LPGA Hall of Fame

[LaterOn61]

The LPGA HoF qualifications seem odd to me. Lydia Ko is 26 years old and is one win away from qualifying. I don’t know any other sport that would recognize someone so young as a HoFer. 

[Argonne69]

2 minutes ago, LaterOn61 said:

The LPGA HoF qualifications seem odd to me. Lydia Ko is 26 years old and is one win away from qualifying. I don’t know any other sport that would recognize someone so young as a HoFer. 

 

Keep in mind that Lydia picked up two wins as a teenager before she even turned pro. 

 

The LPGA HoF is based on points. The players tend to start young, and end their careers young. 

 

[iBanesto]

Not really.

 

The girl is just that good from a ridiculously early age.

 

To qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, Members of the LPGA Tour who were active in 1998 and going forward must meet a minimum point threshold of 27 points.  Entrance to the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame is limited to LPGA Tour members who meet the following criteria:

1. Must have won/been awarded at least one of the following - an LPGA major championship, the Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honors; and
2. Must have accumulated a total of 27 points, which are awarded as follows - one point for each LPGA official tournament win, two points for each LPGA major tournament win and one point for each Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honor earned.
3. One point for an Olympic gold medal

 

[Argonne69]

Still think in this era 27 points is too high a bar, but it is what it is for the time being.

 

[Ferguson]

 

To join the LPGA Hall of Fame, the LPGA Tour requires that a golfer must have won at least one major championship, Vare Trophy (for low season scoring average) or Player of the Year Award. (Not one of each, just one from among those three achievements.) A previous requirement that a golfer must have LPGA Tour membership for a minimum of 10 years was dropped in 2022.

And the golfer must have accumulated 27 points, based on these criteria:

• A victory in an LPGA major is worth 2 points.
• A win in a non-major LPGA Tour event is worth 1 point.
• Winning the Vare Trophy (low scoring average) is worth 1 point.
• Winning the Player of the Year award is worth 1 point.
• Winning the gold medal in golf in the Olympic Games is worth 1 point.

When a golfer reaches 27 points based on the criteria above, she becomes an LPGA Hall of Famer.

 

 

I think the decade of play being dropped was not the best decision. 

 

 

[Rapidcat]

Not enough majors in the qualification criteria.

 

How can you be a great with only 2 majors? 5 held per year, play for 10 years and you have won 2 out of 50...pfft.

 

LPGA majors should be worth 3 or 4 points and maybe 4 major wins minimum to qualify. Also have an Olympic Gold worth/substitute for a major.

 

Bin the Vare 'trophy' as a points contributor, irrelevant what the scoring average is, it's about winning tournaments.

 

I like the points system but it is skewed currently to mediocrity.

[LaterOn61]

Rapidcat makes my point. The points system is fine but Ochoa getting in at her age plus Ko, if she gets it soon, just feels watered down.

[woahnelly]

Is Cristie Kerr a HOF? the points system would say no yet she has 20 LPGA wins, including 2 majors, 9 Solheim Cup appearances, 2 Int'l Crowns in an era of much tougher and globalized competition. 

 

I'd expect them to water down the criteria, at the current state of women's golf, it's likely impossible for any to reach the points threshold moving forward.  Lydia is a 1 of 1 special type of player. 

Edited January 29 by woahnelly

[Argonne69]

Watered down? Four players have made it in in the last 20 years. 

 

[grm24]

9 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Watered down? Four players have made it in in the last 20 years. 

 

Plus the last 8 of the LPGA Founders admitted in 2022.

[grm24]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Still think in this era 27 points is too high a bar, but it is what it is for the time being.

 

Wasn't the points threshold for entry higher at one time? 

 

Found it. Used to be 35 points.

 

In 1999, the LPGA created a Veterans Category for the express purpose of inducting Judy Rankin, Donna Caponi and Marlene Bauer Hagge. That year, the LPGA Hall of Fame reduced its previous point threshold of 35 to the current 27. Rankin, Caponi and Bauer had not met the 35-point threshold, but did have at least 27 points each. However, the Veterans Category option was discontinued thereafter and no longer exists.

 

https://www.golfcompendium.com/2019/02/lpga-hall-of-fame-points.html

Edited January 29 by grm24

[pjc]

I'm already sick and tired of hearing about this...especially on the live broadcasts, every other sentence it seems...give it a rest and let it happen!!

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

14 hours ago, LaterOn61 said:

The LPGA HoF qualifications seem odd to me. Lydia Ko is 26 years old and is one win away from qualifying. I don’t know any other sport that would recognize someone so young as a HoFer. 

