Timothy W. Finchem (born April 19, 1947) is an American lawyer and retired golf administrator, who served as

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

from 1994 to 2016. He served in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

for two years during the administration of President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, from 1978 to 1979. He was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Finchem was born in

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Ri ...

. He graduated from

Princess Anne High School Princess Anne High School (PAHS) is one of 11 high schools in the Virginia Beach City Public School System. Opened in 1954, it is the oldest remaining high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school is named after the now extinc ...

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. He attended the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

on a debate scholarship, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969. While at Richmond, Finchem was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Rho Chi chapter. Finchem later graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1973.

Early career

After practicing law in Virginia Beach for three years, Finchem served in the

during the administration of

as Deputy Advisor to the President in the Office of Economic Affairs in 1978 and 1979. In the early 1980s, Finchem co-founded the National Marketing and Strategies Group in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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PGA Tour Commissioner

Finchem took the position of Commissioner on June 1, 1994, succeeding

Deane Beman } Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator. He was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994. Early years Born in Washington, D.C., Beman attended the University of Maryl ...

, who retired after nearly 20 years in the post. Finchem had previously served as Vice President of Business Affairs, Deputy Commissioner, and Chief Operating Officer of the Tour. As Commissioner, Finchem expanded the earnings opportunities for PGA Tour players both domestically and internationally. He presided over three television broadcasting deals (1997, 2001 and 2005). In 2006, the total PGA Tour purse was $256.8 million, up from $56.4 million in 1994. That remarkable growth has a lot to do with

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

, but Finchem's supporters also give him some of the credit

Finchem received the 2001 Old Tom Morris Award from the

Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wit ...

, GCSAA's highest honor. He is a single-figure handicap golfer. Finchem was succeeded by

Jay Monahan Joseph William "Jay" Monahan IV (born May 7, 1970) is the fourth and current commissioner of golf's PGA Tour. He ascended to this position in January 2017. Early years Monahan was born and raised in Belmont, Massachusetts, a suburb northwest o ...

on January 1, 2017.

References

External links

Official site of the PGA Tour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finchem, Tim PGA Tour commissioners World Golf Hall of Fame inductees American chief operating officers Virginia lawyers University of Richmond alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Carter administration personnel Princess Anne High School alumni People from Ottawa, Illinois People from Virginia Beach, Virginia 1947 births Living people