Derek Sprague is the CEO of the PGA of America, with his appointment having been announced in late 2024 when he replaced Seth Waugh, but what is his background? Here are 10 things to know about him.
1. Derek Sprague attended James Madison University in Virginia between 1985 and 1988, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Marketing.
2. Sprague was the club pro for 26 years at Malone Golf Club in upstate New York.
3. He was named the Northeastern New York PGA Golf Professional of the Year three times, in 2005, 2008 and 2012.
4. In 2017, he was inducted into the Northeastern New York PGA Hall of Fame.
5. When he took on the new role, he became the first club professional in almost 20 years to become CEO after Jim Awtrey.
6. He was President of the PGA of America between 2014 and 2016, meaning he is the first person to hold both roles.
7. He has played golf with US President Donald Trump twice. In an interview with Golf.com, he was asked how the rounds had gone. He responded: "Nobody beats the President, I know that."
8. Starting in 2018, he had been general manager at TPC Sawgrass, and before that, he was the Managing Director of Liberty National.
9. He was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2019.
10. Sprague is not in favor of the golf ball rollback plan, saying: “I don't know one recreational golfer that wants to hit it shorter. I don't think we want 30 or 40 million golfers to go out and have to not only buy new golf balls, but now buy new equipment to match the new golf ball.”
