Derek Sprague isn’t just changing jobs — he’s making history.
The TPC Sawgrass general manager is moving on after six years running the PGA Tour’s flagship club, and he’s back where he started, in the PGA of America.
This time, he’s at the top.
Sprague was announced on Friday as the new CEO of the governing body of PGA club professionals, which also owns the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship. The Malone, N.Y., native replaces Seth Waugh and is the first man to ever to be the PGA’s CEO and its President, the latter position an unpaid volunteer position that serves as the liaison between the PGA’s executive leadership and the membership.
Golfweek first reported the news before the PGA released it.
”I have cherished being a PGA of America club professionals and serving our members and associates as a board member and officer,” Sprague said in a statement. “To now serve the associates as CEO is a tremendous honor. It is my task, alongside the officers and board, to elevate the profession of more than 30,000 PGA of America golf professionals while ensuring the health of our organization and its relationships within the industry.”
Sprague has been a PGA member since 1993 and is the first Class A professional in the organization’s top executive position since Jim Awtrey in 2006.
After graduating from James Madison University, where he played on the golf team, Sprague returned to his hometown to work at the Malone Golf Club for 26 years as the director of golf and general manager.
He began serving in the PGA leadership in 1998 and is a past Northeastern New York Section President and a member of the PGA board from 2007-2010. He is a two-time section professional of the year, four-time Section Bill Strasbaugh Award winner and two-time merchandiser of the year.
Sprague was the PGA President for a two-year term from 2014-2016, where he oversaw the sport’s growth through initiatives such as the PGA Junior League and the PGA’s role in Augusta National’s Drive, Chip and Putt contest. He also chaired the Ryder Cup Task Force.
Sprague was inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame in 2019. Prior to coming to the TPC Sawgrass he was the managing director of the Liberty National Golf Club, which hosted the Presidents Cup in 2017.
“Derek is the consummate PGA of America Golf Professional,” said current PGA President Don Rea Jr., in a statement. “To have a leader at the helm who knows every detail of the Association and what it means to be a PGA of America member will enable our association to succeed far into the future.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: TPC Sawgrass general manager Derek Sprague named PGA of America CEO
