10 minute read
Jan Stephenson Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame
Story by Karen Lunn • Image courtesy ALPG
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“As I look back on my career, more than the wins and the fame, what stands out most to me is the remarkable women I’ve had the opportunity to compete with, get to know and call my friends. I consider myself lucky to have played in some of the most amazing times. I even got to witness the birth of Korean women's golf with the success of Se-Ri Pak and played with fellow Aussie and friend Karrie Webb in her very first professional event in Australia. “To be now counted amongst the stars as a World Golf Hall of Famer is not only an honour, but it’s so humbling. Golf has taken me on a wonderful journey, allowing me to travel around the world and make relationships that have lasted a lifetime and now it has taken me here to the World Golf Hall of Fame. It’s truly a dream come true.” Fellow Aussie and World Golf Hall of Fame Member Karrie Webb was also onsite to witness her good friend’s induction. Karrie was the first to admit that she hadn’t known much about Jan’s career when she started playing golf, but the two greatest women players to come from our shores have grown to be good friends over the past 25 years and Karrie was genuinely thrilled for her mate to finally achieve this accolade. “I’m really excited for Jan to finally be recognized for her outstanding career and her contributions to golf in being inducted into the WGHOF. As an Australian woman, Jan was really the trailblazer for all Aussie girls to aspire to one day compete on the LPGA tour in the US. With her success on and off the course creating her notoriety, it inspired the generations behind her to believe that they too could be successful playing on the LPGA.” “I am glad that I could be here with Jan tonight to celebrate this occasion” While Jan may sometimes be better known here in Australia for her raunchy photos and calendars, it is her outstanding playing record which makes her absolutely deserving of her place in the World Golf Hall of Fame. - 16 LPGA Tour victories - Wins on the Ladies European Tour, LPGA J an was inducted into the prestigious World Golf of Fame, which really is a who’s who of golf, and includes compatriots Karrie Webb, Greg Norman, Peter Thompson, Kel Nagle, David Graham and Walter Travis (born in Australia), along with legends of the game Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez. When I messaged Jan back in late 2018 to congratulate her on her induction, she was absolutely over the moon at finally being selected. She had previously been rejected by the selection committee having been nominated on two occasions, and I know that she feared that becoming a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame would probably remain just a dream. However, that was all about to change, when in October last year Jan received a telephone call from her good friend Nancy Lopez. Nancy, a legend of the LPGA Tour and current member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, had been the one to deliver the bad news on the past two occasions, and when Jan saw Nancy's number come up on her phone she said that she once again braced herself for more bad news. However, this time the news was different, and an extremely emotional Nancy Lopez finally blurted out the good news she knew her friend had waited so long to hear, this time the selection committee had voted in her favour! Fast forward eight months to Carmel, California, and it was former LPGA player and Jan’s good friend Hollis Stacey who had the honour of presenting Jan for her induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, while actress Jane Seymour, another of the 67-year-old’s closest friends wrote her induction video. Jan had waited many years to make this speech and she was not about to leave anything or anyone out, she took to the stage and thoughtfully and passionately paid tribute those who had impacted both her golfing career and her life. While of course we don’t have space to catalogue Jan’s entire speech, I have picked a few parts out which I thought would be nice to share and speak volumes about Jan as a person. Australian golfing superstar Jan Stephenson has fulfilled a lifelong dream, being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame at a ceremony in, California on June 10th.
