PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh announced he is leaving the organization after a six-year stint marked by a “sharp boost in golf participation and PGA membership and moving headquarters," according to Doug Ferguson of the AP. Waugh’s contract was up for renewal on June 30, and he “decided not to renew.” Ferguson notes Waugh will “stay on with the PGA of America in a senior advisory role.” The PGA of America said that it has “begun a search for CEO including candidates from inside and outside the association.” For now, Chief Championship Officer Kerry Haigh will be interim CEO but “will not be a candidate.” Haigh has been with the PGA of America since 1989. Ferguson writes Waugh’s involvement in golf “dates back longer than his time with the PGA of America.” He was “behind bringing a PGA Tour event to the TPC Boston in 2003” and has been a “key voice in business and golf along the way.” Ferguson notes Waugh “had been dropping hints since April that he was nearing the end” (AP, 6/26).
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GOLFWEEK’s Adam Schupak notes that during Waugh’s tenure, the PGA of America relocated its headquarters from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to a “fancy, new campus complete with championship golf courses” in Frisco, Texas, and committed to bringing 26 future PGA America to the two courses built in its backyard. In his role, he also signed a lucrative 11-year TV deal with CBS and ESPN beginning in 2020 (GOLFWEEK, 6/26).
