Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Jack Peter, World Golf Hall of Fame, President
Dave Cordero, World Golf Hall of Fame, Director of Communications
Davis Love III, Class of 2017 Inductee
Meg Mallon, Class of 2017 Inductee
Lorena Ochoa, Class of 2017 Inductee
Ian Woosnam, Class of 2017 Inductee
Moderator: Good afternoon, and welcome to the World Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Teleconference. All lines will be muted during the presentation portions of the call with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.
At this time I would like to introduce your host, Dave Cordero with World Golf Foundation. Thank you and enjoy your conference. You may proceed, Mr. Cordero.
Dave: Thank you. Hello, everybody. Good morning for those of you on the West Coast. Good afternoon for those of you on the East Coast. My name is David Cordero. I am the director of communications at the World Golf Hall of Fame. I’m very excited for you to be on this call. Thank you for your participation.
Before we get started, I would like to introduce Jack Peter, President of the World Golf Hall of Fame who is sitting here with me in St. Augustine, Florida.
Jack: Well, good morning, or good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining this conference. I just wanted to offer my congratulations to the class of ’17. Obviously Davis Love III, Meg Mallon, Lorena Ochoa, Ian Woosnam, and the late Henry Longhurst will be stellar additions to the hall of fame, and we look forward in welcoming them into our family here at the hall of fame.
I want to remind everyone that the 2017 induction ceremony will be held September 26, 2017, at Cipriani’s Wall Street in New York the week of the Presidents Cup next year. We’ll have additional information and updates, credentialing, and other details in the coming months. Again, I want to thank everybody for participating and a special congratulations to the class of ’17. Dave?
Dave: Thanks, Jack. The way this call will work is each new inductee will have an opportunity to speak, and then we will open it up for questions. I also want to introduce and thank Nelson Silverio, a senior director with the PGA tour who speaks Spanish and will be on the line to help facilitate any questions or comments with our Latin American media. Now back to the 2017 class.
We are honestly, we’re all very excited and feel that this class is one of the strongest to date. Davis Love III, he’s having quite a month I would say. He captained the winning US Ryder Cup team and now he gets the call from the hall of fame. Davis has 22 professional wins, one major and two players’ wins. We also have Meg Mallon, 18 career LPGA tour victories and four major championships. She has been a member of nine Solheim Cup teams.
Lorena Ochoa, very exciting that she will be our first Mexican born hall of fame member. She finished with 27 victories on the LPGA tour, including two major championships. She was ranked world number one for 158 consecutive weeks. We also have Ian Woosnam. He is a Masters champion. He also sat atop of the official world golf rankings for 50 weeks throughout 1991 and 1992. His stellar play led him to represent Europe in eight consecutive Ryder Cup teams from 1983 to 1997.
I’d also like to recognize the late Henry Longhurst who’ll round out this great class. Longhurst was a weekly columnist for the London Sunday times for 40 years. He was also considered to be the first golf TV personality providing coverage for the BBC from the 1950s until his death in 1978.
So, let’s get started. Davis, I will start with you. I’d like to get your reaction and thoughts in general about being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. I would then like Meg to follow, then Lorena, and Ian to answer the same question. Then we will begin the Q&A portion with our attending media. So, Davis, I’ll turn it over to you.
Davis: Well, thank you. I’m thrilled to not only be included with the greats in the hall of fame, but especially with this class. Friends of mine, and players that I’ve looked up to, it’s going to be a great class to be involved with, like you said, over the next year. It’s hard to believe that I’m included in this group. So, I’m honored and humbled and excited about the induction ceremony next year during the Presidents Cup.
Dave: Okay, Meg, the same question.
Meg: I feel like Davis does too. I’m pinching myself being a part of this group and so thankful and grateful that I have been elected into the hall of fame. Lorena, Davis and Ian are great ambassadors to the game, and it’s just great to be a part of this group.
Dave: And we’ll turn it over to Lorena. Same question, your thoughts on the 2017 induction class and you being inducted?
Lorena: For me, it was really a surprise when I retired and I knew that I wasn’t (audio disruption) ten years. I felt in a way that for some reason if it will happen, will it be later in the future, and it really caught me by surprise. I cannot tell you how happy I am as a mother. I have now two kids, and this for me, is really the best thing ever to happen to me, to my career, to my country.
