Hall finally gets it right

Induction of Wind corrects an injustice

As a range of emotions go, it was quite a swing for Gitty Scheft, though the former president of the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund handled it with the dignity she always has displayed.

In those days a few weeks ago when she was saying goodbye to her husband Bill, who died at the age of 89, Scheft heard the news her family had always wished for: Her brother, Herbert Warren Wind, had made it into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

"It's the last great appointment he had. We think it's wonderful, we really do," said Scheft, who shared her brother's passion for golf. Those years she served the Ouimet Fund are a testament to her devotion to the game and to this day the "Bill and Gitty Scheft Trophy" is presented to the winning mixed team at Ouimet Society tournaments. Her husband also loved the game, so there was a common denominator with this family, and the pride they had in "Herb" is impossible to measure.

Born in Brockton, Wind walked a short distance to Thorny Lea Golf Club to be introduced to a game that would become central to his life, and he became the greatest golf writer America has known. He is credited with coining the phrase "Amen Corner" at Augusta National Golf Club and he wrote for The New Yorker and Sports Illustrated. But there was so much more to the man. He treated the game and the people who played it with arguably more respect and dignity than anyone before or since. Wind wrote stories that demanded attention and insisted you devote time to digest the words and thankfully he did so in an era when people were more patient and less consumed by instant gratification.

The stories Wind wrote remain as relevant today as they were decades ago when his trip began in Brockton and wound through cherished golf theaters from Augusta to St. Andrews. "He can rest easy now," said Gitty Scheft, who had heard reports about her brother's Hall of Fame honor two weeks ago, though it wasn't official until Wednesday.

If she was filled with relief, imagine how the families of Craig Wood and Denny Shute felt. Overlooked for years by voters, who apparently felt the game had never been played before the invention of graphite shafts, Wood and Shute will also be inducted posthumously Nov. 10 during ceremonies at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. While it's a deserving tribute to Wood and Shute, it must be accompanied by one thought: "What in the name of Old Tom Morris took so long?"

In a game of numbers, Wood accumulated impressive ones: 21 PGA Tour wins, including two majors (1941 Masters, 1941 US Open), and playoff losses in four majors (1933 British Open, 1934 PGA Championship, 1935 Masters, 1939 US Open) and if you're wondering if there's anyone in history who has a similar résumé, may I bring to your attention Greg Norman, who lost playoffs in all four majors, won two majors, and had 20 PGA Tour wins.

But Norman was voted into the Hall in 2007. Rightfully, yes, but his election and those of some of his contemporaries demonstrate our society's obsession with all things new. That's fine, except when it comes at the expense of those who blazed trails and opened doors.

Of course, it is easier to put that frustration to the back-burner, because a wrong has been righted. Wood was the only candidate elected on this year's ballot, accumulating 65 percent of the vote, while Shute (15 PGA Tour wins, including three majors) made it via the veterans' category. Wind was chosen in the lifetime achievement category, as was Carol Semple Thompson, who was called by US Golf Association executive director David Fay "the first lady of women's amateur golf."

It was quite a compliment, but spot on, because Thompson, 59, has been at the heart of women's amateur golf in this country since she was old enough to grip a club. She is one of just 11 players to have won both the US Women's Amateur and the British Women's Amateur and has six other USGA titles to her credit. Having played in more than 100 USGA championships, Thompson is most closely identified with the Curtis Cup, the biennial competition between the US and Great Britain-Ireland in which she's participated 14 times, the last two (2006, 2008) - victorious, both of them - as captain.

Clearly, Thompson deserves Hall of Fame recognition. Fortunately, she didn't have to entrust her spot to a voting body that has trouble distinguishing such achievement. Just ask the families of Wood and Shute. Corrections have been made and plaques have been ordered for worthy golfers of great dignity.

Case closed on Open format

Confession: The Monday 18-hole playoff sure causes havoc with travel plans and social calendars for those covering the US Open.

Admission: It's not about us, it's about something more important.

"It's for the national championship. What are you going to do, Mickey-Mouse it?" said Curtis Strange, who knows a thing or two about the format for deciding ties in the US Open. Count him among those who hopes it never changes.

"I think it's fine that every major championship has its own method for deciding ties," said Strange, referring to the Masters' sudden-death format, and four- and three-hole playoffs at the British Open and PGA Championship, respectively. "But I'm sorry, it's the US Open. An 18-hole playoff is fine."

OK, Strange is connected personally to the topic, because in 1988 he was tied at the end of regulation in the US Open at The Country Club in Brookline.

Strange will never know how he'd have fared in a sudden-death test that Sunday 20 years ago, but he can tell you that he was rested and ready for the 18-hole affair the next day.

He handled Nick Faldo with ease, 71-75, and Strange bristles at recent comments by the Englishman that the Monday golf lacked atmosphere.

"There was plenty of atmosphere that day," he said. "The crowd was great. I know I felt the energy."

Faldo suggested what others have insisted - that a Sunday playoff would have the luxury of being played out when the drama and crowd excitement already is present.

Well, Strange is right to wonder aloud how Faldo and other critics of the format feel now in the aftermath of Tiger Woods's Monday playoff with Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines? Extended to an extra hole, the match drew outstanding ratings on both ESPN and NBC, with intriguing subplots (Woods's injured knee, Mediate's huge underdog stature). As a result, Strange feels the US Golf Association's stance was validated.

He's probably right. It was as big a win for Woods as it was for the USGA, which has steadfastly refused to bow to the many media critics who would like to see the US Open wrapped up on Sunday so those social and travel plans don't get interrupted. Good for them. The US Open deserves an 18-hole playoff, even if we can't always be guaranteed a riveting show like the one Woods and Mediate provided.

A couple of major thrills for Dugas

Highlights? Where does Eric Dugas start after his performance in the Club Professional Championship at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, N.C.? The hole-in-one? Or the closing round of 71 that earned him a share of sixth place? How about the fact he'll get to tee it up alongside some of the world's greatest players at the PGA Championship in August?

Dugas, 25, a Brewster native who played golf at Nauset High and Methodist College, opened with a 69 at the Great Waters Course, then was in the middle of some dramatic shots within a 15-minute span of Round 2 at the Reynolds Landing Course. Dugas aced the 150-yard 11th hole, as did Brooks West of Mississippi. At about the same time, Brad Martin of Oregon made a hole-in-one at the 170-yard 17th hole at Great Waters. If it stopped there, it was would have been a memorable weekend, but Dugas completed his journey with a 72 in Round 2, then shot 70-71 amid weekend pressure to finish at 6-under 282.

Having previously worked at Captains GC and Charles River CC, Dugas is in his first year on Jay Wick's staff at Old Sandwich Golf Club.

He will be joined in the PGA Championship field at Oakland Hills outside of Detroit (Aug. 7-10) by Jeff Martin, the assistant pro at Point Judith CC in Narragansett, R.I. Martin shot 72-68-70-74 -284 to finish joint 10th and earn his second berth in the season's final major.

While 90 players made the cut at the CPC, only the top 20 earned their way into the PGA Championship.

John Hickson of Maine (71-74-70-73) finished tied for 24th, just one shot out of a playoff, while Brian Spitz of Black Rock CC in Hingham was undone by a third-round 79 as he finished at 294, tied for 64th. Also in that group at 294 was Dan Wilkins of Laconia CC in New Hampshire (73-73-72-76). The rest of the NEPGA contingent failed to make the cut - Evan Belcher (74-73), Ron Philo Jr. (77-73), Bob Giusti (79-72), George Goich (78-75), Marc Spencer (79-75), and Mark Costaregni (74-83).

