Ken Venturi was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame, it was announced Monday.
Few, if any players in golf history, have been a more obvious choice despite a limited playing record – but then Venturi didn’t exactly adhere to the preconceived notions of a professional golfer.
All total, Venturi won 14 Tour titles in just 237 PGA Tour starts, primarily between 1957 and ’67, but it will be the 1964 U.S. Open that paved his path to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Photo gallery: Ken Venturi through the years
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Venturi, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Fred Couples on May 6, a week before his 82nd birthday, closed with rounds of 66-70 on a grueling 36-hole Sunday at Congressional to claim his only major championship.
In 1964, Venturi was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and played his last full season in 1967, followed by a 35-year career as a broadcaster with CBS Sports.
As an amateur, Venturi led by four strokes through three rounds at the 1956 Masters, but struggled on Sunday to a closing 80 and finished a stroke behind winner Jack Burke Jr.
