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Joe Dey, Herbert Warren Wind and Green Section Award recipients also announced; honorees will be recognized at Annual Meeting next month |
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (Jan. 15, 2020) – Honoring golf’s greatest ambassadors, innovators and leaders, the USGA has revealed its 2020 Annual Award honorees highlighted by Se Ri Pak, the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open champion and World Golf Hall of Famer, as the Bob Jones Award recipient.
The four 2020 individual honorees also include Lon Haskew, the recipient of the Joe Dey Award for meritorious service as a volunteer; Dr. William Meyer, the USGA Green Section Award recipient for his work in sustainability through agronomic advancements; and Kevin Robbins, author of The Last Stand of Payne Stewart, who will receive the Herbert Warren Wind Book Award. All three will receive their awards during the USGA Annual Meeting on Saturday, Feb. 29 in Pinehurst, N.C.
The USGA’s Annual Awards were established to honor those who advance the game and the association’s mission through research, celebrating and preserving golf’s history, and service to the game through volunteerism and personal spirit, character and respect.
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to annually recognize those whose contributions and positive influence have made a meaningful impact on the game,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA. “The individuals who comprise this year’s list of recipients truly embody the core values of the USGA to lead, serve and inspire.”
Receiving the Ike Grainger Award in recognition of 25 years of volunteer service to the USGA are John Bartholomew, Dwayne Dillinger, Bruce Flower, Robert Hillis, Richard Johnson, Craig Kessler, David Laird, John Luffey Jr., Greg Norris, Gilbert Palmer, Charles Rountree III, Joseph Sholtis and Grover Walker. The group of 13 will also be recognized during the awards banquet at the USGA Annual Meeting.
Bob Jones Award
Presented annually since 1955, the Bob Jones Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates the spirit, personal character and respect for the game exhibited by Jones, winner of nine USGA championships. As one of the most influential pioneering forces in the women’s game, Pak inspired an entire generation of Korean golfers during her 20-year professional career, which included 39 wins, five of which were majors.
Pak burst onto the LPGA Tour in 1998, and her playoff victory in the U.S. Women’s Open, when she became the youngest winner in the history of the championship to that point, became a defining moment in the game. Despite carrying the weight and attention of an entire country, it was through her friendly attitude and humble demeanor that her high level of character truly revealed itself.
Pak will receive the award during the week of the 2020 U.S. Open Championship in June at Winged Foot Golf Club.
Joe Dey Award
Named for Joseph C. Dey, the USGA’s executive director from 1934-1968 and a World Golf Hall of Famer, the Joe Dey Award has been presented annually since 1996 to recognize an individual’s meritorious service to the game as a volunteer. For more than 30 years, Haskew has served as a volunteer Rules official at state, regional, national and international levels, including more than 100 USGA championships. Haskew has been a USGA committee member since 1993 and has served on the Mid-Amateur Committee since 1995. He’s also been a fixture at the collegiate level as an official at multiple NCAA Championships.
USGA Green Section Award
The USGA Green Section Award honors distinguished service to golf through an individual’s work with turfgrass. For more than 30 years, Dr. Meyer has made a significant impact on the turf industry through his turfgrass breeding work, which focuses on developing grasses for golf and other playing surfaces that are resistant to adverse factors. As a professor at Rutgers University, he has influenced all levels of the industry at the national and international levels through seminars, research papers and trade publications.
Herbert Warren Wind Book Award
The Herbert Warren Wind Book Award acknowledges and encourages outstanding achievement in golf literature. This year’s recipient, The Last Stand of Payne Stewart, vividly recounts the story of Stewart’s last season on the PGA Tour in 1999, including his U.S. Open victory at Pinehurst, through his tragic passing. Robbins previously captured the award in 2016 for Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf, which tells the story of Penick, the late golf coach, competitor and instructor
In recognition of excellence in golf literature, the book will be added to the USGA Golf Museum library, the largest collection in the world with more than 100,000 individual volumes and periodicals.
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