Fred Perpall in line to become first Black USGA president as governing body names Executive Committee nominees

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 06:59:15 +0000

Fred Perpall, USGA Executive Committee and Chairman of the Championship Committee, as seen during the a 2021 press conference that the USGA announced a long-term relationship with Oakmont Country Club and Merion Golf Club. John Mummert

By Ryan Herrington
With Fred Perpall having served on the USGA Executive Committee in the role of President-Elect for the last year, there was no surprise when the governing body announced this week that the 47-year-old Dallas resident was nominated to become the USGA’s 67th president starting in 2023. Yet with his expected election at the USGA Annual Meeting in Napa, Calif., in February, the governing body remains on a path toward history, as Perpall would be the first Black man to hold the position in the USGA’s 128-year history.

A native of the Bahamas who played basketball and ran track at the University of Texas at Arlington and was a member of the 1994 Bahamian national basketball tea, Perpall has been nominated for a three-year term. He would replace outgoing president Stu Francis, whose term expires this year. Perpall has worked on the Executive Committee since 2019, most recently chairing the Championship Committee and helping launch the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open this past summer.

“Fred is a dynamic leader who has a tremendous passion for the game,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan in a press release. “Our entire team is incredibly excited to work with him more closely over the coming years.”

Outside of golf, Perpall is CEO of The Beck Group in Dallas, where he oversees the company’s architectural design, planning, real estate consultancy and construction businesses.

The USGA also announced on Wednesday former major champion Jeff Sluman among four new nominees to serve three-year terms on the Executive Committee beginning in 2023. Sluman, 65, was a six-time PGA Tour winner, including the 1988 PGA Championship, and has played more than 1,000 combined events on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. He would fill a roll that Nick Price had previously served while working on the Executive Committee since 2018—offering the perspective of a tour pro during discussions.

Also nominated for the Executive Committee are Leslie Henry, Bryan Lewis and Michael McCarthy. Henry, a lawyer from Houston, is a past president of the Texas Golf Association and has competed in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur championships. Lewis, from South Haven, Mich., has been a USGA volunteer since 1998 who has worked as a rules official at 84 USGA championships, four Masters and the 2021 Walker Cup. McCarthy, executive VP and chief investment officer for Franklin Equity Group, played for the 1988 NCAA champion UCLA golf team. He’s on the board at San Francisco Golf Club and with the First Tee of San Francisco.

If elected, the new four members will assume seats vacated by retiring members Price, Francis, Thomas Barkin and Paul Brown.

Additionally Courtney Myhrum of Pittsburgh, has been nominated to serve a second term on Executive Committee.

Current USGA Executive Committee members include Myhrum; Perpall; Tony Anderson of Chicago, Ill.; Chuck Brymer of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Sinclair Eaddy Jr., of Baltimore, Md.; Cathy Engelbert of Berkeley Heights, N.J.; Kendra Graham of Winter Park, Fla.; Kevin Hammer of Boynton Beach, Fla.; Deborah Platt Majoras of Cincinnati, Ohio; Tony Petitti of Irvington, N.Y.; and Sharon Ritchey of Longboat Key, Fla.

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Fred Perpall in line to become first Black USGA president as governing body names Executive Committee nominees