On April 11, 2024, at Baltimore Country Club, the Maryland Golf Hall of Fame inducted its third class. Brian Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Maryland Golf Hall of Fame, welcomed the crowd of 100+. The eight inductees included Ralph Beach PGA, Emmet Gary, Albert R. Green PGA, Pat Kaufman, Andrea Kraus, William K. Smith, William A. Strausbaugh Jr. PGA, and Jesse W. Sweetser. To learn more about each inductee, click here.
A Message from Chairman Fitzgerald:
Good evening and welcome to the third induction ceremony of the Maryland Golf Hall of Fame. My name is Brian Fitzgerald. As Hall of Fame Chairman, I am excited to introduce this class of legends. They are exceptional players, administrators, and teachers. They are visionaries… pioneers, who, through actions, and their presence, created opportunities for women and people of color, in this wonderful game of golf.
The cost of your ticket for this evening only covers a portion of the evening’s costs. Thank you to our donors and our Hole Sponsors: Datawatch Systems, Red Coats, Inc., Admiral Security Services, Bogart and Brownell of Maryland, City Wide Facility Solutions, Federated Lighting Inc, United Bank, and Kelly Elbin’s Podcast, Musings on Golf, hosted by Kelly and Bob Bubka. Thank you to each of our Hole Sponsors and all of our donors. Please welcome from our host club, Director of Golf Nick Cannon, Head Professional Don McCabe, and my college teammate and Professional Emeritus, Greg Jones. From the First Tee of Washington, Executive Director Clint Sanchez and Program Manager Roger Brown. Thanks to Bob Morris’ generosity, Clint and Roger have brought a group of aspiring young golfers from the First Tee of Washington. Please also welcome, Executive Director of the Middle Atlantic Golf Association and the Washington Metropolitan Golf Association, Moose Brown, Executive Director of the Middle Atlantic PGA, Jon Guhl, Executive Director of the Maryland State Golf Association, Kelly Newland, President of the Maryland State Golf Association, Cliff Patterson, and my partner in the formation of the Maryland Golf Hall of Fame, retired Executive Director of the MSGA, and I’m told, New York Times bestselling author of the book, Maryland State Golf Association, Celebrating 100 Years, my friend Bill Smith.
We have a special guest, 2023 PGA of America, Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Dolan. Please welcome 2022 Hall of Fame inductees Jane Fitzgerald and Marty West and 2023 Hall of Fame inductees Perky Cullinane, Dave King, and Bob Morris! I also heard again from Deane Beman, a Class of 2022 inductee. He had hoped to attend tonight, but I think the weather was better in Ponte Vedra. He shared that he remembers several of our 2024 inductees and applauds the entire Class.
The Hall of Fame Nominations Committee reviewed nearly 100 suggestions and nominations and produced a list of 20 or so almost certain future Hall of Famers.
A separate committee, The Hall of Fame Committee, then evaluated those 20 finalists to identify the 8 extraordinary inductees we are recognizing tonight. Thank you to these two committees and the Maryland Golf Hall of Fame Board.
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