NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — The PGA of America’s annual press conference the Wednesday of the PGA Championship drew more focus this year on who wasn’t there than for who was.
After PGA of America president Don Rea received blowback at multiple junctures of the 2025 season, including at the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup, the PGA announced this past February that Rea would move into a “member-first” role for the remainder of his two-year term, expiring at the end of the year.
New PGA of America CEO Terry Clark conducted Wednesday’s press conference at Aronimink Golf Club along with chief championships officer Kerry Haigh, and Clark sidestepped certain questions while doing little to quell the idea that Rea had received something of a demotion.
“I’ve been asked by the board to help represent the business of the association, and how we think about our membership is something that we continue to have Don focused on from that side,” Clark said. “I think I’m first of all gratified that I’ve been asked to take this today and handle with Kerry where we are.”
Pressed on whether Rea’s absence had to do with his actions at the Ryder Cup last fall, Clark replied, “Specifically, what we’ve asked is for Don to keep his focus on the member side, and we’ve tried to keep the right responsibilities across our distinct leaders in here. So that’s it.”
Rea came under fire for failing to apologize amid a raucous New York crowd hurling personal insults at Rory McIlroy and his family during the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Rea did later issue apologies, but he was also caught on video performing a karaoke version of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” on Saturday night of the Cup, when the U.S. trailed by seven points.
He ruffled feathers at the end of the matches, when Europe won 15-13 and Rea said Europe “retained” the Cup rather than won it outright during the trophy presentation.
And earlier in 2025, Rea was widely seen as overshadowing the PGA’s CEO at the time, Derek Sprague, at the PGA Championship press conference with his big personality.
The PGA confirmed in February that Rea was taken off the PGA Tour’s policy board. And Sports Business Journal reported that Rea was not expected to be on site at the PGA Championship this year.
There was another awkward moment Wednesday when Clark was asked what the PGA of America planned to do to keep the PGA Championship’s prize money in line with other majors and the PGA Tour’s signature events. Last year’s purse of $19 million ranked third among majors and sat behind the $20 million signature events.
“Obviously it’s something we look at every year,” Clark said. “We look at how do we continue to see purses at that point, and it’s something we make a decision on. So we’re making a decision on this week. I’ll let Kerry comment around this week’s purse.”
Later asked to follow up, Haigh deferred, saying, “The prize money is announced on Saturday morning.”
At least two things were certain. The PGA of America is not interested in returning the PGA Championship from May to August. And it does not support bifurcation — a two-tiered setup once proposed by the USGA and R&A, where regulation golf balls would be designed to fly shorter for professional and elite amateur competitions, while leaving balls alone for everyday players.
On the topic of the major’s place on the calendar, Clark admitted he has heard a lot of support to returning it to August (McIlroy said as much earlier this year).
“Some people really believe, ‘Gosh, you had an identity tied to August, and that’s different.’ Well, I actually think your identity is tied more than to just time, and we talked about some of those elements there,” Clark said. “I really think we’ve got a strong position in May. Certainly I’m always going to look at what could make us better, but not actively looking at should we look and move this to later or back to August.”
The PGA has long been the major with the least cohesive identity — formerly “Glory’s Last Shot” when it was the final major on the schedule, and once referred to as “the other one” by Geoff Ogilvy.
Clark would rather it be known for having the strongest field in golf, with 97 of the top 100 in the world rankings at Aronimink this week.
“When you look at what is really great about the PGA Championship, you start with that strength of field and how great it is,” Clark said. “This is the 108th edition. We’ve been at 75 different venues. Like that variety of venues and the test that that creates, new styles and old styles, et cetera, we think is really, really unique.”
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