Patrick Mahomes is 28 years old. If he retired tomorrow he'll be in the Hall of Fame.

[Argonne69]

4 hours ago, Rapidcat said:

Not enough majors in the qualification criteria.

 

How can you be a great with only 2 majors? 5 held per year, play for 10 years and you have won 2 out of 50...pfft.

 

LPGA majors should be worth 3 or 4 points and maybe 4 major wins minimum to qualify. Also have an Olympic Gold worth/substitute for a major.

 

Bin the Vare 'trophy' as a points contributor, irrelevant what the scoring average is, it's about winning tournaments.

 

I like the points system but it is skewed currently to mediocrity.

 

Players are hanging it up at a younger age in this modern era. Anybody over 30 regularly on the leaderboard? I just don't see how four players in 20 years is rewarding mediocrity. 

 

Jin Young might get in if she stays healthy. Brooke maybe. Lexi probably not. We might see one or two players qualify in the next decade. I certainly don't see that as watered down. 

 

The game has gone international, and young. Unless a player can rack up 2+ wins a season for their first 5 to 7 years it's probably not going to happen. While the majors award an extra point, there seems to be plenty of players able to step up for a week and grab the trophy. 

 

[LaterOn61]

Kenny Puckett - yes he would but he has to RETIRE first and then the clock to HoF starts. Same with baseball. If Lydia won yesterday, she is in. Doesn’t need to do a thing. The point system is fine but the numbers are too low. There is something in the HoF criteria that rewards longevity.

[Titleist_PT23]

I think the HOF criteria is fine.  A while back no one thought even Lydia would make it (I said it was reasonably possible), and now it's basically expected (she's still not in yet).  I would put JYK in the same classification (as Lydia was earlier).  I don't think Brooke makes it (mentioned before) and Lexi has no chance (there are a handful of other players around Lexi's point total).

 

Assuming there are no changes to the ways to rack up points (not saying this is best but it simplifies the discussion), what would people change it to?  20 points?  That would put Laura Davies, Yani, and Kerr in while Lewis would be one point away (Laura Davies/Yani seem OK to me, Kerr and Lewis are borderline).  I would say there's a good chance Brooke ends up about where Kerr and Lewis are; that's a good one to discuss because Brooke is more current and emotional attachment may be higher (for some).

 

Part of the challenge of even defining what is HOF worthy is that most players rack up a lot of points in a 3-5 year stretch.  Compared to other sports, that's more of a hot streak than continued greatness.  Inbee and Lydia did rack up a lot of points in a short span, but they also won over a decade plus period.

[Titleist_PT23]

Here is another interesting discussion and comparison as it relates to the HOF.  I think it was mentioned by someone close to the tour that Kerr was never really a dominant player (I'm trying to paraphrase what I recall being said - please correct if this is wrong).  Definitely a lot of wins over an extended period of time.  She'd be above a hypothetical 20 point threshold.  In contrast, Stacy Lewis would be a point short.  However, her play over 2012-2014 is likely better than any similar period for Kerr (and by better, I don't just mean the win total, but how one compared to the other top players on tour).

 

Brooke is highly regarded, but I would say even her best years (2016, 2022, and/or 2017-2019) were more like a solid Top 5 (or so) than the best or one of the best that was clearly a cut above the other top players on tour.

 

Still, my feeling is that many here would say she should probably get in (assuming she wins a few more times over a handful of years), as she was one of the best when she played?

 

 

[iBanesto]

8 hours ago, LaterOn61 said:

Rapidcat makes my point. The points system is fine but Ochoa getting in at her age plus Ko, if she gets it soon, just feels watered down.

 

Ochoa is not Hall of Fame worthy because of her age? It's just a number.

• 2 majors
• 27 LPGA Tour titles
• 3 time LPGA Tour money list titles
• 4 time LPGA Player of the Year
• 18 top 10 finishes in majors from 33 events
• 158 consecutive weeks at world No. 1
• One of the best amateur careers

Retired at 28 because she wanted to start a family.

 

End of the day its the hall of fame, not the hall of achievement... that is why Colin Montgomerie is in there.

 

Edited January 30 by iBanesto

[AKL Kiwi]

If and when Lydia makes it into the HOF I think you have to put into context her amatuer results and all the world firsts she has achieved and the age she achieved them at along with the 27 points or more she may have by even this years end.  It's not just what she got HOF points for! You could have more criteria for points like 1 point for being RR#1 for every 100 weeks..... 

