Ernie Els Leads Class of 2011 Into Hall of Fame

Ernie Els is a Hall of Famer. Few people would have argued that point yesterday; today, nobody has the option to argue it. Els has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame on the PGA Tour ballot, winning 66-percent of the vote (65-percent is required*) in his first year of eligibility.

Joining Els in the Class of 2011 are Doug Ford and Jock Hutchison, both elected in the Veterans Category; and President George H.W. Bush, elected in the Lifetime Achievement Category.

In a few weeks, one more name will be added to the list from the International Ballot. (Eligible players are listed down below.)

Els has 18 wins on the PGA Tour, including three majors: the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens, and the 2002 British Open. He also has 25 European Tour victories, 15 Sunshine Tour wins and a handful of other wins.

Ford was a 19-time winner on the PGA Tour, and that total included two majors: the 1955 PGA Championship and the 1957 Masters. Ford was the Player of the Year in 1955.

Hutchison, a St. Andrews native, played the PGA Tour in its infancy and is credited with 14 wins. He won the 1920 PGA Championship and 1921 British Open (against a playoff foe who had to be talked into showing up), plus the very first Senior PGA Championship in 1937. He also has the distinction of starting (along with Fred McLeod) the tradition of honorary starters at The Masters.

Why President G.H.W. Bush? The World Golf Hall of Fame's announcement details Bush's golf credentials:

President Bush helped raise the profile of the sport of golf considerably during and post his Presidential administration. He has been recognized by the golf community over the years, including receiving the 1997 PGA of America Distinguished Service Award, the USGA's 2008 Bob Jones Award and the 2009 PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1996, President Bush served as honorary chairman of The Presidents Cup and has since attended every Presidents Cup. He is an honorary member of the PGA, honorary chair of the USGA Museum and Archives President's council and has served as honorary chairman of The First Tee since 1997.

Bush is the grandson of George Herbert Walker, founder of the Walker Cup.

The induction ceremony for the class of 2011 takes place on May 9, 2011, at the start of tournament week for The Players Championship.

Here are the voting results from the PGA Tour ballot (number is the percentage of ballots on which the individual was named):

Ernie Els, 66
Doug Ford, 50
Fred Couples, 32
Mark O'Meara, 29
Davis Love III, 27
Macdonald Smith, 23
Ken Venturi, 20
Fuzzy Zoeller, 18
Tony Lema, 14
Dave Stockton, 12
Don January, 10
Miller Barber, 9
Harold "Jug" McSpaden, 7
Kenny Perry, 2
Jay Haas, 2

I'd like to hear the reasoning of the 2-percent of voters who cast ballots for Jay Haas.

As noted, one more name will be added to the Class of 2011 when the inductee from the International Ballot is announced. The players whose names appeared on that ballot are:

Peter Alliss
Darren Clarke
Max Faulkner
Retief Goosen
Sandy Lyle
Graham Marsh
Colin Montgomerie
Norman Von Nida
Jumbo Ozaki
Ian Woosnam

(*Unless nobody gets 65-percent of the vote, in which case the golfer with the most votes gets in so long as he was named on at least 50-percent of the ballots.)

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