Four World Golf Hall of Fame finalists have strong ties to Coachella Valley

The World Golf Hall of Fame has released its list of 12 finalists for induction, and there is a distinct Coachella Valley flavor to the list.

Four women who made at least some of their history in the desert are on the list. They are known for winning the LPGA major in the desert or living and teaching in the desert for years.

Here’s a look at the four women who have desert ties, each of whom has a strong case for the World Golf Hall of Fame:

Dottie Pepper

Pepper was a two-time winner of the LPGA major championship in the desert, known then as the Nabisco Dinah Shore. She won it in 1992 in a playoff over good friend Juli Inskter, and then won it again in 1999 with a tournament-record 19-under par score at Mission Hills Country Club. She was also second in the tournament three times. In all, she won 17 tournaments on the LPGA and was a sparkplug for six U.S. Solheim Cup teams, each of which won as she complied a 13-5-2 overall record. She is now an on-course commentator for CBS golf coverage. This should be a no-brainer.

More:A founder and an original: Shirley Spork was the heartbeat of the LPGA for 70 years

Beverly Hanson

Like Pepper, Hanson won 17 tournaments on the LPGA between 1950 to 1960. Three of her wins were majors, including the 1955 LPGA Championship, the 1956 Western Open and the 1958 Titleholders. Hanson, like many LPGA players of the day, had a base in the Coachella Valley and was a teaching professional at Eldorado Country Club until the early 2000s. While she was not one of the 13 LPGA founders in 1950 – she didn’t turn pro until 1951 – she belongs in the conversations with the early LPGA stars like Babe Zaharias and Louise Suggs.

Sandra Palmer

A legendary amateur player in Texas, Palmer turned pro in 1965. She grew as a player in the 1960s and by the time the 1970s rolled around, she was one of the best on the LPGA with 19 tour wins with two majors. While Palmer won the 1975 Colgate Dinah Shore at Missions Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, it doesn’t count as a major for her because that event wasn’t designated a major until 1983. Try telling that to the women like Palmer who won the title before 1983. Palmer has also been a long-time teaching pro, including time in the Coachella Valley.

Shirley Spork

Spork is on the finalist list as one of the seven LPGA founders who are not in the Hall of Fame based on their playing careers. Spork was a legend on the LPGA and in the desert as a teaching pro, getting her first teaching job in 1953 at Tamarisk Country Club in Rancho Mirage. She eventually was put in the LPGA Teaching and Club Pro Hall of Fame as well as the PGA of America Hall of Fame. Spork, who died last year at the age of 94, was a maternal figure for many on the LPGA and in women’s golf in general.

Others on the finalist list include three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, 16-time PGA Tour winner and course architect Tom Weiskopf, 1928 U.S. Open winner Johnny Farrell, two-time LPGA major winner Cristie Kerr, teaching pro Butch Harmon, top amateur player Jay Sigel and Peter Dawson, who served for 16 years as chief executive of the R and A and secretary of the R and A Club of St. Andrews.

The 12 finalists will now be considered by a 20-member selection committee, comprised of Hall of Fame members, media representatives and others in the golf world. The class of 2024 will be inducted in June during the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina.

Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Dottie Pepper, Shirley Spork among Hall of Fame finalists with Palm Springs area ties