[Audio disruption] in the country was crazy. I had the opportunity to send a message back and forth with President Pena Nieto. Not only that but the media coverage and everything feels like it’s going back to the tour and playing again and winning tournaments. It really has been really wonderful, and I very much admire Meg.
We played together, she helped me a lot, she was like my mother out there. I used to go out and cry with her and ask for advice. I always felt very comfortable around her and just now being there at the same time is going to be very, very special, so thank you, and congratulations to all of you. Thank you.
Dave: And finally, Mr. Woosnam, your thoughts, please.
Ian: Well, thank you. I’d just say thank you to everybody who’s made this possible. It’s a great honor to be involved with all of the other players, and congratulations to you all. I’m looking forward to New York. This is like, for me, you play golf, you dream of things like this. I’ve done pretty well, I think, and to have this is just icing on the cake. So, I’m really looking forward to New York and next September.
Dave: Mallory, we are now ready to open it up for questions from the media.
Moderator: [Operator instructions]. We will now pause briefly to allow questions to generate in queue. Our first question comes from the line of Garry Smits with Florida Times-Union. You may proceed.
Garry: Thank you. Davis, congratulations.
Davis: Thanks, Garry.
Garry: The current format of the hall of fame and the structure in St. Augustine was built in 1998 a year after—or was opened in 1998, a year after you won your PGA. At any point since then was this on your radar as your career kind of built momentum through, from then until you won at Greensboro a couple of years ago?
Davis : Well, I’ve heard people mention it, one day you’ll be in the hall of fame. You never really grasp that fact. I didn’t start off my career saying I want to be in the hall of fame as one of my goals. But as I got older and more players around me that I played with and against and knew very well got in, I thought there might be a chance.
It’s something that Commissioner Finchem’s been bringing up for a while. Since I’ve been involved with the board, one day you’re going to be in this hall of fame. So, it’s still a surprise. Like Meg said, I’m pinching myself, and it’s hard to believe that I’m including in that group.
Garry Okay, and I suppose any particular honor you’ve had in golf, whether it’s winning the PGA or the two Players, has something like this, I guess there’s always some curiosity of how much of your thoughts turn to your dad and some lessons he hadn’t gotten to you. So, what do you think he’s feeling right about now?
Davis Well, I think he would be proud of the length of my career, that I’ve upheld the traditions of the game that he felt was so important. I always think that he would be more proud of something like the Bob Jones award or the Payne Stewart award or the hall of fame than really the golf scores because I tried to conduct myself the way he did or the way Harvey Penick did, or the way Byron Nelson did, the great players that he looked up to.
So, I think he’d be proud of all that. As any golfer, whoever taught you the game, you look to when great things happen to you. Obviously the Ryder Cup was an emotional time for a lot of us and that brings you back to thoughts of your dad or whoever got you started in the game, so this is just another moment. That’s why Michael Bamberger and I came up with the title of my book I did about my dad, Every Shot I Take, and it really does, everything that happens in golf was because of him. So, this will be another moment for me and my family to cherish great memories of my dad.
Garry Thank you.
Moderator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Ben Everill with pgatour.com. You may proceed.
Ben Thank you and congratulations to all four of you. I do have a question for everybody. I was hoping you could take us through where you were when you got the official notice, what you were doing, and your reaction to obviously finding out you were in the hall, and then how you maybe celebrated for the first time.
Meg Well, I’ll go first. This is Meg. Actually I am traveling from Michigan down to Florida driving down and Commissioner Whan was frantically trying to get a hold of me all day, and I said I’ll call him when I get to my next destination. He was in China.
So, I didn’t call him until 9:30 that night, and boy, I was sure blown away by what he was calling about. So, it was incredibly exciting, and even though they said not to tell anybody, of course, I called my family right away and shared a lot of tears and laughter with them for the next 24 hours. So, it’s been a lot of fun and a big whirlwind.
Dave Great. Lorena?
Lorena For me, the official confirmation came with Mike, and he was very sweet and very comforting. Good news, something great is happening, and he was very, very easy and just like my good friend. I kept (audio disruption) my husband. We were having dinner together at the house. I couldn’t sleep that night. She said okay, don’t tell anybody, so I didn’t call my friends. [Audio disruption], so I couldn’t sleep.
And then the next day in the morning, when Jack had called me, I was being with my baby Diego. It was funny because I was in his room playing with him, playing piano and making noise. I’m going for the phone. It was good. We had dinner last night with [indiscernible] family here in Mexico City, just a small celebration, but we were talking about all the good memories from tours and wins. It’s been great. Thank you.
