Lanny Wadkins inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The good news is, Lanny Wadkins is finally going to get into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The results were announced Thursday morning from the Champions tour event in Savannah, Ga.

The other good news is, Lanny's middle finger still works. It's not what you think. Well, maybe it is. Wadkins was on his way to play the Champions event in the Dominican Republic in late March and was walking out of his Dallas-area house at 4:30 in the morning. His automatic sprinkler system came on, and he was halfway down the steps when he slipped and landed on his rear end.

"I'm lying there in the water and something hurt," he said on a teleconference from Savannah. "I looked down and the middle finger on my right hand was pointing sideways. I thought, well, I guess I'm not going to Cap Cana."

Since he couldn't play golf that week, he visited the site in southwest Texas where he is designing a golf course. That's when he got a call from PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem informing him about the Hall of Fame. "I was standing outside the Thirsty Goat Saloon," Wadkins said, "which was only appropriate."

I've been touting Wadkins as a Hall of Famer for a number of years. He was one of the most feared players of his era when he was near the lead, and he did it all. He won a U.S. Amateur, played in two Walker Cups and was an elite tour player for two decades. He played on eight Ryder Cup teams; won a PGA Championship, a Players Championship and 21 tour events; he had nine top-3 finishes in majors. Earlier this year, I wrote about the 10 biggest shots of his career, a list that starts with his incredibly clutch wedge shot to a foot on the final hole that won the 1983 Ryder Cup for the U.S.

Due to back trouble that was finally resolved by surgery last August, Wadkins hasn't played much golf the last two years. Mainly, he's been following his golfing sons, Tucker and Travis. He told Travis, who plays golf for Wake Forest, about the Hall of Fame but asked him to keep the news quiet. "The next day, I had three text messages form his teammates," Wadkins said, "so he didn't keep it quiet very well."

His youngest son, Tucker, didn't tell his high school golf teammates until Monday night, when they went to dinner together on the eve of the final round of the Texas state high school golf championship. They had the lead, and in fact went on to defend their title. "That was kind of cool," Wadkins said. "My daughter wanted to post it on her Facebook, but I told her no."

Wadkins will be inducted into the Hall in St. Augustine, Fla., on Nov. 2. Doug Ford was second in the balloting, Mark O'Meara was third, but neither had enough votes to be inducted. Wadkins and his brother, Bobby, are teaming up to play in this week's Champions event, the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

"It's been fun," Wadkins said of the honor, adding that he's enjoyed seeing how excited friends and relatives have been. "As usual, I am becoming the excuse for them to have a party."

ROLAND, Ark. -- Arnold Palmer can appreciate a good rivalry, even if he's not part of it.

Palmer, whose duels with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were memorable, shared some thoughts Tuesday on this month's Masters. Angel Cabrera won the tournament, but not before Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson thrilled the crowd by playing their way back into contention while paired together in the final round at Augusta National.

"It wasn't planned. It happened. I think the fact that they were playing in Augusta and doing the things that they were doing ... I think that's what Augusta's all about," Palmer said of the Woods-Mickelson show. "I thought it was perfect. If you had set it up, you couldn't have set it up any better."

Palmer and Mickelson were both on hand Tuesday at The Alotian Club outside Little Rock, appearing in conjunction with the Jackson T. Stephens Charitable Golf Tournament. Palmer spoke in the morning, and Mickelson put on a brief clinic in the afternoon for some youngsters.

The charity tournament is named after Jack Stephens, the late billionaire, philanthropist and former chief executive officer of Stephens Inc. He also was at one point the chairman of Augusta National.

Mickelson tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine of the final round, but he lost his momentum on the back nine and finished three shots behind. Woods was another shot back.

Cabrera ended up winning in a playoff over Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell.

"It was a fun day. I enjoyed the front nine a lot. The back nine I wish I had played better," Mickelson said Tuesday. "I thought it was an amazing finish. A lot of things happened."

Before this year's Masters, there were concerns that Augusta National had become too tough. That wasn't an issue this year. Campbell set a Masters record by opening the tournament with five straight birdies, and the crowd was roaring throughout the final round.

On Tuesday, Mickelson was asked to re-enact his approach on the seventh hole, when he powered a shot around trees to about a foot from the hole to set up a birdie. He hit a high hook for the Alotian audience.

"This year, Augusta played easier than it's ever played," Mickelson said. "The greens were soft. I haven't seen that, ever. That shot that I hit on seven that stopped by the hole -- that ball normally wouldn't stop."

Hours earlier, Palmer had expressed a similar sentiment.

"It isn't as much fun when they're not making birdies and eagles at Augusta," Palmer said.

Palmer and Mickelson each took plenty of questions, including at least one that brought back some bad memories for Mickelson. He was asked by a youngster why he didn't use a driver at the start of last year's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He fell behind before bringing the driver back for the third round.

"Sometimes I'm an idiot," Mickelson joked.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press