Gustafson wins golf writers’ award; Rooney, Faxon honored as well

LPGA Tour star Sophie Gustafson, who has overcome a serious stuttering problem to become No. 48 in the world, has won the prestigious Ben Hogan Award from the Golf Writers Association of America. The award, one of three the GWAA announced on Wednesday, goes to a golfer who is able to stay active in the sport while dealing with a physical handicap or severe illness.

Sophie Gustafson goes pubic about her stuttering problem

Also honored were Major Dan Rooney, and Champions Tour player Brad Faxon. Rooney, a former F-16 pilot who flew three combat tours in Iraq and founded Patriot Golf Day and the Folds of Honor Foundation, won the association’s William D. Richardson Award for making an outstanding contribution to golf. Faxon will receive the ASAPSports/Jim Murray Award for his "cooperation, quotability and accommodation with the media," according to a GWAA press release.

The three honorees will receive their awards at the annual GWAA Awards Dinner in Augusta, Ga., on April 4. The dinner, on the eve of the 2012 Masters tournament, will also honor GWAA Players of the Year Yani Tseng (LPGA), Luke Donald (PGA), and Tom Lehman (Champions Tour).

Gustafson, who went public last fall about her stuttering, is a five-time tour winner and has been on eight Solheim Cups in her 13-year career. The 38-year-old Swedish golfer would likely receive additional attention for her achievements were she more comfortable in the limelight. Anyone who saw her taped pre-Solheim Cup TV interview with the Golf Channel, in which she took herself "out of my comfort zone," could not help but be moved by Gustafson’s appearance.

The interview went viral on YouTube and Gustafson received acclaim from all corners of the golf world. "I heard from a lot of friends who said it was great to see, and that I did a good job," she told Golf Digest Woman’s Stina Sternberg.

Gustafson, who has 28 worldwide wins, told Sternberg why she decided to open up about her stuttering.

"It's always a bummer during the Solheim Cup because everybody else is doing interviews and press conferences, but no one even bothers asking me if I want to do them anymore," she said. "That's why I wanted to try something for this edition.

"I feel like I have a lot to say and can actually be pretty funny," Gustafson added, "but it's hard to get it out since I usually keep my mouth shut in public."

Gustafson, who conceded that talking to the camera provoked more anxiety than competing in the Solheim Cup, said she hoped to do more interviews "if anyone out there would be interested in putting in the time."