Award-winning golf writer and broadcaster Tim Rosaforte has become the first journalist to receive Honorary Membership of the PGA of America.
Rosaforte, 65, a former senior writer for Golf World/Golf Digest and ‘Mr Insider’ as an analyst for Golf Channel/NBC, was recognised during the 104th PGA Annual Meeting which was conducted virtually due to COVID-19.
Florida-based Rosaforte retired in December 2019 and has recently been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. He is just the 12th person ever to receive the designation of PGA Honorary Member.
“Tim Rosaforte’s passion for getting to the heart of a story matched his admiration for the PGA Professional,” said PGA Honorary President Suzy Whaley. “His career journey was one of love and devotion to this great game. Tim earned the title, ‘Mr Insider,’ for his attention to detail and dogged pursuit of the facts that often resulted in his ‘scooping’ his peers. He also earned a rightful place among the PGA family for the care he put into his work about our Members. It is with great pride that we welcome him as an Honorary Member of the PGA of America.”
Rosaforte’s journalism career began with the former Tampa Times in 1977, whose sports editor recommended that he start playing golf to help his work.
Rosaforte’s career included spells at the Sun-Sentinel (1981-87); the Palm Beach Post (1987-93), and Sports Illustrated (1994-96). While at Sports Illustrated, he served as president of the Golf Writers Association of America. He joined Golf Digest in 1996, and blended his work between the parent magazine and as a senior writer for Golf World.
In 2003, Rosaforte was named co-host of the USA Network’s ‘PGA Tour Sunday’, providing early-round coverage of Tour events, the Masters and the Ryder Cup. In 2007, Rosaforte joined the Golf Channel, and was a contributor to NBC’s PGA Tour and Ryder Cup coverage up until his retirement last December.
Rosaforte was the recipient of the 2014 PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism, and has won more than 40 writing awards, including a GWAA ‘Grand Slam’ for first-place magazine coverage in features, columns, event coverage and special projects.
Since 1980, he has covered 147 major championships and 17 Ryder Cups and has written five golf books: The PGA Tour; Heartbreak Hill: Anatomy of a Ryder Cup; Tiger Woods: The Makings of a Champion; World Golf Hall of Fame Yearbook; and Raising the Bar: The Championship Years of Tiger Woods.
PGA Honorary Membership is determined by a vote of PGA delegates that recognize individuals for their outstanding contributions to the game of golf. Honorary PGA Members include former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and George H Bush, along with professional golfers Gary Player and Dennis Walters, and entertainer Bob Hope.
To watch a video tribute to Tim Rosaforte, click here.