Woosnam honoured to join World Golf Hall of Fame

Former European Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The Welshman, two-time European Tour No 1, joined Henry Longhurst, Davis Love III, Meg Mallon and Lorena Ochoa Reyes in the 2017 class of inductees in New York yesterday.

Woosnam, who captained the European team in 2006 and won the 1991 Masters, is the 33rd European Tour member to be inducted – and the first since 2013.

“To be inducted into the Hall of Fame with the greatest players ever, it’s a big thing,” said Woosnam, who was introduced by nine-times major champion Gary Player.

“Gary was one of my heroes and I thought he would be one of the perfect guys to speak for me. He’s my sort of height and he’s tenacious; he’s just a really good friend and I thought he would be perfect for me,” said Woosnam.

The 59-year-old won 29 European Tour titles in a career spanning nearly 30 years before joining the European Senior Tour in 2008, when he went on to win the John Jacobs Trophy for topping the Order of Merit in his first season.

Woosnam – who won four Ryder Cups as a player in eight consecutive appearances from 1983 to 1997 before captaining the side at the K Club in Dublin – pipped José María Olazábal to the Green Jacket 26 years ago as he became the first ever Welsh major champion.

“For me, the putt on the 18th green at the Masters stands out the most,” Woosnam told europeantour.com.

“It’s not about hitting all the shots. I had a seven-foot putt and I can remember the times I used to be on the putting green on my local golf course and think ‘this is for the Masters, this is for the US Open, this for The Open’.

“It’s just that moment and you’re in that time and I think this is what it’s all about, trying to hole that putt. I would say that’s my best performance and my best shot.”

The Hall of Fame members also include Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie.

Former Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam is in golf’s Hall Of Fame.