By Fred Altvater
New changes made to the requirements needed to gain entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame will allow Lorena Ochoa, plus all of the original 13 founders of the LPGA to be inducted next year.
Ochoa, who retired from competitive golf in 2010, won 27 LPGA titles, including two major championships in her eight-year career. Previously a player was required to compete for a minimum of ten years on the LPGA Tour to be considered for entry into the Hall of Fame.
Beth Daniel addressed the reason for the change,
“The Hall of Fame Committee wanted to understand why the 10-year rule was originally instituted, so we talked to the other Hall of Famers about the reasoning. I spoke to Carol Mann right before she passed away. Carol was president of the LPGA when the rule was set up and said it was because they needed players at that time to keep playing to keep the spotlight on the Tour. I think we have seen that the Tour is strong enough now that we don’t need that requirement.”
The rule change also grants Hall of Fame membership to the eight founders that weren’t already enshrined. One of those, Shirley Spork was born and raised in 
Detroit.
We were fortunate to talk with Ms. Spork during the Solheim Cup last fall. You can watch the full interview at: https://youtu.be/tKfb-Q0ik2U
Shirley was more interested in playing golf, but her parents demanded she complete her education. After graduation from Eastern Michigan University, she taught physical education at Bowling Green State University. Together with University of Findlay’s golf coach, Peggy Kirk Bell, they held the first women’s golf matches between the two schools.
Shirley was one of the best women golfers in the country and Babe Zaharias personally invited Shirley to join the rag tag women’s golf tour. Teaching was always a strength for Shirley and she was instrumental in starting the LPGA Professional Teachers division.
She was twice named the LPGA National Teacher of the Year, first in 1959 and again in 1984, plus she served as the LPGA Professionals chairperson for eight years. Spork was known for crowd-pleasing clinics and trick shots wherever the Tour traveled.
The remaining founders that gained entry into the Hall of Fame are, Alice Bauer, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Sally Sessions and Marilynn Smith.
These changes were long overdue and we congratulate all the worthy candidates that will now be enshrined with the greats of the game.
