Fred Perpall was elected president of the USGA on Saturday, becoming the first Black man to hold the position in the 128-year history of the organisation.
Perpall, 47, of Dallas, was nominated in December and most recently served on the USGA executive committee as the president-elect. His election to the three-year term was made official at the USGA’s Annual Meeting in Napa, California.
“We talk too much about what separates us, and not enough about what unites us. In golf, we’re a community,” Perpall said as he spoke to the USGA’s Member Clubs, Allied Golf Associations and invited guests on Saturday. “When we lean in together, when we include more people in the game, not only will the game get better, but our lives will get better, too.”
A native of the Bahamas who played basketball and ran track at the University of Texas at Arlington and was a member of the 1994 Bahamian national basketball tea, Perpall replaces outgoing president Stu Francis, whose term expired at the end of 2023. He has worked on the Executive Committee since 2019, most recently chairing the Championship Committee and helping launch the inaugural US Adaptive Open last year.
“The USGA is stronger with global business leaders like Fred on our board,” said Mike Whan, USGA chief executive. “Beyond his work with golf in the last three years, Fred clearly loves the game and wants to leave it better than he found it. We couldn’t ask for better energy to propel our strategy and mission, and we’re rolling up our sleeves with that inspiration and drive to guide us.”
There were three new members elected to the executive committee: Leslie Henry of Houston, Texas; Bryan Lewis of South Haven, Michigan; and Michael McCarthy of San Francisco, California.
They join current committee members Tony Anderson of Chicago, Illinois; Chuck Brymer of Rancho Santa Fe, California; Sinclair Eaddy Jnr, of Baltimore, Maryland; Cathy Engelbert of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey; Kendra Graham of Winter Park, Florida; Kevin Hammer of Boynton Beach, Flordia; Deborah Platt Majoras of Cincinnati, Ohio; Tony Petitti of Irvington, New York; and Sharon Ritchey of Longboat Key, Florida.
