Deane Beman
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} Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator. He was the second commissioner of the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
, serving from 1974 to 1994.


Early life

Beman was born in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
. He attended the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
in nearby College Park where he was a two-time
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
on the Terrapins golf team.


Amateur career

Following graduation, Beman had a career in the
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
field. During his playing career, he qualified for the U.S. Open at age 17 in 1955. He qualified for the
Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...
fourteen times, won the
U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
twice (1960, 1963), and the British Amateur (1959). He also lost a playoff to Gary Cowan for the 1966 U.S. Amateur.


Professional career

In 1967, Beman turned professional at age 29 and won four times on the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
between 1969 and
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
. He led for two rounds at the 1969 U.S. Open and finished one shot out of a playoff. Beman was considered short off the tee but complemented it with his short game. Injuries curtailed his playing career. He retired as a player and closed his business practice to become PGA Tour Commissioner.


PGA Tour commissioner

Beman was the second
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 incl ...
of the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
, succeeding Joe Dey in 1974. He introduced
The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as THE PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...
concept during this time and developed the Tournament Players Club network of courses around the United States. Beman converted the Tour into a 501-c6 non-profit organization 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. He formed the Senior PGA Tour, now the PGA Tour Champions, for players 50 and older in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
and the Ben Hogan Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) as golf's developmental circuit in
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
. 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
Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...
, an international competition in conjunction with Beman's retirement announcement on the 20th 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. He was succeeded as commissioner by Tim Finchem, who served for over 22 years.


Senior career

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 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
. In 2003, Beman contributed to the design of Cannon Ridge Golf Club with golf architect Bobby Weed, but the golf course was closed for play in 2012 and later again in 2017. A book chronicling his 20-year tenure as Commissioner was published in 2011, entitled ''Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force'', by Adam Schupak.


Awards and honors

* In 2000, Beman was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame * In 2007, he was awarded the seventh PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award


Amateur wins

*1959 British Amateur *1960
U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
, Eastern Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur *1961 Eastern Amateur *1963
U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
, Eastern Amateur *1964 Eastern Amateur, Porter Cup


Professional wins (6)


PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)


Other wins (2)

*1966 Maryland Open (as an amateur) *1971 Quad Cities Open (not an official PGA Tour event)


Major championships


Amateur wins (3)


Results timeline

Amateur Professional ''Note: Beman turned professional between the 1967 Masters and U.S. Open.''
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 *
Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...
:
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
(winners), 1961 (winners),
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
(winners),
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
(tied, cup retained) *
Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...
: 1960 (winners),
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
(winners),
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
,
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
* Americas Cup: 1960 (winners), 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners)


See also

* 1967 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beman, Deane American male golfers Maryland Terrapins men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers PGA Tour commissioners American golf course architects World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Golfers from Washington, D.C. Sportspeople from Bethesda, Maryland 1938 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen