HOUSTON, Texas (Feb. 4, 2012) – Glen D. Nager, of Washington, D.C., has been elected to serve a one-year term as the 62nd president of the United States Golf Association (USGA). The election of officers and the 15-member USGA Executive Committee also took place today during the USGA’s Annual Meeting in Houston.
As president, Nager, 53, assumes the leadership of the 300-plus professional staff and nearly 1,200 volunteers of the USGA, which together with The R&A governs the game worldwide.
“It is a privilege to serve the game of golf,” said Nager. “I look forward to working with the USGA’s professional staff and dedicated volunteers in meeting the challenges that the game faces.”
Nager, a Houston native, will continue to focus on the USGA’s mission of sustainability and service to the game that has been emphasized by his predecessor, Jim Hyler, of Raleigh, N.C. Nager hopes to expand upon the USGA’s leadership, reach and engagement amid increasingly complex issues facing golf: stagnant participation; the challenges of financial and environmental sustainability; the game’s globalization; and the need to make golf more welcoming to a diverse audience.
“At a time when the game faces increasingly complex challenges, we must recommit ourselves to the USGA’s mission,” Nager said during his Annual Meeting remarks. “To sustain the game, we must do more. We have to promote a more enjoyable, more affordable and more welcoming experience for golfers – without fundamentally changing the game itself.”
Under Nager’s leadership, the USGA plans to strengthen its core functions by hosting premier national championships that test a player’s skill, mental capacity and physical endurance; building a greater appreciation for the Rules to sustain the true spirit and traditions of the game; promoting the game to broader, more diverse audiences, including women, minorities and juniors; advocating for a more environmentally responsible vision for the game by promoting firm and fast course conditioning and delivering real-world solutions to golf course management; and embracing the increased globalization of the game by providing stronger international leadership and governance with The R&A.
“The staff and I look forward to working with Glen to strengthen our role in the game,” said USGA Executive Director Mike Davis. “The USGA already dedicates more than $70 million on an annual basis in our work for the good of the game; yet, the challenges facing the game require still more from us.”
The chair of the Issues and Appeals practice at Jones Day and a partner in the global law firm’s Washington, D.C., office, Nager is an expert litigator who has argued 13 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. A graduate of the University of Texas and Stanford Law School, Nager served as a clerk for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who helped foster his passion for golf.
A single-digit handicapper who only took up the game in his 30s, Nager became a USGA volunteer in 2006, when he was named the Association’s general counsel. He has enjoyed a rapid ascension at the USGA, serving numerous important roles. Most recently, Nager was first vice president and chairman of the Rules of Golf, Commercial and Compensation committees.
“The USGA is fortunate to have Glen’s leadership, for he is ideally suited to lead the organization into the future,” said Hyler, the Association’s outgoing president. “His organizational skills and business knowledge will help strengthen the USGA’s national and world position in the governance of golf, and I wish him well in his upcoming role as president.”
Along with Nager, 10 members of the Executive Committee will serve another term, four of them as officers. They include vice presidents Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., of St. Louis, Mo., and Daniel B. Burton, of Lititz, Pa.; secretary Geoffrey Y. Yang, of Menlo Park, Calif.; and treasurer Christie L. Austin, of Cherry Hills Village, Colo.
The other six returning elected members are William W. Gist IV, of Omaha, Neb.; William L. Katz, of Chatham Township, N.J.; Gene McClure, of Atlanta, Ga; Edward G. Michaels III, of Atlanta, Ga.; Diana M. Murphy, of St. Simons Island, Ga.; and James B. Williams, of Orinda, Calif.
There are four newly elected members of the Executive Committee for 2012: Karen S. Ammerman, M.D., of Webster, Mass.; William E. Fallon, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mark P. Reinemann, of Delafield, Wis.; and Gary R. Stevenson, of Lafayette, Calif.
Ammerman, 56, is a board-certified staff physician at Reliant Medical Group in Worcester, Mass., where she specializes in obstetrics and gynecology. She holds a medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and conducted her residency at West Virginia University Hospital. Since 2010, Ammerman has served on the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Committee. She has also been a member of the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts since 1993, serving on the organization’s Rules Committee since 2000. For the past 25 years, Ammerman has been a member at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Mass., where she has been women’s club champion five times.
Fallon, 57, is executive vice president for PNC Bank. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University. Fallon is a member of the USGA Regional Affairs Committee, and is a Rules official for the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association. He previously served as general chairman of the 2003 U.S. Amateur, group chairman of the 2007 U.S. Open and vice chairman of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open. Fallon is a member of Merion Golf Club, site of the 2013 U.S. Open; Oakmont Country Club, site of the 2016 U.S. Open; and Ballybunion Golf Club in County Kerry, Ireland.
Reinemann, 54, is vice president of global sales for ManpowerGroup, and earned both a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Reinemann is a member of the USGA Regional Affairs Committee, and served on the 2011 U.S. Amateur Committee. He is first vice president of the Wisconsin State Golf Association, where he has been a board member since 1997, and has also chaired the board of the U.S. Bank Championship. Reinemann is a five-time club champion and former Wisconsin public links champion. He is a member of Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Wisconsin and the Country Club of North Carolina.
Stevenson, 54, is a senior-level sports and entertainment marketing executive whose career spans 30 years. Currently, he serves as president of PAC-12 Enterprises. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of OnSport, a leading sports marketing and television consulting firm, which was acquired by Wasserman Media Group in 2007. Prior to founding OnSport, Stevenson served in a number of executive roles, including: president, NBA Properties Marketing and Media Group; and chief operating officer of Golf Channel. Stevenson earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and an MBA from George Washington University. Stevenson is a member of the President’s Council for the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst Resort, and serves on the board of the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Mark E. Newell, of McLean, Va., will continue to serve as the Association’s general counsel.
In addition to Hyler, three members of the Executive Committee retired at the 2012 Annual Meeting: Brigid Shanley Lamb, of Mendham, N.J.; Christopher A. Liedel, of Vienna, Va.; and Steve R. Smyers, of Lakeland, Fla.