Fred Scobie Ridley (born August 16, 1952) is an American amateur golfer and golf administrator who 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 ...

in 1975, was elected president of the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...

(USGA) in 2004, and then became chairman of

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

in 2017.

Early life and education

Fred Scobie Ridley was born on August 16, 1952, in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

. He attended Winter Haven High School in nearby

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

Amateur career

Ridley attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

.
Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 37, 40, 41 (2010). Retrieved January 19, 2012. While attending the university, he played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team and was an alternate on the Gators golf team that won the NCAA national tournament in 1973. He graduated from the University of Florida's College of Business Administration with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1974. In 1975, Ridley won the

, the preeminent amateur golf tournament in the United States, on the James River Course of the Country Club of Virginia in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. He defeated Keith Fergus in the 36-hole final, having beaten Curtis Strange and Andy Bean in previous rounds of the match-play championship. At the end of 1975 Ridley was ranked the #2 amateur in the country by ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

''. In 1976 he won the Monroe Invitational. He also competed in the 1976 British Open later in the year. Ridley was a member of the 1976 Eisenhower Trophy team. Late in the year he was ranked the #10 amateur in the country by ''Golf Digest''. In 1977 he competed in the British Amateur. In the 1977 Walker Cup, he won two singles matches (both against

Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. ...

) and lost his foursomes match. Between 1974 and 1977 Ridley was a law student. He earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

Stetson University College of Law The Stetson University College of Law (branded as Stetson Law) is the law school of Stetson University. The law school occupies a historic 1920s resort hotel, the Rolyat Hotel, designed by Richard Kiehnel. The College of Law is accredited by the ...

in 1977.

Later career

Ridley never turned professional. Ridley remains the last U.S. Amateur champion to have never become a professional golfer. Ridley worked as a lawyer and golf administrator for most of his career. Ridley still occasionally played notable amateur events, however. For example, Ridley played the 1987 British Amateur. He also served as captain for the American sides of the 1987 Walker Cup, 1989 Walker Cup, and the 2010 Eisenhower Trophy. Ridley was elected president of the

(USGA) in 2004.Christine Brennan,
Keeping Score: New USGA chief won't cut old ties
" ''USA Today'' (February 4, 2004). Retrieved January 18, 2012. He has also served as co-chairman of the International Golf Federation.International Golf Federation, Press Releases,

" Retrieved January 19, 2012. He had been elected as a member of the executive board, treasurer, vice president of the USGA, and has also served as the chairman of the USGA's Championship Committee, Amateur Status and Conduct Committee, and International Team Selection Committee. Late in his career he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Distinguished Letterwinner." Ridley, who is a member of

, served as the competition committee chairman for 2011 Masters Tournament. On August 23, 2017, Augusta National announced that Ridley would succeed Billy Payne as chairman of the club. Ridley took over when the club reopened for its 2017–18 season on October 16, 2017.

Personal life

Ridley works as a commercial real estate lawyer in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

.Foley & Lardner, Our People
Fred S. Ridley
. Retrieved January 19, 2012. He is a partner in the law firm of

Foley & Lardner Foley & Lardner LLP (often referred to simply as "Foley") is an international law firm founded in 1842. In terms of revenue, it ranked 45th on The American Lawyer's 2025 AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law firms, with $1.28 billion gross revenue in 2 ...

, and practices in the areas of commercial real estate finance and development, planned unit development, resort development, and multifamily and condominium development. He is married to the former Elizabeth ("Betsy") Herndon, a fellow

graduate. They have three daughters.

Amateur wins

*1975

*1976 Monroe Invitational

Results in major championships

''Note: Ridley never played in the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

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 ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

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 ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

(winners),

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

(winners, non-playing captain),

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

(non-playing captain)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Fred American male golfers Amateur golfers Florida Gators men's golfers American golf administrators Golfers from Florida Stetson University College of Law alumni Florida lawyers Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida People from Winter Haven, Florida 1952 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen