The same day he publicly was announced as the 2012 recipient of the Old Tom Morris Award, golfer/businessman Peter Jacobsen let those beyond the walls of the media center in Toledo, Ohio, at the U.S. Senior Open know about his sentiments.
"My sincerest thanks to @gcsaa for this great honor!" Jacobsen tweeted at @JakeTrout.
Jacobsen (seen here, doing a shoot with GCSAA TV) shared a podium Wednesday with GCSAA President Bob Randquist, who announced Jacobsen would receive the Old Tom Morris Award, GCSAA's most prestigious honor, which annually has been awarded since 1983.
"Well, I'm honored to be able to receive this award from the GCSAA," Jacobsen said. "My first job was working on the crew at Waverley Country Club (in Portland, Ore.) on the greens crew. I know how to mow collars. I know how to mow greens. Old Tom Morris was a great champion. He's a four-time British Open champion, but he was also one of the first greenkeepers in the history of the game over in Scotland. So I feel like I've benefited in all aspects of the game."
Jacobsen will accept the award Feb. 28 in Las Vegas at the 2012 GCSAA Education Conference at Celebrate GCSAA! presented by Syngenta.
Randquist said: "I will tell you we were biased (in selecting Jacobsen). He has been very clear over the years about his support and his praise of golf course superintendents."
Jacobsen, who won seven times on the PGA Tour and twice won major championships on the Champions Tour, earned the 2003 PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year Award. He also is active in charity work, helping raise more than $13 million from 1986-2002 in the Fred Meyer Challenge in Portland. He is president and CEO of Peter Jacobsen Sports, a sports marketing firm he created in 1988, and he is partnered with Jim Hardy at Jacobsen-Hardy Golf Course Design.
He also is well known for his role as lead singer with Jake Trout and the Flounders, a band he formed more than two decades ago with the late Payne Stewart. Jacobsen, who also does TV commentary for NBC and the Golf Channel, won the fictional U.S. Open in the movie "Tin Cup," which starred Kevin Costner.
Golfer Nick Price received the Old Tom Morris Award for 2011. Other past recipients include Bob Hope, Gerald Ford and Jack Nicklaus.
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