Save the date! Here's the scoop on the Met Golf Writer's Annual Dinner from the organization's press release:
Tony Jacklin, whose distinguished career as a player and Ryder Cup captain revitalized British and European golf, will be recognized for his outstanding achievements and leadership by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association at its 61st National Awards Dinner on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, New York.
Jacklin will receive the Gold Tee Award, the MGWA’s highest honor.
Jacklin joins an elite club of individuals who have received the Gold Tee Award that includes Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Patty Berg, Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bob Hope and President Gerald R. Ford.
Jacklin, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002, was the most successful British player of his generation. He also made an indelible mark by captaining four Ryder Cup campaigns and subsequently putting the European team back on a competitive footing against the Americans who had dominated the matches for years.
From 1969 to 1972, the popular Englishman’s brilliant play earned him a British Open title and a
U.S. Open Championship, as well as four PGA TOUR wins. He broke numerous performance records in British golf in this short span, and he ignited interest in the game in Great Britain, like Arnold Palmer had done a decade before in the U.S. Jacklin also played on seven Ryder Cup teams and ended his professional career with 28 victories.
It is perhaps as a non-playing Ryder Cup captain from 1983 through 1989 that cemented Jacklin’s golfing legacy. In 1987, he led his European team to its first-ever win on U.S. soil, and, in 1989, he retained the Cup for Europe by engineering an unforgettable repeat victory. For his part, Jacklin was credited with reviving interest in the Ryder Cup, and, in 1990, Queen Elizabeth bestowed the honor "Commander of the British Empire" (CBE) in recognition of these landmark achievements.
Other honorees at this year’s dinner include: Lorena Ochoa, the Mary Bea Porter Award; The Woodmere Club (which is celebrating its 100th anniversary) as Club of the Year; and Jerry Tarde, Golf Digest’s chairman and editor-in-chief, who will receive the Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism Award.
The MGWA’s National Awards Dinner is the largest (and longest running) golf dinner held annually in the U.S. All of golf’s governing bodies actively support the dinner—the USGA, PGA of America, LPGA, PGA TOUR and Champions Tour—and some 700 industry leaders and local golfers attend. Proceeds from the dinner are distributed to the Metropolitan (New York) area caddie scholarship programs and the MGA Foundation. More than $1.3 million has been raised over the years for the association’s charitable endeavors.
For advance table and ticket sales, reservations or additional information, contact Kate Keller (914) 347-4653 or
kate@metgolfwriters.org. Tickets also may be obtained online at
www.metgolfwriters.org.
In addition to writing about golf, Dave Donelson distills the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs into practical advice for
small business owners and managers in the Dynamic Manager's Guides, a series of how-to books about
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