Padraig Harrington was named one of 12 finalist for the 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame class and, as expected, the Irishman was at his thoughtful best when he learned the news.

“It’s a really big deal,” Harrington said Wednesday at the Honda Classic. “From an Irish context, we wouldn’t have grown up with a Hall of Fame. This isn’t something you’d see in Ireland, but as I’ve played late in my career [in the United States] I realized how big the Hall of Fame was and you’d certainly want to be part of it.”

Harrington, 51, highlights a ballot that includes Tom Weiskopf, Cristie Kerr, Jim Furyk, Dottie Pepper and Butch Harmon. The Irishman's resume includes 21 global victories, including three major triumphs (2007 Open, ’08 Open and ’08 PGA Championship).

“It’s validation, isn’t it?” Harrington said. “You go about your career and do things individually along the way, you’re trying to win that tournament in front of you, but at some point you do need validation. As a good pro you’re trying to play each tournament as they come, but there does come a point where you get older and you do need a little validation to say, yeah, you did it.”

Harrington also won the 2008 PGA Tour Player of the Year Award and played on six European Ryder Cup teams before he captained the 2020 team.

The full list of candidates include:

• Padraig Harrington
• Tom Weiskopf
• Johnny Farrell
• Jim Furyk
• Dottie Pepper
• Sandra Palmer
• Beverly Hanson
• Cristie Kerr
• Peter Dawson
• Butch Harmon
• Jay Sigel
• And the seven remaining co-founders of the LPGA: Alice Bauer, Bettye Danoff, Helen Detweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Shirley Spork and Sally Sessions.