Former Commissioner Finchem receives PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida— The PGA TOUR announced that former Commissioner Tim Finchem has received the PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award, the 14^th time the accolade has been awarded and first since 2015. Finchem, 77, established the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 to periodically honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the PGA TOUR.

Current PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Finchem at a ceremony at the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse in conjunction with the 51^st edition of THE PLAYERS Championship.

“Tim Finchem built on what Joe Dey and Deane Beman—his two predecessors—created and then took the TOUR to incredible heights during his 22 years leading our organization,” said Monahan. “It’s impossible to fully articulate the impact he had on the PGA TOUR, but we believe the Lifetime Achievement Award best encapsulates everything Tim did for the TOUR and the game of golf.”

Finchem, the third commissioner of the PGA TOUR, succeeded Deane Beman in 1994 and held the position until his retirement in December of 2016. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2022.

“Having been involved with the creation of the Lifetime Achievement Award, I fully understand the significance of what we wanted the Lifetime Achievement Award to represent to those receiving it,” said Finchem. “Now, as the Award comes to me, I can only say how extremely humbling this is and what great meaning it carries to my family and me.”

Finchem, born in Ottawa, Illinois, in 1947, moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, while still a boy. It was his gunnery sergeant father, Harold, who introduced him to golf. The nine-year-old quickly took to the game and the Finchems regularly attended the PGA TOUR’s Azalea Open each year in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Following graduation from the University of Richmond, Finchem served in the U.S. Army, reaching the rank of second lieutenant. He then attended the University of Virginia law school and practiced law in the early 1970s prior to taking a job in President Jimmy Carter’s White House administration. Finchem served as the Deputy Advisor for Economic Affairs before becoming the National Staff Director for Carter’s re-election campaign in 1979 and 1980.

Finchem left the White House in 1981 and opened the consulting firm National Strategies and Marketing Group. It was during that period that the PGA TOUR hired Finchem’s firm to navigate the TOUR’s federal government interests. That led to the TOUR eventually tapping him as its Director of Business Affairs in 1987, and Finchem went on to carve out a 29-year career with a storied list of accomplishments that continue to shape the PGA TOUR and the game of golf today.

“When Tim replaced me as Commissioner, I fully anticipated he would thrive in the role. He did just that, and it was a pleasure to watch the TOUR grow under his leadership,” said Beman, who served as Commissioner for 20 years, starting in 1974. “Tim was always someone I could turn to, and I relied on his expertise in so many ways. He was terrific Commissioner during his 20-plus years guiding the organization, and for the TOUR to present him with the Lifetime Achievement Award is a well-earned honor.”

In Finchem’s first year as commissioner in 1994, the TOUR staged the inaugural Presidents Cup, a global event conceived by Beman that included the world’s best non-European players in team match-play competition against their American counterparts. After 15 playings across five countries, the Presidents Cup has grown to be one of the most highly anticipated events on golf’s calendar.

One of the crowning achievements of Finchem’s tenure was the development and introduction of the FedExCup in 2007. Now in its 19^th year, the TOUR’s season-long points competition that culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs continues to grow in size and stature with FedExCup Champions including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh.

On the international front, Finchem oversaw the formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours in 1998 that brought golf’s five world-governing bodies—the PGA TOUR, the DP World Tour, the Japan Golf Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Sunshine Tour in South Africa—together to address global, professional golf issues. One year later, the Federation announced the formation of the World Golf Championships, a series of international events featuring players from around the globe.

With Finchem spearheading the effort on behalf of the International Golf Federation, the International Olympic Committee reinstated golf as an official sport on its program in 2009, with the first competition held at the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil.

Finchem was instrumental in the founding of First Tee in 1997 and was a tireless advocate and fundraiser for the program, recruiting former Presidents George H.W. Bush (1997-2011) and George W. Bush (2011-2024) to serve as First Tee Honorary Chairs. Finchem received the First Tee Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.

Finchem was also commissioner when the TOUR surpassed both the $1 billion (2005) and $2 billion (2014) milestones in charitable giving.

“I enjoyed my TOUR career primarily because I worked with so many talented people who had clear vision and wanted the TOUR to succeed and our game to grow as much as I did,” Finchem said. “To represent world-class athletes and witness the rise in popularity of PGA TOUR golf around the world was incredibly gratifying.”

After retiring from the PGA TOUR, Finchem has remained active in the sport, maintaining his First Tee ties and promoting the initiative that has made golf more affordable and accessible for youth.

Finchem continues to live not far from the PGA TOUR’s Global Home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with his wife, Holly.

World Golf Hall of Fame member Gene Sarazen received the inaugural PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. In 2005, golf course designer Pete Dye became the first non-TOUR player to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients