courses to open their doors to blacks and to get professional tournaments to allow people of color to play. In her role as director of golf at the course that now bears her name, she conducted junior golf programs. At a time when minority representation in golf was almost non-existent, she worked tirelessly to expose inner-city youths to it. After a long crusade for the racial integration of golf, Hathaway traveled to Augusta National in 1975 to witness the landmark arrival of Lee Elder, the first black invited to play the Masters. Quotable: "She put her whole life into golf and loved the game and used it to help minorities," said Doris Lacour, a deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke. "She was way ahead of her time." "I'm a militant," Hathaway told the Los Angeles Times in 1997. "The only thing I've ever regretted is that I picketed Bing Crosby's tournament. I found out later that he was trying to help blacks get into the tournament, but he couldn't do anything with the PGA." n |
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