Deane Beman

Height: 5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m)

Weight: 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)

Birthday: April 22, 1938

College: University of Maryland

Year turned pro: 1967

Birthplace: Washington, D.C. USA

Country: USA

Sponsor: –

Beman was born in 1938, and has had a life dedicated to golf, both as a player and as a golf course architect. Before he turned professional, Beman studied at the University of Maryland where he played golf, and was two time All-American.

After graduating from college, Beman initially had a career in insurance, before turning professional in 1967. Between 1969 and 1973, Beman achieved four wins on the PGA Tour. He was known for being one of the best putters in the game. After his initial success, Beman suffered from injuries which ended his career as a player, but didn’t end his involvement with golf.

After retiring as a player, Beman became Commissioner of the PGA Tour. During his time as Commissioner, Beman introduced The Players Championship. He also introduced the concept of Tour branded clothing, increasing revenue. As well as converting the Tour into a 501-c6 organization, Beman also introduced pension plans for players.

During Beman’s time as Commissioner the charitable contributions made by the Tour increased from less than $1 million per year to more than $30 million per year. He also created both the Senior PGA Tour, which is now known as the Champions Tour, and the Ben Hogan Tour, which is now known as the Web.com Tour. The former is aimed at players who have turned 50, and the latter is a developmental circuit. Beman retired as Commissioner in 1994, at which point the PGA Tour had reported assets of $260 million, in comparison with the $400,000 reported assets it had in 1974 when Beman took over.

Beman played on the Senior PGA Tour after he resigned as Commissioner, and he still plays golf most days.
As of the end of 2014, Beman had achieved four wins on the PGA Tour, amassing total prize money of $356,704.