Deane Beman

Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator, golf writer, and golf course architect. He was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994.

Deane Beman
Personal information
Full nameDeane R. Beman
Born (1938-04-22) April 22, 1938
Washington, D.C.
Height5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Nationality United States
Career
CollegeUniversity of Maryland
Turned professional1967
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins6
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour4
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT19: 1969
PGA ChampionshipT36: 1972
U.S. OpenT2: 1969
The Open ChampionshipT13: 1967
U.S. AmateurWon: 1960, 1963
British AmateurWon: 1959
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2000 (member page)
PGA Tour Lifetime
Achievement Award		2007
Deane Beman
2nd Commissioner of the PGA Tour
In office
January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1994
Preceded byJoseph Dey
Succeeded byTim Finchem

Early years

Born in Washington, D.C., Beman attended the University of Maryland in nearby College Park, where he was a two-time All-American on the Terrapins golf team.[1]

Following graduation, Beman had a career in the insurance field. During his playing career, he qualified for the U.S. Open at age 17 in 1955. He qualified for the Masters Tournament fourteen times, won the U.S. Amateur twice, and the British Amateur once. He also lost a playoff to Gary Cowan for the 1966 U.S. Amateur.

Pro career

Beman turned professional in 1967 at age 29 and won four times on the PGA Tour between 1969 and 1973. He led for two rounds at the 1969 U.S. Open and finished one shot out of a playoff. Beman was a short hitter by top-class standards, with an outstanding short game, and was renowned as one of the best putters in the world. Injuries curtailed his playing career. He retired as a player and closed his business practice to become PGA Tour Commissioner because he believed he could contribute more to the sport as a commissioner than he ever could as a player.[1]

PGA Tour commissioner

Beman was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, succeeding Joe Dey in 1974, and served for twenty years. He introduced The Players Championship concept during this time, and developed the Tournament Players Club network of courses around the United States, along with Tour-branded clothing, expanding the Tour's financial clout. Beman converted the Tour into a 501-c6 organization, one of several moves that would transform the Tour's financial fortunes and introduced pension plans for Tour players.

Under his watch, the Tour's board passed a policy requiring all tournaments to support a charitable initiative. Tour charitable contributions grew from less than $1 million a year in 1974 to more than $30 million in 1994.[1] He is the architect of the Tour's successful television model, which still exists today.

He formed the Senior PGA Tour, now the PGA Tour Champions, for players 50 and older in 1980 and the Ben Hogan Tour (now Web.com Tour) as golf's developmental circuit in 1990. In 1983, the Tour expanded the number of exempt players from the top-60 on the season money list to the top-125.

At a meeting on February 28, 1994, the tour's board approved the capstone of his legacy, The Presidents Cup, an international competition. Beman also announced his plan to retire; it was the twentieth anniversary of his appointment as Tour commissioner. During his tenure, the PGA Tour's assets grew from $400,000 in 1974 to a reported $260 million in 1994.[1] He was succeeded as commissioner by Tim Finchem, who served for over 22 years.

Later years

After stepping down as tour commissioner in June 1994, Beman resumed his playing career, and competed in 69 senior events through the Constellation Energy Classic in 2005. He co-designed Cannon Ridge Golf Club, which opened in 2003, with architect Bobby Weed. He still plays regularly, as he likes to say, "only once a day."

Legacy

Beman was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000 and was awarded the seventh PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.[2]

A book chronicling his 20-year tenure as Commissioner was published in 2011, entitled "Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force," by Adam Schupak.

Amateur wins (9)

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 May 11, 1969 Texas Open Invitational 70-69-70-65=274 −10 Playoff Jack McGowan
2 Jul 12, 1970 Greater Milwaukee Open 68-71-68-69=276 −12 3 strokes Don Massengale
3 Oct 1, 1972 Quad Cities Open 72-69-71-67=279 −15 1 stroke Tom Watson
4 Jul 15, 1973 Shrine-Robinson Open Golf Classic 69-68-67-67=271 −13 1 stroke Bob Dickson, Bunky Henry

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1968 Bob Hope Desert Classic Arnold Palmer Lost to par on second extra hole
2 1969 Texas Open Invitational Jack McGowan Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)
  • 1966 Maryland Open (as an amateur)
  • 1971 Quad Cities Open (not an official PGA Tour event)

Major championships

Amateur wins (3)
YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up
1959The Amateur Championship3 & 2 Bill Hyndman
1960U.S. Amateur6 & 4 Robert W. Gardner
1963U.S. Amateur2 & 1 R. H. Sikes

Results timeline

Amateur

Tournament 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967
Masters Tournament CUT T29 CUT CUT T25 LA 49 CUT T42
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T12 T14 LA CUT CUT T11 LA T30 –
The Open Championship CUT –
U.S. Amateur R128 R32 QF R128 1 R128 R32 1 R64 101 2 –
The Amateur Championship 1 –

Professional

Tournament 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament – CUT T19
U.S. Open T6 CUT T2
The Open Championship T13
PGA Championship
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T23 CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT T55 CUT T39
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T55 T46 T36 T51
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship

Note: Beman turned professional between the 1967 Masters and U.S. Open.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Source for The Masters: www.masters.com

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database

Source for British Open: www.opengolf.com

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

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References
  1. Schupak, Adam (2011). Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force. East Cottage Press. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-615-45879-3.
  2. "Beman named seventh recipient of the Tour's Lifetime Achievement Award". PGA Tour. May 9, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
Preceded by
Joseph Dey		 Commissioner of the PGA Tour
1974-1994		 Succeeded by
Tim Finchem
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