NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR IL. GOLF HOF CLASS OF 2019

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2019 marks another year for a class to enter the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. New members are now elected in every other year.

The hall is now accepting nominations for the class of 2019. Applications can be found online at Ipga.com and or illinoisgolfhof.com. Deadlines to submit nominations is January 4th, of 2019.

“Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame,” said Carrie Williams, Executive Director of the Illinois PGA Foundation which oversees the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. “Over the years, we’ve inducted many of the great leading individuals who have contributed to the rich history and tradition of the game right here in Illinois and we look forward to adding more names to this roster in 2019.”

 THE LOGO of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame, and the Glen Club in Glenview that is the home of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.

This year there is a new digital nomination process that will allow nominators the option to edit, or revise and save work, or share with others who are providing additional information to the nomination.

All of the nominations will be reviewed by the committee in April of 2019, the list will be trimmed to 10 finalists. In May the committee will hear in-house presentations from speaking on behalf of the candidate. Once those presentations are complete, the committee will vote and the inductees will be decided and contacted that evening. In the event the inductee is not reachable or deceased, the representative of that nominee will be contacted.

“The state of Illinois is steeped in golf tradition and there are many deserving individuals from all categories of the game to consider for nomination,” said Tim Cronin, Illinois golf historian and chairman of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Selection Committee. “We encourage anyone interested in submitting a nomination to visit the website and learn about past inductees and exactly how to nominate someone new.”

The selection committee is comprised of representatives of the five golf associations in the Chicago area that include, the Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA) the Illinois Junior Golf Foundation (IJGA), the Midwest Association of golf Course Superintendents, the Western Golf Association (WGA) and the Illinois PGA Section.

Anyone nominated stays active for 6 years, which is three different HOF Classes, unless that person does not receive one vote in the initial selection process. The following 22 nominees are already on the ballot for this coming year.

        IPGA Professional EMIL ESPOSITO (L) a former Illinois High School State Champion, and winner of both the IPGA Section Championship and Illinois Open. LEN ZIEHM (R) has written for the Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Chicagoland Golf, and the Chicago District Golf Association Magazine, along with other national publications. Ziehm is already in the Illinois State Soccer Hall of Fame, for his media work and coverage of Soccer.

The list is headed up by 50+ year veterans of dedication to golf in Illinois, IPGA Section professional Emil Esposito (53 years), and golf writer Len Ziehm (51 years). The other nominees include Doug Bauman, Robert Berns, Louis M. Brown Sr., Rick Dalpos, Rich Hammel, David Huske, Drue Johnson, Phil Kosin, Greg Kunkel, William Langford, the late Carol Mann, Tim Miles, Bruce Patterson, Francis Peabody, Gary Pinns, Harry Radix, Jerry Rich, Jim Suttie, Roger Warren, and Bob Zender.

Visitors to the Glen Club can visit the Hall of Fame when the club is open, the most recent class in 2017 consisted of Gray Groh, Gary Hallberg and Horton Smith.

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About Rory Spears

Rory spent over 8 years growing up working at Rob Roy Golf Club in Prospect Hts.IL, then two years at Chevy Chase in Wheeling. He has covered golf in Chicago since 1986. Rory was one of the initial members of WSCR all-sports radio Chicago and covered golf there for 5 seasons, before moving on to work for ESPN/Sportsticker and ESPN Radio. In addition to hosting Golfers on Golf Radio on WCPT AM820 Chicago, he writes for both the Chicago District (CDGA) Magazine, and formerly Chicagoland Golf. Rory has played over 525 courses in 39 states, and rates golf courses. He does golf course management and communications consulting, within the golf industry.