Special displays recounting the historic paths each of the 2009 Inductees took to the World Golf Hall of Fame are now on display in the facility at the Woirld Golf Village.
The opening is one week prior to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Christy O'Connor, José María Olazábal and Lanny Wadkins becoming official members of the Hall of Fame at the annual Induction Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m.
Selected in the Lifetime Achievement Category, Eisenhower will become the first president in the Hall of Fame. In cooperation with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum, the Hall of Fame will showcase several items that characterize his love of golf including his green jacket, a personal planner and a tie and patch from Augusta National Golf Club, of which he was a member from 1948 to 1969. Items also have been loaned to the Hall of Fame from Eisenhower's close friend, Arnold Palmer, including a painting the late president fashioned for Palmer and delivered in person on his 37th birthday.
The display for O'Connor, selected in the Veterans Category, will feature dozens of clubs, medals and trophies he earned during a career that spanned four decades and included 24 European Tour titles and 10 Ryder Cup appearances. His trophy commemorating the 1970 John Player Classic, when he won the richest prize in golf at the time, will be on display, as will his 1962 Harry Vardon Trophy, signifying his position as the only Irishman to have won the European Tour Order of Merit twice.
The display for two-time Masters Champion Olazabal, elected on the International Ballot, will include several items representing that achievement. Among those items are his silver 1994 Masters clubhouse trophy, and the metalwoods and putter he used to win that event. Additionally the set of clubs he used to win his second Masters in 1999 is also on exhibition.
The display for Lanny Wadkins, elected on the PGA Tour ballot, will include several artifacts representing his domination on the U.S. Ryder Cup Teams between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, including all eight Ryder Cup bags and money clips. Numerous medals and trophies he earned en route to his 21 wins on the PGA TOUR will be presented, as will the MacGregor Custom driver he used capture the 1977 PGA Championship. In 1970, while attending Wake Forest, Wadkins produced one of the greatest years in amateur golf, winning the U.S. Amateur, Southern Amateur, Western Amateur and the World Amateur Team Championship. Several pieces on display will represent that feat.