"This sounds a little like getting an award for merely showing up."

Count John Paul Newport as another dissenting voice on the George Bush nomination to the World Golf Hall of Fame. I penned my take a few weeks ago, as did Adam Schupak of Golfweek. No one has come forward in favor of the move, which as Newport points out, came from a committee whose votes and deliberations are a secret.

Unlike the player nominees, who are elected by golf writers, Hall of Fame members and other golf influentials (or by a points formula, as LPGA players are), the inductees from the lifetime-achievement and veterans categories ultimately are chosen by the seven-person executive committee of the WGF. The members are the top executives from golf's elite governing bodies: the PGA Tour, the U.S. Golf Association, the PGA of America, the LPGA, Masters Tournament, the R&A and the European PGA Tour. Their deliberations are not made public.