Tim Finchem is going into the Hall.
The World Golf Hall of Fame announced Monday that the former PGA Tour commissioner will join Tiger Woods and Marion Hollins for enshrinement as part of the Class of 2021. Finchem, who served two years in the White House during the Jimmy Carter Administration as the deputy advisor to the president in the office of business affairs, became the PGA Tour’s third commissioner on June 1, 1994. He succeeded Deane Beman.
“It is the greatest honor to be elected to join golf’s most legendary players and contributors in the World Golf Hall of Fame,” Finchem said in a release. “This is a truly humbling moment, for which I am most grateful, and I look forward to celebrating with my family and friends throughout the game of golf and the many people who made this possible for me. I am especially proud to stand alongside one of the world’s all-time greats, Tiger Woods, in the Class of 2021 and look forward to what will be an exciting year ahead.”
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During Finchem’s 22-year reign, prize money went from $100 million on three tours in 1994 to more than $400 million on six tours when he retired in 2017. Under his governance, the FedExCup and the playoffs, the Presidents Cup and World Golf Championships were created. The PGA Tour and its tournaments raised more than $2 billion in charity contributions. Finchem also was instrumental in the formation of the First Tee and led efforts for golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016 in the Rio Summer Games after an absence of 112 years.
“Tim Finchem’s vision and leadership have made an indelible impact on the game of golf over the past 25 years,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. Monahan succeeded Finchem on Jan. 1, 2017. “His enshrinement into the World Golf Hall of Fame will forever stand as a testament to his tireless dedication and contributions, but more importantly, so will the countless lives – whether those are the players on the PGA Tour and beyond, millions of First Tee participants, or charitable organizations around the world – impacted by his life’s work.”
The Class of 2021 was elected by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, a 20-member panel co-chaired by Hall of Fame members Beth Daniel, Nick Price, Annika Sorenstam and Curtis Strange. The committee also includes media representatives and leaders of the major golf organizations.
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