Pete Bevacqua

Peter B. Bevacqua is an American sports executive. Currently the Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of America, Bevacqua guides the business decisions of one of the world’s largest sports organizations, serving the Association’s 28,000 PGA professionals.^[1] The PGA of America is the association that oversees the U.S. team in the biennial Ryder Cup competition and the PGA Championship, one of golf’s four majors, in addition to other championship events.

Professional career

Bevacqua was named to his current position in November 2012 and was signed to a contract extension in March 2016 that will carry him through 2021.^[2]

The contract extension came after a series of successful moves:

In 2015, Bevacqua spearheaded an unprecedented partnership between the PGA, LPGA (Ladies Professional Golfers Association) and KPMG to launch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the first women’s major championship in the PGA of America’s history.

In 2014, the PGA of America designed and implemented a long-term strategic plan that focused on two main goals: To better serve the PGA member and to grow the game. Alan Shipnuck of Golf.com described Bevacqua’s vision as, “... growing the game to create more opportunities for PGA pros, embracing new technology to make the membership more relevant, and improving communication with the national headquarters to make the pros feel more valued.”^[3]

In October 2013, Bevacqua successfully negotiated a 15-year media rights extension through 2030 with NBC Sports Group for the Ryder Cup, Senior PGA Championship and PGA Professional Championship.

Growing the game is at or near the top of Bevacqua’s goals as PGA CEO. In March 2016, when a National Golf Foundation report pointed to a modest drop in participation, Bevacqua responded with a commentary in Golf Digest, writing:

“Overall, the number of junior golfers (ages 6-17) in the United States continues to climb, with a total of 3 million juniors playing golf in 2015. This is up from 2.5 million in 2010. Think about that: Today, 500,000 more children and teenagers are choosing to get up off the couch and tee it up than five years ago. That figure outpaces growth in all other major sports. I started playing the game at a young age and never left. The majority of these kids will stay with the game for their lifetimes.”^[4]

In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, Bevaqua wrote, “Participation in PGA Junior League Golf—a team format for boys and girls 13 and under—has increased 233% since 2013. We had 500,000 more kids in the game in 2015 than we did just five years ago. One reason we’re attracting so many new players is the work of PGA professionals, who are not only regarded as the best instructors in the game, but the most dedicated advocates for grass-roots growth.” ^[5]

Bevacqua also aims to capitalize on the popularity of golf’s current group of young superstars, such as Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson.

“It is a great moment in time now (2015) where we have these young superstars who are engaging, approachable and undeniably athletic,” Bevacqua told The Sports Business Journal. “They are young and in the prime of their careers and to see them duking it out on a grand stage gets everyone excited about that game and that is what we need. We have already started to see the impact on growing the game.”^[6]

Bevacqua also helped secure agreements to bring the PGA Championship to historic public courses at Bethpage Black in New York (2019) and TPC Harding Park in San Francisco (2020). The event at TPC Harding Park will mark the PGA Championship’s first venture to America’s West Coast since 1998. Bethpage Black will also host the Ryder Cup in 2024.

Bevacqua was appointed as the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors’ Chairman in 2015. He also is co-chair of the United States Ryder Cup Task Force, a leadership team member for the PGA World Alliance, and he contributed to the International Golf Federation’s work to return golf to the Olympics, beginning with the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, he is as a board member of RISE, an alliance of sports organizations that promote racial equality. In 2009, Bevacqua was named to the “Forty Under 40” class by Sports Business Journal.

Prior to joining the PGA in 2012, Bevacqua served as Global Head of Golf at Creative Arts Agency (CAA Sports). Before that stop, he spent 11 years with the United States Golf Association (USGA). He served as the USGA’s in-house counsel for two years and then was made managing director of U.S. Open Championships.

In 2009, Bevacqua was elevated to the USGA’s chief business officer position, a job he held until leaving for the CAA three years later.

Bevacqua graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Notre Dame in 1993. He earned a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center, graduating cum laude in 1997. He began his professional career as a legal associate at Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP in New York City before joining the USGA in 2001.

Early life

Bevacqua grew up as a multi-sport athlete in Bedford, New York, a New York City suburb in Westchester County. The youngest of five children (with four older sisters), he was introduced to the game of golf at a young age by his father, Arthur, who was a dentist. He began caddying at the local golf club in Bedford at age 10 and continued to work there as a caddie and pro shop manager all the way through his college summers while attending Notre Dame. Bevacqua's golf training “was enhanced by Walt Ronan, the charismatic head pro at Bedford Golf and Tennis Club.”

Bevacqua attended Brunswick School in nearby Greenwich, Connecticut, where he was valedictorian, senior class president and all-league in football, basketball and golf.^[7] He was a walk-on punter for head football coach Lou Holtz during his collegiate days at Notre Dame.^[8]

Personal

At the 33rd Annual March of Dimes Sports Luncheon in New York, Bevacqua was honored with the 2016 Sports Leadership Award. ^[9] Bevacqua and his wife, Tiffany, have one daughter and two sons.^[10]

References