Deane Beman

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Deane Beman
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Deane R. Beman
Born (1938-04-22) April 22, 1938 (age 85)
Washington, D.C.
Height 5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Nationality  United States
Career
College University of Maryland
Turned professional 1967
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 6
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 4
Other 2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T19: 1969
U.S. Open T2: 1969
The Open Championship T13: 1967
PGA Championship T36: 1972
U.S. Amateur Won: 1960, 1963
British Amateur Won: 1959
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2000 (member page)
PGA Tour Lifetime
Achievement Award
2007

Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator, and golf course architect.

Beman was born in Washington, D.C. and attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was a two-time All-American on the varsity golf team.[1]

Following graduation, Beman had a career in the insurance field. During his golf career, Beman qualified for his first U.S. Open at age 17 in 1955. He qualified for the Masters Tournament 14 times. He won the U.S. Amateur twice and the British Amateur once. He also lost a playoff to Gary Cowan for the 1966 U.S. Amateur.

Beman turned professional in 1967 at age 29 and won four times on the PGA Tour between 1969 and 1973. Beman led for two rounds at the 1969 U.S. Open and finished one shot out of a playoff. He was a short hitter by top-class standards, with an outstanding short game, and was renowned as one of the best putters in the world. Injuries curtailed his playing career. He retired as a player and closed his business practice to become Commissioner because he believed he could contribute more to the sport as a commissioner than he ever could as a player.[1]

Beman was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994. He introduced The Players Championship concept during this time, and developed the Tournament Players Club network of courses around the United States, along with Tour-branded clothing, expanding the Tour's financial clout. He converted the Tour into a 501-c6 organization, one of several moves that would transform the Tour's financial fortunes. He 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.[1] He is the architect of the Tour's successful television model, which still exists today.

He formed the Senior PGA Tour, now known as the Champions Tour, for players 50 and older in 1980 and the Ben Hogan Tour (now known as the Web.com Tour) as golf's developmental circuit in 1990. 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 February 28, 1994 meeting, the Tour's Board approved the capstone of his legacy, The Presidents Cup, an international competition. Later during that same meeting, Beman announced his plan to retire. It was the 20th anniversary of his appointment as Tour commissioner. From $400,000 in assets in 1974, when Beman succeeded Dey, the Tour reported $260 million in assets in 1994 when Beman resigned.[1]

He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000 and was awarded the seventh PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.[2]

After stepping down as Commissioner in June 1994, Beman resumed his playing career, and competed in 69 Senior PGA Tour events through the 2005 Constellation Energy Classic. He co-designed Cannon Ridge Golf Club, which opened in 2003, with architect Bobby Weed. He still plays regularly, as he likes to say, "only once a day."

A book chronicling his 20-year tenure as Commissioner was published in 2011, entitled "Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force," by Adam Schupak.

Amateur wins (9)

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 May 11, 1969 Texas Open Invitational –10 (70-69-70-65=274) Playoff United States Jack McGowan
2 Jul 12, 1970 Greater Milwaukee Open –12 (68-71-68-69=276) 3 strokes United States Don Massengale
3 Oct 1, 1972 Quad Cities Open –5 (72-69-71-67=279) 1 stroke United States Tom Watson
4 Jul 15, 1973 Shrine-Robinson Open Golf Classic –13 ( 69-68-67-67=271) 1 stroke United States Bob Dickson, United States Bunky Henry

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1968 Bob Hope Desert Classic United States Arnold Palmer Lost to par on second extra hole
2 1969 Texas Open Invitational United States Jack McGowan Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

Major championships

Amateur wins (3)

Year Championship Winning score Runner-up
1959 The Amateur Championship 3 & 2 United States Bill Hyndman
1960 U.S. Amateur 6 & 4 United States Robert W. Gardner
1963 U.S. Amateur 2 & 1 United States R. H. Sikes

Results timeline

Amateur

Tournament 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT T29 CUT CUT DNP T25 LA 49 CUT T42
U.S. Open CUT CUT DNP CUT CUT CUT T12 T14 LA CUT CUT T11 LA T30
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP
U.S. Amateur DNP R128 R32 QF R128 1 R128 R32 1 R64 101 2
The Amateur Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP 1 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

Professional

Tournament 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT T19
U.S. Open T6 CUT T2
The Open Championship T13 DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T23 CUT DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT T55 CUT T39 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T55 T46 T36 T51 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

Note: Beman turned professional between the 1967 Masters and U.S. Open.
LA = Low amateur
DNP = Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

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: 1959 (winners), 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1965 (winners)
  • Eisenhower Trophy: 1960 (winners), 1962 (winners), 1964, 1966

References

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External links

Preceded by Commissioner of the PGA Tour
1974-1994
Succeeded by
Tim Finchem