Dave No, Thank you, and Ian?
Ian Yes, I was in Barbados. I’d been out for a bit of lunch, and I came back. I heard the news from Jack Peter, and wonderful moments. Unfortunately I have to have a doctor’s appointment this morning so I couldn’t celebrate too much last night. So, I’m looking forward to it tonight and spending it with my friends tonight and having a few beers—so really, really excited.
Dave Excellent. Finally Davis?
Davis Yes, I was actually in a meeting for our RSM tournament that we have coming up here in a few weeks, and I had my phone laying on the table in the meeting. My tournament director looked at it and goes Tim Finchem’s calling you. I said well, I guess I better answer that one.
So, I walked out of the room and talked with him for a little bit and got the news. He said, as everybody said, don’t tell anybody, so I walked back into the meeting and they go, what was that about? I said just something for the PGA Tour board. I was good. We’ve been so busy around here I’ve kept it quiet until yesterday. But we actually did go out to dinner with my brother and my mom at the club and talked about it, enjoyed it, and talked about how proud my dad would have been. We’re going to enjoy this for a few days. We’re still celebrating the Ryder Cup too. So, every night’s a celebration around here right now.
Ben Thanks very much, guys.
Moderator Thank you. [Operator instructions].
Dave Mallory, we have a question from the World Golf Hall of Fame historian Dr. Tony Parker.
Tony Yes, hello, everyone. I’m so glad you guys are coming into the hall of fame, looking forward to meeting you all and seeing you. I do have a question for each of you. I’d like to start maybe with Meg. Now that you’re coming into the World Golf Hall of Fame, does this bring back a memory of a specific point in your careers that you felt like this is a hall of fame moment? What is that time?
Meg That’s a good question. Oh, gosh, I guess winning my second US Open, being my fourth major, feeling like that’s a pretty darn good career, being able to accomplish that. I didn’t win my first tournament until I was 27 years old, so I was a late bloomer. I think Lorena retired at 27.
We all have different paths to get there, but certainly mine was much longer. My wins were from 27 to 41 years old. So, I was very proud of the longevity of my career, but I guess I knew I had the qualifications for the hall of fame, but I just never, ever, even thought about this moment really happening.
Tony Lorena, can I ask you that same question? Was there a moment in your career that you felt like this is a hall of fame moment?
Lorena Well, for me, for sure everyone is talking about winning in St. Andrews, and that really was special because we had that opportunity to play there for the first time and winning that tournament, my name’s going to be there forever. I finally feel it [ph]. Okay, this is the first chance we had, and I was very lucky to be able to win that tournament. I think I had that feeling because it’s something that you feel that you’re going to be there forever in a way. And in the hall of fame is like that, so I would put that one.
Tony Okay, and Ian, you’ve won in 23 different countries around the world, but was there again a hall of fame moment for you?
Ian Well, I think, not particularly. I think you have to look at it as one big whole. Like Davis said, you don’t really think about it until you get a little bit older and you see the people going into the hall of fame. I think if anything for me, the 2006 Ryder Cup achieved pretty well everything. As I say, being the captain of the Ryder Cup is just the icing on the cake. I think that for me was the beginning of having a chance to get into the hall of fame.
Tony Well, then Davis, coming in on top of that, you’ve captained the Ryder Cup twice. Do you feel that maybe would be the crowning point of the hall of fame career?
Davis Well, I think in 2012, when I was named captain, I think that kind of led me to the path again, maybe this will actually happen one day. I might actually get into the hall of fame. Like Ian said, that’s, well, Bubba Watson said it last week, a week and a half ago at the Ryder Cup that being Ryder Cup captain is another form of the hall of fame, and I think it’s just a step in a career that says hey, you had the type career that you can be a Ryder Cup captain, you can be in the hall of fame.
Certainly being a part of so many Ryder Cup teams, being a part of so many things on the tour, the start of the Presidents Cup and playing in so many Presidents Cups, all those things seem to add up. I think just over the last few years, obviously being part of the PGA Tour board and seeing the process of the hall of fame, I said, maybe one day I’m going to get in there, and so a dream come true.
Tony Great. Well, thank you all for those answers.
Moderator [Operator instructions]. Our next question comes from the line of Karen Bray [ph] with PGA Tour. You may proceed.
