Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame  Announces Annual Award Winners

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Golfer Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur and runnerup in the U.S. Women's Open, has been named the Amateur Athlete of the Year for 2005 by the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame.

Pressel, who turns 18 in May, scored the most lopsided win ever in the finals of the Women's Amateur, 9 and 8 over Maru Martinez, and was beaten by a stroke at the Women's Open when Birdie Kim holed a bunker shot at the final green.

She will graduate from the St. Andrew's School in the spring with a 3.9 GPA but has already played in two LPGA events after qualifying for the women's pro tour last December. A month earlier, she won her third straight 1A state championship.

She will be among the honored guests at the 30th annual induction and awards dinner May 7 at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens.

Other annual award winners to be cited for achievements in 2005 are Kevin Fleury and Emanuel Cook, high school coach and athlete of the year, respectively, who led Palm Beach Gardens High School to the state 6A championship; Professional Athlete of the Year, John Carney; Coach of the Year, Dusty Rhodes; Outstanding Sports Contributor, Patrick Rooney; Special Olympics Athlete of the Year, Walter Burks; and Dick Moroso Memorial Award, Bill Vanderwerf.

The inductees, announced previously, are Chris Evert-Mills, Hamid Faquire, Pam Gerig-Bland; Pat Rooney, Chuck Shaw and the late E.R. "Buddy" Goodell. There are now 193 inductees since the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1977.

Fleury led Palm Beach Gardens High to its first state football title as Cook ran for 2,027 yards and scored 29 touchdowns in 14 games. The Gators had a 13-1 record.

A former Cardinal Newman High and Notre Dame kicker, Carney booted 25 field goals and hit 22 of 22 points after touchdowns for the New Orleans Saints.

Rhodes, a former local athlete and coach, started the baseball program at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville a few years ago. In 2005, the Ospreys had a 48-16 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II championship game.

Rooney represents the family that has owned the Palm Beach Kennel Club since 1978. The track has more than 550 employees with a $7.6 million annual payroll and has contributed more than $1.8 million to local charities and scholarship programs in just the last five years.

Burks, 20, was graduated from Palm Beach Lakes High in 2004. He participates in softball and Alpine skiing among other sports. In July, he will participate in the first Special Olympics National Games in Ames, Iowa.

The Moroso Award annually recognizes the top driver each year at the Moroso Motorsports Park west of Palm Beach Gardens. Dick Moroso was inducted into the PBC Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame is presented by Toshiba Business Solutions, Florida, and sponsored by ESPN Radio 760, Florida Coca-Cola Bottling Company, The Palm Beach Post, PGA National Resort & Spa and Parallax Productions. For tickets and information, contact any member of the PBC Hall of Fame committee or Dusty Ann Williams, (561) 233-3122, or at dwilliams@palmbeachsports.com.

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