PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The cold war is officially over.
On Nov. 13, the PGA of America honored former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman, 77, with its Distinguished Service Award, the association’s highest honor, at a ceremony in conjunction with the 99th PGA Annual meeting.
If Beman’s successor Tim Finchem and former PGA president Ted Bishop played the roles of President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev at a press conference in Sea Island, Ga., a few years ago, then Beman’s recognition marks the Berlin Wall coming down.
During Beman’s 20-year tenure as Tour commissioner, the two golf bodies often were gripped in bitter political squabbling.