Living Male Hall Of Fame Players Boycott Ceremony In Apparent Nod To Fellow No-Show Willie Park Jr.

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Of course Park Jr. did have the excuse of having been dead for almost 88 years.

What does it say about the modern professional and the World Golf Hall of Fame that living Hall iductees can't be bothered to attend the ceremony? Or that more active caddies turned up than players? Sources present who emailed their annoyance or Tweeted about the ceremnony revealed that there were eight hall members at Monday night's ceremony. None were hall member/players of the Male-American variety.

Ponte Vedra resident Vijay Singh was no doubt licking his wounds and was too sore to attend after not getting penalized for violating PGA Tour doping policy.

Garry Smits reports on a ceremony that included an emotional speech by Fred Couples and a predictably silly statement by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, who, by spearheading inductions of George Bush and Ken Schofield while overlooking worthier players, is in danger of making the Hall a Ponte Vedra Cronyfest.

Couples called the PGA Tour “my playground for 33 years.”

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said that Couples’ popularity, which began when he won the 1984 Players Championship at the age of 25, “changed the game.”

“Only a few players move the needle,” Finchem said. “We owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Nantz became especially emotional about Venturi, who was unable to travel to St. Augustine because of illness. His sons, Matt and Tim Venturi, accepted the induction and crystal trophy for him.

“I loved Ken Venturi, a friend and a mentor,” Nantz said of his CBS broadcast partner. “I’m heart-broken he’s not standing here now. Most people know Kenny has been ill for some time. The prognosis is still good. He can get through this.”