Karen Hi, guys. Congratulations to you all. I have two questions. The first one is for you, Lorena. It’s been a great year for the game of golf in Mexico. You’re the first born Mexican to be inducted, and also earlier this year a World Golf Championship was given to Mexico. How important are these two things for the game of golf in Mexico?
Lorena I didn’t hear that well. How is the world championship in Mexico important?
Karen So, it was a big year for you guys in Mexico for golf with you being inducted and a world class championship. How important are these things to grow the game of golf in Mexico?
Lorena Well, it’s been amazing for the last few years. I stopped playing, but all of a sudden you have so many kids, boys and girls playing, so many, (audio disruption)
playing college golf [indiscernible] and now professionals that are doing really good on tour. [Audio disruption] Carlos Ortiz [ph].
But not only them, there are many [indiscernible]. I think we’re in the best place for golf in our country, and starting in the Pan American games and then going to the Olympics, I think that really changed everybody’s mind on changing the perception. It’s a sport that is accessible if you have the opportunity to try it, you give yourself a chance. There are now some public facilities. So it’s changing a lot. I’m really happy to see this change. I hope it’ll continue in that direction.
Karen Okay, thanks. And Davis, how exciting is it for the ceremony to be at the Presidents Cup next year in the same year that you’ll serve as the captain’s assistant at the event?
Davis Well, it’s very exciting. Obviously, New York’s going to be a great venue for the induction and so much focus on international golf at the same time. It’s just a perfect place to do it, and I’m excited. I’m excited that Steve Stricker asked me to be assistant captain again. So, it’s going to be fun to be on another team.
Karen Thanks, guys.
Moderator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Ben Everill with pgatour.com.
Ben I’m back, guys. As you know, when you go into the hall, you get to sort of put stuff in a locker and donate some clubs, etc. Have you guys thought about what you might contribute to your locker in the hall? Obviously it doesn’t all have to be all golf related.
Ian Not for me, yet.
Ben I’ve seen some rugby jerseys in there, Ian. No soccer jerseys, no football, nothing you would essentially put in there?
Ian I might have to put a Welsh jersey in there. Ruby, Welsh, ruby team one, yes? What do you think?
Ben Sounds good to me.
Lorena I need to ask my dad to see where he has [indiscernible] for me because it is not very well organized. [Indiscernible] in Guadalajara, and he [indiscernible. I’m not sure I have something to—I remember I have my first pair of shoes when I won my first junior world championship in San Diego when I was eight. I have those for sure, so maybe I can put them there.
Meg I think it’s going to be fun to do, but someone suggested I should put something from my high school days because I went to an all-girls Catholic high school and we got letter sweaters. I have all these pins from all the sports I played, so I might have to put that in there. Of course, I wouldn’t even fit in that now, so it may as well go somewhere else.
Ben And Davis, have you got anything that you might particularly want to put in?
Davis I’ve been lucky over the last few years to accumulate a lot of really cool Ryder Cup stuff with all these teams and all these things that’s just hard to display in your house over a long career. So, I certainly have plenty of stuff. It’ll be fun to do some scrapbooking and help out and contribute some things.
Ben Excellent, thanks, guys.
Moderator Thank you. [Operator instructions].
We have a question for Lorena. Lorena, currently at the World Golf Hall of Fame, we have 16 country flags represented right in the front entrance. We’ll be putting up a 17th flag of Mexico. Again, you being the first Mexican born player to enter the hall of fame, what does that mean to you to represent a country and what do you think the reception will be like in Mexico?
Lorena [Audio disruption] why it is so important and for me, I’ve always been very thankful to the media, to my country, to my friends, the friends, my sponsors because they always support me and they always follow me. They always try to follow where I was playing and how I played on the weekend and they have big celebration when I was winning tournaments. It’s just great to be able to share all of this with the country, with the whole country. I’m very proud to be Mexican and all of you know, so it’s going to be something very special to see that flag up.
I went there a few years ago when I was playing on tour, if I remember right, in 2007. I went there with Andreas [indiscernible]. He took me to St. Augustine to see the place, and he told me one day you’re going to be here, and I want to be here with you. I want to get married. I was like no, no, no. We were just saying, and I remembered (audio disruption)
going to be great to go back with the family.
M Thank you.
Lorena Yes.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Helen Ross with pgatour.com. You may proceed.
Helen Well, first of all, congratulations to you all. I was wondering if each one of you could answer this question. Of all the players in the hall of fame, which one do you feel had the most influence on your careers and why?
Ian Ladies first.
