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HALL FAME


NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GOLF ASSOCIATION OF


NCGA Hall of Fame Inducts First Class


The NCGA inaugurated its Hall of Fame at the annual California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association awards banquet in early February at The Inn at Spanish Bay. The Association inducted Ken Venturi, Frank


“Sandy” Tatum, C. Grant Spaeth and Jack Bariteau into its 2011 hall of fame class. The NCGA Foundation was the charitable benefi ciary of the dinner and the proceeds went to the Foundation’s scholarship efforts.


KEN VENTURI The initial class of the


NCGA Hall of Fame would not be complete without one of the fi nest players in the region’s history. Ken Venturi was born in


San Francisco in 1931 and developed his game at Harding Park, Lincoln Park and other local courses.


The Abraham Lincoln High alumnus fi rst captured the nation’s attention in 1956 when as a 25-year-old ama- teur he fi nished runner-up at the Masters after leading from the fi rst round. The San Jose State golfer


captured the 1949 NCGA Junior, three San Francisco City titles, the 1951 and


1952 NCGA Stroke Play Championships and the 1951 and 1956 California State Amateur as well as played on the 1953 Walker Cup, one of four Northern Californians ever. Turning professional in 1957, Venturi proved his amateur record was no fl uke, winning 10 times in his fi rst four years on tour, including


Venturi


four times in 1958 to lead the Tour as well as the 1960 Bing Crosby Pro-Am. Venturi provided the highlight of his professional career in 1964 by winning the U.S. Open at Congressional after nearly collapsing in the scorching heat. He earned a spot on the Ryder Cup team in 1965 before retiring in 1967 with 14 total wins. Venturi would spend


the next 35 years with CBS Sports as its lead golf analyst pairing with Pat Summerall and later, Jim Nantz. His career is a record for longevity in that fi eld. Before retirement from television work in 2002, Venturi led the 2000 U.S. President’s Cup Team to vic- tory and earned the PGA of America’s “Lifetime Achieve- ment” award in journalism. “Being inducted into the


NCGA Hall of Fame is quite an honor, especially in this company. It is great to be remembered.” •••


SANDY TATUM Few men have done more for amateur golf than Frank “Sandy” Tatum. Tatum is well known


for his now-famous defense of the punishing setup of Winged Foot for the 1974 U.S. Open when he said, “Our objective is not to humiliate the best players in the world. It’s to identify


62 / NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2011


PHOTO: USGA


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