of Japan and Asian Tour - Three LPGA major championships: the 1981 du Maurier Classic, 1982 Women's PGA, and 1983 U.S. Women's Open, and 1974 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year. On a personal note, my first contact with Jan came at just my second tournament as a professional back in 1985, at the Hennessy French Open which she of course went on to win. I had heard so much about Jan, but to a shy 19-year-old from country NSW she was such a superstar and I was way too shy to go up and speak to her or to introduce myself! I remember standing in the background watching Jan being presented with her trophy, hoping and dreaming that one day maybe I would be lucky enough to also get to hold of that same trophy. Twelve years later, as I was receiving my French Open trophy at Paris International Golf Club, my mind drifted back to that day at St Cloud Golf Club in 1985 when I watched Jan win. While of course I was delighted to have won such a prestigious tournament, at the time it meant as much to me to be holding that same trophy that Jan had also held so proudly 12 years ago. There is no doubt that Jan was an inspiration to me as a youngster starting out, and she showed players of my generation that if you wanted it badly enough you could chase your dream of playing professional golf. I am very thankful to her for that. Since those early days I have been fortunate enough to experience playing alongside Jan on a number of occasions in the 1990’s here in Australia and on the LPGA Tour, and trust me she was still a great player then. The first time I was paired with Jan was at the 1990 Ladies Masters at Palm Meadows Golf Club, and I have honestly never been so nervous in my life. While I knew I was playing well going into tournament, I was an absolute mess the night before. I had nightmares of cold topping my first tee shot and making a compete fool of myself! Walking to the first tee for our tee time I remember vividly that I was absolutely terrified! I can’t tell you how relieved I was to get off that first tee, I didn’t really care where the ball went as long as it went in the air which thankfully it did! Fortunately, I managed to play ok the rest of the day and of course Jan was lovely to play with! I really wish I could have seen Jan play back in the 70s and 80s when she was at her peak, speaking to some of the greats on the LPGA they have so much praise for what a fantastic player and competitor she was. When you ask people who have known Jan a lot longer than I have what is it that made her so good the overwhelming answer is her determination and grit, the ability to overcome adversity which unfortunately Jan has had to do on a number of occasions. Jan unfortunately would need all of this courage and determination during a horror patch in her life which began in 1987, which she spoke candidly about in her induction speech, “As exciting as things were off the golf course for me where I was doing national television and being seen with famous celebrities, it was just as exciting on the golf course. My parents were a permanent fixture with me on the Tour through the summers of the '70s and '80s, and I found success winning tournaments around the world, including two of my three LPGA majors with my dad on the bag. “In 1987 I was living the dream life when I was involved in a car accident. I was feeling really confident after winning the previous week, and I had a lead by five with one round to go. However, my ribs were broken and the head injuries were such that I had to stay in the hospital and miss the last round. I was desperate to getting back to playing, and instead of allowing my ribs time to heal, I had myself taped up every day and went back out on Tour. Seeing I hadn't had much success playing that way, I took Jack Nicklaus' advice and stopped playing until I was pain free. I returned to win the last two tournaments of the year, so thanks, Jack. Fellow Hall of Famer. That sounds so exciting. “I thought 1988 was going to be the year I really got back, but fate had another different plan for me. My father was diagnosed with cancer and passed away that December. Losing him was very difficult for me.
And the pain was compounded the following year when my longtime caddie, Rick White, passed away with cancer. “After spending a year in limbo of mourning, I was ready to get back to it. I started off the year with a top 5 in Jamaica, but the following week I was mugged and the assailant shattered my left hand. My hand was permanently damaged, and I'd never be able to hold the golf club again with my left hand with the last three fingers. I was forced to reinvent my swing to be more right-sided dominant with my new coach, Gary Edwin.” I think that just one or maybe two of those blows would have finished many players, but not Jan. Despite knock after knock Jan was desperate to get back to competing and she worked so incredibly hard, even resorting to build herself a new golf swing. Since her playing days on the LPGA Tour Jan has not exactly kicked back and taken things easy! She has been a driving force behind the fast-growing LPGA Legends Tour, she is the honorary chair of the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society, she has been involved in golf course design and these days keeps herself busy as the owner of Tarpon Woods, a golf course in the Tampa area in Florida which she purchased in April 2017. The club had seen better days when she purchased it, but Jan being Jan put her own distinct stamp on the property, making it a home for military veterans, first responders and the disabled. Jan is a proud and longstanding ambassador for blind and disabled golf through ISPS Handa, and purchased the club through her foundation, Jan Stephenson's Crossroads where her mission is, "Giving to those that have given so much," and "Every day is Military Appreciation Day at Tarpon Woods." In 2017 Jan was awarded the prestigious Military Order of the Purple Heart for her services to the military in the US. One of Jan’s other passions is her Jan Stephenson line of wines, and a new line of flavoured rums which she is extremely excited about. I have heard the Chardonnay and the Merlot in the wine line are pretty amazing! In signing off I would just like to say that I know that our ALPG members, staff and board are all extremely proud of Jan’s accomplishments both on and off the course and are delighted that her dream of induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame has finally been realised. Finally, Jan Stephenson is getting some of the accolades and recognition she so richly deserves.
