Golf Hall Of Fame Inductions

This Sunday, July 27, a former California State Open Champion, an area golf instructor and a regional golf association executive director will be inducted into the Long Beach Golf Hall of Fame.

At about 2 p.m. on the final day of the $160,000 Long Beach Open, a ceremony will take place honoring Terry Small, Jeff Manson and Craig Kessler at the El Dorado Park Golf Course.

Organizers say that the hall of fame, which is slightly more than 20 years old, stands as a salute to those who have greatly influenced the Long Beach golf scene.

Small’s long list of accomplishments include being a star player at Polytechnic High School, winning a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Championship as well as winning the California State Open in 1969 and 1970.

Manson, who is a Millikan High School alumnus, was a California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Champion and the 1987 National Junior Player of the Year. He went on to play professionally after college and now is an instructor at the Skylinks and Lakewood golf courses.

Last but not least is Kessler, the executive director of the Southern California Public Links Golf Association. Kessler was a major advocate for change in golf course maintenance and operation by municipal government, among his many other achievements.

For more information about the hall of fame, go to www.ci.long-beach.ca.us/park/-commissions/golf.asp.

—Shereen Oca