Zokol gets well-earned nod into Canadian Golf Hall of Fame

Dick Zokol, who rose from the junior ranks at Vancouver's Marine Drive Golf Club to become one of this country's top touring pros, was named today as one of two new inductees into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Zokol, 52, and Stephen Ross, former executive director of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, were named at a news conference today in Toronto as the hall's latest inductees.

"I guess you're never ready for a call like that from the hall of fame committee simply because it's never a goal," Zokol said in an interview. "Even though thoughts may have crossed my mind about whether it would ever happen, reality doesn't hit you until it actually happens. And when it does it's a very humbling feeling.

"When I got the call I was deeply touched. It brings kind of a validation to the decision to play golf and to commit to a life and devotion to this lovely game."

Before joining the PGA Tour in 1982, Zokol captained his Brigham Young University golf team to the 1981 NCAA Championship and later that summer he won the Canadian Amateur Championship.

The highlight of his lengthy PGA Tour career came in 1992 when he won the Greater Milwaukee Open. Earlier that year, Zokol also won the Deposit Guaranty Classic, a PGA Tour event that used to be held opposite the Masters. Zokol also won on the Nationwide Tour, capturing the Samsung Canadian PGA title in 2001. He represented Canada several times in World Cup and Dunhill Cup competitions and won twice on the Canadian Tour.

Zokol now runs a highly acclaimed golf course near Merritt, called Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club, that he co-designed with Rod Whitman.

Zokol's induction ceremony will tentatively take place July 19 at Marine Drive Golf Club during the week of the RBC Canadian Open, which is being held at nearby Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club.

"They asked me if I'd have it in Vancouver the week of the Canadian Open," Zokol said. "I think that makes a lot of sense."

That July 19 date is a special one for another reason for Zokol and his wife Joanie.

"it turns out that's our 25th wedding anniversary," Zokol said. "It's really quite thrilling for Joanie and I."

Fellow hall of famer Mike Weir will be among those speaking at Zokol's induction ceremony.

Zokol and Ross are the 68th and 69th members of the Canadian Golf Hall of fame. Other recent British Columbia inductees include Dave Barr, Doug Roxburgh, Brent Franklin, Dawn Coe-Jones and Lisa Walters.

Zokol was inducted into the B.C. Golf Hall of Fame in 2009.