GOLF WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
JENKINS, SHIPNUCK TOP GWAA WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
HOUSTON (February 26, 2015) – How do you catch a Hall of Famer? For the moment, you don’t.
Sports Illustrated’s Alan Shipnuck doubled-down with two first-place awards in the 2015 GWAA Writing Contest , but it still wasn’t enough to catch Golf Digest’s Dan Jenkins, who won his unprecedented 10th award.
Jenkins, who pretty much invented sports writing as we know it, was honored with a first-place in Non-Daily columns for “My Fake Interview With Tiger* – Or how it played in my mind”. Jenkins’ first GWAA Writing award came in 1957 – the first year of the contest. He won the Features category while at the old Ft. Worth Press and the only other award given that year was the News award given, ironically, to Gene Gregston of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Jenkins, whose ninth win came in Internet Columns in 2011, will be covering
his 65th consecutive Masters in April.
Shipnuck, who was born more than a decade after Jenkins’ first win, won Non-Daily News and Special Projects this year, giving him the eighth and ninth wins of his career. His news win was “Anthony Kim, MIA” while he was honored for his special project on “The Greatest U.S. Open Ever.” Shipnuck didn’t stop there. He also finished second in Non-Daily Features, third in Daily Features and Non-Daily Columns and earned Honorable Mention in Non-Daily News.
Golf Digest’s Jaime Diaz, Global Golf Post’s Ron Green, Jr., and the Augusta Chronicle’s Scott Michaux are two behind Jenkins and one behind Shipnuck with eight career each.
Golfweek’s Jim McCabe got his fourth career win for a Daily Column on “Vet Credits Casper for Life”, while ESPN’s Bob Harig picked up the third win of his career with a win in Daily News for “Ryder Cup Meeting Turns Ugly” and earned honorable mention for his Special Project collaboration with Gene Wojciechowski on “Miracle or Meltdown at Medinah.”
PGATOUR.com’s Helen Ross captured her first win with the Daily Feature “Lyle Reclaims His Life” and took honorable mention in the same category. Golf World’s Ron Whitten took his second first-place award with the Non-Daily Feature “How Pinehurst Got Its Groove Back.”
All winners will be honored at the ISPS HANDA GWAA 43rd Annual Awards Dinner presented by the PGA of
America, PGA TOUR and USGA April 8 at Savannah Rapids Pavilion in Augusta, Ga.
2015 GWAA WRITING CONTEST RESULTS
The following is a full list of the winners, including honorable mentions.
There were 466 entries in the 2014 contest
DAILY
DAILY COLUMNS – 1, Jim McCabe, Golfweek.com Vet credits Casper for life; 2, Bill Fields, billfields.net, A
driver makes another trip; 3, Gary D’Amato, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, One more round with dad.
Honorable mention: Ron Green Jr., Global Golf Post, The great ones find a way; Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.com, Ike’s Tree leaves legacy; Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek.com, Compton finds Open fame.
DAILY NEWS – 1, Bob Harig, ESPN.com, Ryder Cup meeting turns ugly; 2, Ryan Lavner, Golfchannel.com
, Kaymer dominates U.S. Open; 3 (tie) Dave Shedloski, Golfdigest.com Bubba wins in China; and
Mike Stachura, Golfdigest.com, If you’re a fan of integrity.
Honorable mention: Michael Bamberger, Golf.com, Johnson suspended after drug test; Ron Borges, Boston
Herald, Phil can’t stop Rory’s rise; Randall Mell, Golfchannel.com , Wie’s scars define her journey.
DAILY FEATURES – 1, Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com, Lyle reclaims his life; 2, Ian O’Connor, ESPN.com, The man who gave Compton life; 3, Alan Shipnuck, Golf.com, Team USA needs a change.
Honorable mention: John Boyette, Augusta Chronicle, Ike’s Tree rooted in tradition; Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune, Golf is refuge for burn victim; Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com, Rallying around Isaiah.
NON DAILY
NON-DAILY COLUMNS – 1, Dan Jenkins, Golf Digest, My fake interview with Tiger; 2, Jerry Tarde, Golf
Digest, Hannigan shook things up; 3, Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, The case for Johnny Miller.
Honorable mention: Jaime Diaz, Golf World, Bubba as the great liberator; Scott Michaux, Virginia Golfer, Ryder Cup task force; Jeff Neuman, Met Golfer, The myth of protecting par; Jeff Rude, Golfweek, Bubba strikes again.
NON-DAILY NEWS — 1. Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, Anthony Kim, MIA; 2, Jim Moriarty, Golf World, Bubba wins 2nd Masters; 3, Adam Schupak, Golfweek, Spieth learns on fast track.
Honorable mention: Michael Bamberger, Sports Illustrated, You say you want a revolution; Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, Wie is happy at last; Ron Sirak, Golf World, Mighty special.
NON-DAILY FEATURES — 1. Ron Whitten, Golf World , How Pinehurst got its groove back; 2. Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated ,Tiger and the drop; 3, Gary Van Sickle, Memorial Tournament Magazine, Matt Kuchar’s odyssey.
Honorable mention: Michael Bamberger, Sports Illustrated, Legend of Will McKenzie; Tom Callahan, Golf
Digest , Watson’s last hurrah; Tom Callahan, Golf Digest, Most interesting men in the world.
SPECIAL PROJECTS – 1, Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, Greatest U.S. Open ever; 2, Scott Michaux, Augusta Chronicle, Adam Scott, one for Australia; 3. Mercer Baggs, Alan Tays, Jason Sobel, Ryan Reiterman, Jason Crook, Bailey Mosier, Nick Menta, Jay Coffin, Golfchannel.com, Arnie: man, myth, legend.
Honorable mention – Rex Hoggard, Golfchannel.com, Jarrod Lyle’s remarkable journey; Ron Sirak, Golf Digest, The failed USGA coup; Gene Wojciechowski and Bob Harig, ESPN.com, Miracle or meltdown at Medinah, Sept. 24
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Contact: Melanie Hauser
Golf Writers Association of America golfwritersinc@aol.com