Stockton to Receive PGA Distinguished Service Award at PGA Championship


The PGA of America will be presenting the 2012 PGA Distinguished Service Award to two-time PGA champion, Dave Stockton Sr., on Wednesday, August 8th. Stockton will receive will receive the association's highest annual honor in conjunction with the 94th PGA Championship at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, S.C. The award presentation will be held at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center in Charleston.

The PGA Distinguished Service Award, inaugurated in 1988, honors outstanding individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf.

"Dave Stockton's imprint upon golf extends beyond the boundaries of a course where he excelled at the highest level," said PGA of America President Allen Wronowski. "He has coached many of the world's finest men and women players to success, and has selflessly supported charitable efforts that benefit higher education, the underprivileged and our nation's heroes. A champion in so many ways, we are honored to bestow upon him the 2012 PGA Distinguished Service Award."

Born in San Bernardino, Calif., the son of a golf professional, Stockton devoted himself to golf after surviving a surfing accident at age 15 that left him with a broken back. He followed his father, Gail Stockton, in athletic success at USC by earning All-American honors and winning the Pacific-8 Conference Championship. Stockton graduated in 1964 with a degree in general management, turned professional and married California beauty queen Cathy Hales.

Stockton captured the 1970 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa and the 1976 PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. He was a member of four victorious U.S. Ryder Cup teams, competing in 1971 and '77, and serving as captain in 1991 at Kiawah, and as the assistant captain to Paul Azinger at Valhalla in 2008. He accumulated 25 wins, in over 40 years on the PGA and Champions Tours including five majors.

Charitable events that Stockton has been involved with over the past 25 years include: the Bighorn Institute Golf Classic; the USC Scrambler Golf Classic; the University of Redlands Golf Classic; the Dave Stockton Coyote Classic; the U.S. Marines Scholarship Foundation; the George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy; the Children's Fund of San Bernardino; the Stater Bros. Charities Dave Stockton Heroes Challenge; the Dallas Patriot Award Dinner and Medal of Honor Golf Classic; and the Believe Walk benefiting cancer care in the Stockton's home town community.

"I'm very excited about this honor, which is totally unexpected. My first thought was, 'Why me?' " said Stockton. "I have been fortunate to have many good things happen to me in golf, with the biggest honor serving as Ryder Cup captain. I believed in giving back through golf. I had a gift as a motivational speaker and used it to help others. I have tried helping people gain a better understanding about what golf can do to help them feel better about themselves."

In 2009, Stockton changed his focus to teaching putting and the short game, creating Stockton Golf with his sons, teaching professionals Dave Jr. and Ron. Ron Stockton has been teaching golf for over 25 years and in addition to coaching his father to 14 wins on the Champions Tour, he's helped some of the top PGA and LPGA Tour players in the game. Dave Stockton Jr. played 10 years on Tour with two wins on the Nike Tour following an All-American career at USC. Following his competitive playing days, he joined his father and brother as an instructor at Stockton Golf. Stockton Golf's tailored offerings can include: Short-game and putting clinics, On-course instruction, mental approach, driving range instruction, pre and post event engagement awards presentation, equipment fittings and other value add items and motivational speaking.

Current and former clients include Tour players Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, J.B. Holmes, Martin Laird, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Morgan Pressel, Suzann Pettersen, and Yani Tseng, among others.

The above report is courtesy of the PGA of America. For more information, visit www.pga.com.