The Pilot’s golf writer Howard Ward will be the newest member of the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame.

Ward, who has been the golf writer at The Pilot since 1998, joins golfers Larry Boswell and Scott Hoch in the hall’s class of 2011, according to a press release from the Carolinas Golf Reporters Association. The trio will be formally inducted at a ceremony in August at the Carolina in Pinehurst.

Ward’s long career, which has included writing for newspapers and other golf publications, puts him in “elite company in the Carolinas,” according to the release.

“It’s the greatest honor that I can imagine that would happen to me, and I never thought it would happen,” Ward said Friday. “In a way, I don’t feel like I’m deserving, because I’ve actually never accomplished anything in golf myself, but I’ve just written about the accomplishments of others.”

Ward came to The Pilot after a 41-year career with the Fayetteville Observer, retiring in 1997. He spent his last 27 years there as the sports editor.

He has freelanced for some of the world’s top golf publications, including Golfweek, Golf World and Golf magazine, as well as for newspapers in Great Britain and Canada. He was editor of the Golf Record of the Carolinas for eight years, and has been a Carolinas Golf Reporter’s Association member since 1970.

Over his career, he has covered everything from club championships to the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S Open and Ryder Cup.

In addition, he has covered events of Carolinas Golf Association, CPGA Section events and numerous local events. He’s won numerous North Carolina Press Association and CGRA awards, and has been recognized by the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association for continued reporting of members’ activities.

In 1998, he joined The Pilot to expand the newspaper’s golf coverage. Since then, he has been writing columns, stories and features for the paper’s weekly golf section and has written about the biggest golf events in the area, including the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens, 2001 and 2007 U.S. Women’s Opens, and the 2008 U.S. Amateur.

“It was like Howard fell straight out of heaven,” editor Steve Bouser said. “I was new here, and he’s just been an absolute jewel ever since. He’s one of the best writers we have, besides being a golf expert and a sports expert. And a hell of a nice guy.”

Boswell, of Jamestown, holds 13 CGA championships, putting him third on the CGA’s all-time wins list behind Dale Morey (24) and Paul Simson (22).

Hoch, a Raleigh native and Wake Forest alumnus, is an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour, earning more than $18 million over his career. Since joining the Champions Tour, he has won three times, earning nearly $3 million.

Membership into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame has been voted on annually by the Carolinas Golf Reporters Association since 1981. Beginning in 2010, the CGRA was joined in the voting process by the North Carolina Golf Panel and South Carolina Golf Panel.

The public is invited to attend the dinner and induction ceremony to be held at the Carolina on Aug. 14.

For more information or to register, e-mail Betsey Mitchell at Bets4Golf@nc.rr.com or call (910) 470-1691. Details are also available online at www.thecgra.com.

Contact John Krahnert III at sports@thepilot.com. Information provided by Betsey Mitchell, of the Carolinas Golf Reporters Association, was used in this story.