JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa

John Lindert named 43rd president of PGA of America, succeeds Jim Richerson

The 106th PGA annual meeting was at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix.

PHOENIX — John Lindert, PGA Director of Golf at The Country Club of Lansing and Michigan PGA Section member, was elected president of the PGA of America.

The 106th PGA annual meeting was this past week at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort where about 450 members gathered to also vote Southwest PGA Section Member Don Rea, Jr. as vice president and Gateway PGA Section Member Nathan Charnes as secretary.

Lindert, elevated after two years serving as vice president, succeeds Jim Richerson, whose two-year term has ended. Richerson is now PGA Honorary President. He was named general manager of Riviera Country Club in March.

Lindert has been a PGA Member for more than 35 years. In 2019, he was inducted into the Michigan PGA Hall of Fame. He has served on four national committees and has collected numerous accolades, including Michigan PGA Section Golf Professional of the Year in 2009 and Michigan Section PGA Professional Development Award in 2021 and 2015.

As a competitor, Lindert, who played his college golf at the University of Arizona, is a past Toledo Chapter Stroke Play Champion and played in the PGA Professional Championship five times.

“This is a remarkable time for our Association, and I truly believe that we have the right people in place with the passion and desire to elevate our profession and our Association over the coming years,” said Lindert. “We have an opportunity to strengthen our position as an Association in the sport of golf and, most importantly, use that position to improve the lives of our PGA Members.”

106th PGA of America Annual Meeting — The 106th annual meeting for the PGA of America at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix on Nov. 2, 2022. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)

Rea lives in Gilbert, Arizona, and is the owner and general manager of Augusta Ranch Golf Club, a public golf course in Mesa, Arizona. He previously served as secretary and is a member of the Southwest PGA Section. Off the golf course, Rea was an umpire for nine years in the minor leagues and has worked several MLB spring training games.

Charnes is the general manager and director of golf of WingHaven Country Club in O’Fallon, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Evansville in 2001, where he played on the golf team.

In addition, five people were named to the PGA Board of Directors:

Larry Kelley, PGA – Five Star Golf Cars & Utility Vehicles,
Ludlow, Vermont
Steve Parker, PGA – Portage Country Club, Akron, Ohio
Paige Cribb, PGA – Coastal Carolina PGA Golf Management University Program, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
Russ Libby, PGA – Hidden Hills Golf Club, Jacksonville, Florida
Jeff Lessig, PGA – Verde River Golf & Social Club, Fountain Hills, Arizona

John A. Solheim, who earned the PGA’s Distinguished Service Award for 2022, was also honored during the week.

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For just second time since 1980, LPGA won’t have event in Arizona

The LPGA released its complete 2021 schedule on Friday but there is a glaring omission for one of the country’s golf hotspots.

PHOENIX — The LPGA released its 2021 schedule on Friday but there is a glaring omission for one of the country’s golf hotspots: there will be no LPGA event next year in Arizona.

It’ll be just the second time since 1980 that the LPGA will not stage a tournament there.

The Founders Cup, which picked up Volvik as a title sponsor for 2020, was never played. It was first postponed and later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Volvik title sponsorship was never fully realized.

In 2021, there will be a Founders Cup but instead of being in Phoenix in March, the event will be at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey, in October.

“We are still in discussions with our title sponsor about the future of the Founders Cup. While the tournament will be held in New Jersey in 2021, it may return to Arizona in the years ahead,” said Scott Wood, tournament director for the Founders Cup. “We will have more information in the coming weeks, but Phoenix and Wildfire Golf Club will always be incredibly special in the history of this tournament.”

The LPGA first held an event in Arizona in 1962 and had four events in the 1960s and four more in the 1970s before becoming an annual visitor to the Phoenix area starting in 1980 at Hillcrest Country Club in Sun City. In addition, the tour visited Tucson annually from 1981 through 2004.

In 2001 at Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix, the one and still only 59 in LPGA history took place when Annika Sorenstam broke the magical barrier. Sorenstam won the event three times in all. Laura Davies won it a record four times, all in a row. Karrie Webb, Lorena Ochoa, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster and Stacy Lewis have also won the event.

The LPGA bounced around the Valley over those years, holding tournaments at seven different courses under 13 different names and yet, 2010 was the only year the tour missed its annual Arizona visit during that stretch.

In 2011, LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan announced the creation of the Founders Cup to honor the 13 women who created the LPGA. It didn’t have a title sponsor the first year and players agreed to accept no prize money. The 2020 event was to have commemorated the 70th year of the LPGA and the 10th rendition of the Founders Cup. It also would’ve been the first Founders Cup since the 2019 passing of Marilynn Smith, one of those 13 founders.

The LPGA’s 2021 schedule includes 34 official events and a record $76.45 million in official purses. The first full-field official event won’t take place until late February, but, it should be noted, every event that was postponed in 2020 has returned for 2021.

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Play where the pros (were supposed to) play this week at PGA Tour, LPGA stops

The golf courses that were set to host this week’s PGA Tour and LPGA stops are open for public play, with tournament-like conditions.

Golf goes on.

Well, professional golf as we know it has been put on hold around the world for now, but recreational golf is still going strong in many parts of the country.

The golf course, it seems, is one of the last escapes for people, one of the few places we can still go to get out of the house for a bit and self isolate.

The PGA Tour would normally be gearing up for the Valspar Championship this week on the Copperheard Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.

But the Tour announced March 13 that the Valspar was off, just four days before the first practice rounds, canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

If there’s a bit of good news here it’s that you can play the course, in tournament-like conditions:

“With rates starting from $199, Innisbrook is offering this once in a lifetime opportunity to play the tournament-ready Copperhead Course, host site of the Valspar Championship, at a special value for a limited time.”

In Arizona, this was supposed to be the week that the LPGA descended on Phoenix for the Volvik Founders Cup at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa Wildfire Golf Club. But the LPGA postponed that and two other tournaments due to coronavirus concerns.

There are two courses at Wildfire, the Palmer Signature Course and the Faldo Championship Course. Tee times are up for grabs on both, with rates from $159 to $209, which is about the going rate for high-end golf in Arizona during the busy March season.

While you’re in the Phoenix arena, why not hit up TPC Scottsdale, home of the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. There are 36 holes with online bookings available morning and night. Prices on the Stadium course (with the famous 16th hole) range from $259 in the afternoon to $359 for the prime 7 a.m. spot. The Champions course can be played for $74 to $189, depending on the time of day.

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