PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL – PGA Honorary President Brian Whitcomb of Bend, Ore., and past PGA Golf Professionals of the Year Jim Manthis of Coon Rapids, Minn., and Brent Krause of Montgomery, Ala., head an eight-member 2009 class of inductees that features former Masters Champion Claude Harmon Sr. and legendary teaching professional Harvey Penick, all of whom will be enshrined in the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame.
They are joined in this year’s Hall of Fame class by former UCLA Coach and renowned teaching professional Eddie Merrins of Los Angeles; former PGA of America Rules Committee Chairman Don Essig III of Indianapolis, Ind.; and Harry “Cotton” Berrier of Pigeon Forge, Tenn., a three-time PGA of America Board member and one of the founders of the Tennessee PGA Section.
The inductees will be honored in a ceremony, Tuesday, May 5, in conjunction with the PGA Leadership Conference, at the PGA Education Center at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Flaorida.
Whitcomb was the 35th president of The PGA of America, while Manthis was the 2006 PGA Golf Professional of the Year, and Krause was the 2007 recipient of The PGA of America’s highest honor to a member professional.
The late Harmon was the patriarch of perhaps the most famed golf teaching family in the sport while Penick’s imprint upon the game transcended a long line of major champions to the amateur player who eagerly followed his written advice in books long after his death.
“It is with a great deal of pride that The PGA of America welcomes eight individuals who have dedicated their careers to the betterment of the game of golf in addition to becoming leaders in the profession,” said PGA President Jim Remy. “This class features both world-class instructors and outstanding contributors to the game. The eight inductees have been among the pioneers and premier ambassadors that our sport has ever produced.
“These eight PGA Professionals now will have their names forever inscribed in the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame for having been leaders in making golf the greatest game.”