Edited January 30 by AKL Kiwi

[ChronicSlicer]

7 hours ago, woahnelly said:

Is Cristie Kerr a HOF? the points system would say no yet she has 20 LPGA wins, including 2 majors, 9 Solheim Cup appearances, 2 Int'l Crowns in an era of much tougher and globalized competition. 

 

 

Not a huge Cristie fan, but yea I agree with this. She deserves it. Unfortunately Solheim and Int'l Crowns don't mean squat for obvious reasons.

I don't have the answers despite what some may think, but I do believe if the HOF would like new members from say 2010 to 2030 era they better lower their standards.

I agree with @Rapidcat on the Vare trophy, cancel that and add an extra point for a major win.

Edited January 30 by ChronicSlicer

[grm24]

9 hours ago, LaterOn61 said:

Rapidcat makes my point. The points system is fine but Ochoa getting in at her age plus Ko, if she gets it soon, just feels watered down.

Ochoa wasn't admitted to the LPGA HOF until 2022 when the LPGA got rid of having to be on the LPGA for 10 years/seasons. Is being admitted at age 40 or 41 still too young for you? Ochoa should have been admitted the moment she earned the required 27 points. The 10 year rule was foolish. Inbee Park was inducted to the LPGA HOF at age 28. Guess Inbee getting in at that age watered down the LPGA HOF?

[MelloYello]

On 1/29/2024 at 12:00 AM, LaterOn61 said:

The LPGA HoF qualifications seem odd to me. Lydia Ko is 26 years old and is one win away from qualifying. I don’t know any other sport that would recognize someone so young as a HoFer. 

 

Because a HoF is meant to recognize accomplishment. Longevity itself can be an accomplishment, sure, but it's not a prerequisite nor does it make sense to discuss it in a sport where the players leave to have families by their early 30s. I don't know what kind of "longevity" you could ask of Annika, Lydia Ko, Inbee Park or Lorena Ochoa that they haven't given you. I don't know how you could attack their decisions to prioritize family > golf when they accomplished more than anyone else in their respective eras and were very clearly the best of what women's golf had to offer.

 

Your wife is the best in the world at what she does and she can't be recognized for that dominance and left to raise her children because some guy on the internet demands she be playing golf when she gave her employee 12-15 great years and she would rather be a mother at 35 than a full-time golfer? 

 

Are we serious? I think you need to take a second to think about why these women: Annika, Lorena, Inbee and soon Lydia all retire when they do and don't choose "longevity."

 

There's a common theme and it's not hard to figure out. 

 

And just FWIW, no female golfer in the world would ever prioritize a place in the HoF over her family so asking them is beyond pointless. The second you made some stipulation they'd just forget about the HoF altogether. 

 

.

Edited January 30 by MelloYello

[MelloYello]

15 hours ago, grm24 said:

Ochoa wasn't admitted to the LPGA HOF until 2022 when the LPGA got rid of having to be on the LPGA for 10 years/seasons. Is being admitted at age 40 or 41 still too young for you? Ochoa should have been admitted the moment she earned the required 27 points. The 10 year rule was foolish. Inbee Park was inducted to the LPGA HOF at age 28. Guess Inbee getting in at that age watered down the LPGA HOF?

 

I think some guys need a lesson in biology....the window women have for optimal procreation and all that, the complexities and risks of pregnancies beyond 30, etc. Honestly, I knew nothing about it until I saw it with many of my friends. It's not always so easy and once women get into their 30s it's often a whole different ball-game. 

 

These women are as independent as any on earth and we're expecting them not to dictate the terms of their own family life? Yeah, right, LOL. 

We shouldn't be surprised when women who excel at a game based on planning and preparation are leaving at 28 to start families. It's the responsible thing to do. 

 

 

Edited January 30 by MelloYello

[18majors]

1 hour ago, MelloYello said:

It's not always so easy and once women get into their 30s it's often a whole different ball-game. 

 

 

This may help:

Female Age-Related Fertility Decline

 

"The study found that pregnancy rates decreased progressively with increasing age of the recipient female patient 6. The cumulative pregnancy rate observed up to 12 insemination cycles was 74% for women younger than 31 years and decreased to 62% for women aged 31–35 years and to 54% for women older than 35 years 6."

[GolfMoose]

I always assumed that sports where there was subjective entry into their hall, such as voting, had an associated waiting period in order to ensure some perspective, distance, context, in assessing someone's accomplishments (and perhaps due to the impact that time gap has on the composition of the group doing the voting and their history/link/view to that individual).  At first glance it wouldn't seem so necessary when there's an objective target.