It was a big night for the Stanford men’s golf program Tuesday at the 55th annual California Golf Writers and Broadcasters Association awards dinner at The Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach.
Tiger Woods was inducted into the Hall of Fame, while former head coach Wally Goodwin and current Cardinal coach Conrad Ray were inducted into the Northern California Golf Association Hall of Fame.
Woods, who spent two years at Stanford and was a two-time All-American, won the NCAA individual championship in 1996 and was named the top collegiate player in the country. Goodwin led the Cardinal to an NCAA team title in 1994, while Ray directed Stanford to its eighth NCAA crown in 2007.
Although he was unable to attend, Woods sent a video to express his thanks for the honor.
“I’d like to thank the California Golf Writers and Broadcasters Association for this incredible award that I will always cherish,” he said.
Ray, a former teammate, accepted the award on Woods’ behalf.
“When he was a freshman, it was customary for them to load and unload the bags on trips,” Ray said of Woods. “Tiger did it once and didn’t like it. He said, ‘How do I get out of this?’ We told him, ‘Win the next tournament,’ and he did. Guess who was next on totem pole? I minored in luggage handling.”
Ray, Woods and Notah Begay III all played for Goodwin, and had kind words for their former coach.
“I’d like to thank him for providing such a great atmosphere to play,” Woods said.
Added Ray, “I owe that man a lot.”
Begay, a former PGA Tour winner and now an analyst for the Golf Channel, presented and accepted for Goodwin, who is recovering from recent surgery.
Woods, the No. 1-ranked player in the world and 2013 PGA Tour Player of the Year, has collected two of his 14 major championships in California. He won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links by a record-breaking 15 strokes, and also captured the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, edging Rocco Mediate in a playoff.
“To win two U.S. Opens in the state means so much to me,” Woods said.
Among his 79 PGA Tour wins, second all-time to Sam Snead (72), are seven victories in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, and a come-from-behind win in the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he rallied from six strokes behind with six holes remaining in the final round to beat Matt Gogel.