Meg Okay, I’ll start with that. Well, the first person that comes to mind is Patty Berg, first of all because we both have a lot of freckles. So, we have that in common. But I just loved Patty’s energy and love for the game and what she did for the game of golf, being a founding member of the tour.
I also became very good friends with Louise Suggs in the last 25, 30 years and just really cherished that relationship and how much I’ve learned from Louise about not only the history of our tour, but really the history of golf. I mean, she hung out with people like Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan and she had some great stories to tell. I’m sure Davis has heard a lot of those too. But, so those two come to mind right away.
When I came out on tour, players like Pat Bradley, (audio disruption)
, I watched them practice and work so hard at the game. They were a big influence and what they did for the game of golf. So, really we have a great hall of fame and hall of fame members and a great history of our tour that I really appreciated when I came out.
Lorena Well, for me, I didn’t really know any players when I first started playing here in Mexico. Rafael [ph], my coach always talked to me about Nancy Lopez and how much people like her and how much she was playing and her charisma. Then, to me when I started playing golf and college golf, Annika was the person that I always look up. She offered me a great motivation. When I was in college, I wanted to be like her, and now being able to share, being in this place at the hall of fame with her is something that is for me very special.
Ian You go, Davis.
Davis Well, yes, for me, it would be both Arnold and Jack, I grew up going to some PGA tour events and some majors with my dad. My dad knew Arnie and Jack and they knew me by name when I was a little kid. I wanted to be like them and wanted to win golf tournaments. I was just making the putt on the putting green, copying them winning the Masters or winning the US Open. So, they both had a big influence on me as a golfer, and then once I got to know them as men when I was out on tour, they were obviously leaders for me, how to conduct yourself in the game and how to give back to the game. I can’t pick one; I’d have to say Arnie and Jack.
Ian Yes, I’d have to second that, Arnie, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player obviously. Gary Player is a big hero of mine, being a small guy playing against the big guys, and he was always the one battling and everything. I think I try to get that spirit into my game. But, I still look up to Gary Player, the things he does around the world for his charity, and it’s great to be a part of that. I’m still learning. I’m still appreciating what these great guys do for us.
Moderator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Hector Ortiz with Millennium Partners. You may proceed.
Hector Well, hello. I’m wondering if I can ask in Spanish to Lorena Ochoa if you don’t mind.
M [Speaking Spanish].
Hector [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Hector [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Hector [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Dave Everybody, this is Dave Cordero from the World Golf Hall of Fame. I understand we have some Latin American media in the queue ready to ask questions. Before we get there, I wanted to find out if anyone else had questions for Meg, Ian, or Davis. If not, I’m going to cut them free and Lorena, if you would be gracious enough to stay on a few additional minutes to field these questions, we would appreciate it.
Lorena Yes, sure. Thank you.
Dave Mallory, do you want to throw out any other questions for Meg, Ian, or Davis specifically?
Moderator [Operator instructions].
Dave Okay, with that, I would like to thank Meg, Ian and Davis for your participation on this call. I certainly look forward to working with all of you. Lorena, if you wouldn’t mind staying on a few additional minutes.
Lorena Yes, yes, thank you.
Davis Okay, thanks. All right, thanks. Congrats everybody, look forward to working with you.
Ian All right, guys, see you soon. Bye-bye.
Meg Adios, Lorena.
Lorena Thank you.
W Mallory, if we can go back over to the next question please.
Moderator Okay. We have a question from the line of Mauricio Durazo [ph] with Info Golf.
Mauricio [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Mauricio [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Mauricio [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Mauricio [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
M [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
M [Speaking Spanish].
Moderator [Operator instructions]. Nelson, please translate.
Nelson Sure. [Speaking Spanish].
Moderator We have a question from the line of Marisol Rojas [ph] with El Economista. You may proceed.
Marisol [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Marisol [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Marisol [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena Mucho Gracias.
Moderator Thank you. [Operator instructions]. Nelson, please translate.
Nelson [Speaking Spanish].
Dave Nelson, would you please thank everybody, and Lorena, again on behalf of World Golf Hall of Fame, we really appreciate your time. We look forward to working with you in the coming months. Nelson, if you could please tell the media we really appreciate them joining.
Nelson Okay. [Speaking Spanish].
Lorena [Speaking Spanish].
Moderator Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This now concludes the call.
Dave Thanks, Mallory.
Moderator My pleasure.
Dave Thanks, Nelson, if you’re still there.
