Tim Finchem, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, has been chosen to receive the 2010 Donald Ross Award. The award will be presented on 6 March 2010 at the Donald Ross Banquet during the 64th ASGCA Annual Meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
“Tim Finchem is undoubtedly one of the most influential leaders in the game of golf with his high profile as the Commissioner,” notes Doug Carrick, ASGCA President. “He has used this influence to strengthen the game—through his involvement in the establishment of the World Golf Foundation and its First Tee and Golf 20/20 initiatives—and that makes him as a great choice for ASGCA’s highest award.
“Under his leadership, the TOUR has raised more than $1 billion for charity, and that certainly reflects very well on the game and its values. I will be personally honored to present this award to Tim in light of all he’s done to support the health of the game.”
A recipient of a B.A. from the University of Richmond, which he attended on a debate scholarship, Finchem went on to graduate from the University of Virginia Law School in 1973. After practicing law in Virginia Beach for three years, Finchem served in the White House as Deputy Advisor to the President in the Office of Economic Affairs in 1978 and 1979.
He joined the TOUR staff as Vice President of Business Affairs in 1978, served as Deputy Commissioner and COO beginning in 1989 and became the TOUR’s third Commissioner on 1 June 1994, succeeding Deane R. Beman, the 1986 winner of the Donald Ross Award.
The Donald Ross Award was established by the ASGCA Board of Governors in 1976 and is given annually to an individual who has made a positive impact on golf and golf course architecture. Its first recipient was one of ASGCA’s Founding Fathers, Robert Trent Jones. ASGCA’s Donald Ross Award Committee is led by Past President Rees Jones, ASGCA.
Founded in 1946 by 14 leading architects, the American Society of Golf Course Architects is a non-profit organization comprised of experienced golf course designers located throughout the United States and Canada.
Past winners of the Donald Ross Award include Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye, Michael Bonallack, Peter Dobereiner and Gerald Micklem.
American Society of Golf Course Architects www.asgca.org