Etc

Missed opportunity
A nice run of four starts in five Champions Tour tournaments came to an end when Kirk Hanefeld shot 70 and failed to make it through Tuesday's qualifier for this week's Commerce Bank Championship in East Meadow, N.Y. It took a score of 68 to make a playoff as the weekly grind continued for the former New England PGA standout. Two colleagues with NEPGA roots, Rick Karbowski and Mike San Filippo, also fell short, shooting 70 and 73, respectively. Nine players made it into the Commerce, but with that chance gone by the board, Hanefeld wasn't left completely empty; he headed to Portland, Maine, where he had a 2-over 73 in yesterday's first round of the TD Banknorth Portland Open.

Back from the brink
There was something eerie about Martin Kaymer's near-collapse at last weekend's BMW Championship in Munich. Earlier this year, Kaymer had a comfortable 54-hole lead in Abu Dhabi, but told reporters, "six shots is a lot, but it does not feel like that." He held on to win that tournament, but fast-forward to last Sunday and guess what? The 23-year-old German took a six-shot lead into the final round of the BMW. When he went out in 38, things were slipping away and then at the par-5 11th he became unraveled. "I didn't keep my patience," he said of his decision to go for the green in two, even after driving into the left rough. He knocked that ball into the water, did the same with the next shot, and wound up with a triple bogey. But he birdied the 13th and, then the 18th to tie Anders Hansen, and when he went on to win a playoff, Kaymer became the first German to win the 20-year event. Jumping to No. 30 in the world order, Kaymer is also sixth in the European Ryder Cup standings.

Doesn't cut both ways

Fairway news: A press release announces that Tiger Woods undergoes "successful" reconstructive knee surgery.

Clubhouse view: There's not much of a job market if you want to write press releases about "unsuccessful" surgeries.

Long walk unspoiled
With Hale Irwin having played in more than 1,000 tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, it occurred to Dave Lancer of the PGA Tour media staff that the 63-year-old had done some serious walking in his time. When he crunched some numbers and got to work on the calculator, Lancer estimated that Irwin had played in 5,000 rounds (not counting pro-ams) and at approximately 5 miles per round, that's 25,000 miles. Given that the earth's circumference is 24,901 miles, Lancer offered that Irwin has put in enough mileage to have walked around the earth.

Player respect
It was a simple act that spoke volumes for Gary Player and the appreciation he has for his profession and the men who play the game. In town for the Bank of America Championship, Player kept a corporate commitment at the International Golf Club in Bolton, but as he was being driven home, it was mentioned how the former pro at the club, Bill Ezinicki, was mingling nearby. Player promptly asked the driver to wait and with a familiar spring in his step, the 72-year-old icon made a hasty walk over to pay his respects to a man against whom he competed more than 40 years ago. Ezinicki, 84, is the pro emeritus at the International, where he worked for years after both his NHL and PGA Tour days were over.

Universal language
With the international flavor plentiful in golf, language barriers are an issue. Some things can easily be lost in translation, but when it comes to physical appearances, well, that's a universal language unto itself. So it wasn't hard to understand LPGA Championship winner Yani Tseng's reasoning for being nervous when meeting Adam Scott at the recent US Open. "He's good-looking," said Tseng. "When I saw him, I almost passed out."

Extended slumps
The befuddling slide of Michelle McGann continued at last week's Wegman's LPGA in Pittsford, N.Y. She shot 76-74 and missed the cut, but that hardly ranks as news. That's because she has missed the cut in 10 of 11 starts this year and 68 of 74 dating to 2004. Her best finish in that time is a share of 19th . . . If the saga of John Daly is going to have an upturn - even a momentary one - this might be the week for it, because he's playing in one of the few tournaments in which he's fared well in recent years. With the main draw, Tiger Woods, on the sideline, Daly figures to dominate the spotlight in front of a raucous Buick Open crowd in Grand Blanc, Mich. His career in as deep a valley as ever, Daly is a weekly MC, WD, or DQ on both sides of the Atlantic, but at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club he'll be returning to the venue where he's had his only top-20 finish since 2006 - a tie for 16th last year.