Don Rea out as PGA of America president early after rough term, Ryder Cup backlash
· Yahoo Sports
After a short and tumultuous run in the role, Don Rea is out as the PGA of America president.
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The PGA of America announced on Tuesday that Rea has been removed as their president effective immediately. Rea’s term was set to end in November anyway, but the organization opted to make a move now after the conclusion of the PGA Championship earlier this month.
Vice president Nathan Charnes will step in as the acting president to replace Rea.
"I am writing to share that the PGA of America Board of Directors has implemented an officer leadership transition following the suspension of President Don Rea for the remainder of his term, which concludes in November," Charnes wrote in an email to the membership, via CBS Sports. "Vice President Nathan Charnes, PGA, has been named acting president, effective immediately.
"The Board determined that a leadership transition was necessary to ensure the Association can effectively fulfill its governance and responsibilities and continue advancing its strategic priorities. The Board also expressed appreciation for Don Rea's service to the PGA of America."
The PGA of America is separate from the PGA Tour. It has more than 30,000 professionals throughout the country, and runs the Ryder Cup when it is held in the United States every four years. It also hosts the men’s, women’s and senior PGA Championships each season. Rea was noticeably absent at the PGA Championship earlier this month.
Most notably, Rea came under fire after unruly fan behavior at the Ryder Cup last fall at Bethpage Black — a lot of which was targeted at Rory McIlroy. At one point, a beer was thrown at McIlroy and his wife, Erica, as they were walking through. The event’s emcee, comedian and actress Heather McMahan, even stepped down from her role and later apologized after joining in with a “F**k you, Rory!” chant over the course microphone.
While PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague reached out to apologize to McIlroy and Erica, Rea compared the fan abuse to that of a youth soccer game.
“Well, you have 50,000 people there that are really excited and heck, you can go to a youth soccer game and get some people who say the wrong things,” he told BBC Sports at the time. “I haven’t heard some of that. I’m sure it’s happened. It happened when we were in Rome on the other side [in 2023], and Rory understands.
“Things like that are going to happen. I don’t know what was said, but all I know is that golf is the engine of good.”
Rea eventually apologized for those comments in an email to PGA of America members.
Rea was elected as the 44th president of the PGA of America in 2024. The organization will next host the women’s PGA Championship in June at Hazeltine National Golf Club, which will wrap up its three major championships of the season.