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STADLER FAMILY NAMED MGWA FAMILY OF THE YEAR 

Elmsford, N.Y. (July 10, 2025) — The Stadler family – Craig and Kevin – has been chosen as the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s 2025 Family of the Year.  They will be honored at the MGWA’s 73rd National Awards Dinner on Tuesday, October 7^th at Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY, where they will join previously announced award winners Billy Payne (Gold Tee), Sean McManus (Paul Dillon Distinguished Service), Mizuho Americas (Bing Crosby Tournament Sponsor) and Bill Pennington (Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism).

The MGWA’s Family of the Year Award honors a family for its contributions to the game and for representing the virtues and ideals of golf and family.

Craig Stadler, affectionately known as “The Walrus” due to his stout build and shaggy mustache, grew up in La Jolla, California.  He was introduced to golf by his father at the young age of four and showed a real talent for the game.  He was a four-year All-American at the University of Southern California, and while attending USC he entered and won the U.S. Amateur.  He turned pro a year after graduating, becoming one of the PGA Tour’s most popular players.  He had a successful pro career with 13 PGA Tour victories and a Masters title (earned after a playoff with Dan Pohl) and he played on both the 1983 and 1985 Ryder Cup teams.  He joined the Champions Tour in June 2003 and was the leading money winner the following year.  He continued his winning ways on the Champions Tour, earning nine victories.  One notable career highlight was the 2014 Masters, where he played with his son, Kevin, making them the first father/son duo to ever play that tournament together.

Stadler’s career has been immortalized by his induction into the San Diego Breithard Hall of Fame, the USC Athletic Hall of Fame, the Argentine Golf Association Hall of Fame, the Southern California Golf Association Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Golf Association Hall of Fame.  He also was a featured coach in a video game called Pebble Beach Golf Links, and appeared as himself in the Kevin Costner movie, Tin Cup.

Kevin Stadler, the son of Craig Stadler and Susan Barrett, has been nicknamed “The Smallrus,” a humorous nod to his father’s moniker.  He was born in Reno, Nevada and raised in Denver.  He played on the Kent Denver School’s golf team and followed in his dad’s footsteps by attending USC.  He turned pro shortly after graduating, starting out on the Nationwide Tour and earning his PGA Tour card after finishing 13^th on the Nationwide money list.  He lost his card the following year but regained it after rejoining the Nationwide Tour while also playing on the European Tour.  He won the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open, which qualified him to play alongside his father in that year’s Masters.  It also made him the first son of a Masters champion to play in the tournament, where he finished tied for eighth.  Injuries ended Kevin’s career in 2018. 

“We are delighted to honor Craig and Kevin Stadler with our Family of the Year award, especially in light of former Augusta National chairman Billy Payne’s Gold Tee,” MGWA president Hank Gola declared. “Craig was one of the most popular figures on the PGA Tour when he won the 1982 Masters. His final Masters appearance in 2014 was almost as memorable, as he and Kevin became the first father-son duo to compete in the same Masters.”

The MGWA has celebrated the game of golf and promoted golf journalism since its inception in 1952, and its National Awards Dinner has been one of the highlights of the golf calendar since then.  It has honored – and been attended by – some of the  greatest names in the sport: Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, JoAnne Carner, Gary Player, Billy Casper, Nancy Lopez, Tom Watson, and Annika Sorenstam, to name just a few.  This highly anticipated event is supported by golf’s leading organizations and corporate supporters, Met Area clubs and club leaders, as well as local and national golf media. Through the Dinner and other events, the MGWA has raised millions of dollars for Caddie Scholarship programs in the Metropolitan New York area, the MGA Foundation, and the Dave Marr Journalism Scholarship. 

Click here to purchase tickets to the Dinner.  For more information, view this one-minute video or contact Robin Sauerhaft, MGWA Executive Administrator, at: rsauerhaft@mgagolf.org.

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