George O’Grady steps down as European Tour chief
FIRST Alex Salmond, now George O’Grady. In stepping down from their respective positions as First Minister and European Tour chief executive, Scottish golf is about to lose two-thirds of the team that has helped establish a bright future for the flagship event in the game’s cradle.
Along with Aberdeen Asset Management chief executive Martin Gilbert, Salmond and O’Grady not only safeguarded the future of the Scottish Open following the withdrawal of Barclays but breathed new life into it by agreeing on a policy that is now seeing the tournament being staged on links courses.
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Hide AdThere’s little doubt that Salmond and Gilbert were the main driving forces behind that shrewd move, one, of course, that has seen Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy all become Open champions the week after using the Scottish Open – at Castle Stuart in the first three instances then Royal Aberdeen in the latter – as the perfect preparation for the game’s oldest major.
However, O’Grady shared the duo’s joy and enthusiasm about the event’s profile being raised another notch as Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, triumphed in the Granite City in July and, likewise, echoed their excitement about it being held at Gullane next summer then, after a return to Inverness in 2016, heading to the West of Scotland the following year.
Together, the trio have been responsible for the Scottish Open going from strength to strength, with discussions having been opened in August to extend Aberdeen Asset Management’s title sponsorship by another three years until 2020.
According to Salmond, his pending departure will have no impact on that and O’Grady’s successor certainly won’t mind stepping into a job where a contract is in place for one of the Tour’s top events for another six years.
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It will be a challenge for the new man, though, to match the warmth Singapore-born O’Grady has shown towards Scottish golf since stepping up to succeed Ken Schofield just under a decade ago.
In 2011, for instance, he joined Stephen Gallacher, Paul Lawrie and Andrew Coltart at Edinburgh Castle to herald the launch of Team Scottish Hydro, the initiative that has since helped the likes of Craig Lee and Chris Doak secure a foothold on the European Tour.
O’Grady’s presence that day added credence to the project and, while matches at both The K Club in Ireland and Celtic Manor in Wales also came under his watch, it seems as though another visit to Scotland, for the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles earlier in the year, delivered the perfect send-off for the 65-year-old after 40 years in total with the Wentworth-based organisation.
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Hide Ad“In the aftermath of what I believe to have been the best presented Ryder Cup since my first involvement in the contest at Royal Lytham in 1977, I felt this was the right time to ask the Board to begin the search for my successor,” said O’Grady in confirming his decision to step down.
In truth, he was probably tempted to walk away a year past May after finding himself dragged into Sergio Garcia’s “fried chicken” jibe towards Tiger Woods. In a live television interview, O’Grady spoke about Garcia’s “coloured athlete” friends and was hammered for those comments. He later described the experience as “very sobering”.
By seeing out the storm, O’Grady was able to watch the Tour’s new $30 million (£18.8m) Final Series get off the ground a year ago, when he also announced a new multi-million pound contract with Rolex as well as another significant one with Emirates Airlines.
On the downside, some key events, particularly in Spain, have been lost in recent seasons while Volvo announced recently that it is no longer sponsoring either the Golf Champions or World Match Play Championship. But tournaments will come and go under his successor, with O’Grady believing that person will be picking up the reins at a good time.
“It is my firm belief that, coming towards the end of what has been another incredibly successful season, we are now seeing the green shoots of recovery across Europe and I am pleased that this coincides with all our building blocks, in terms of key television and sponsorship contracts, being in place,” he said.
“I have agreed with the Board to stay not only for the time it takes to appoint a new CEO but also for sufficient additional time after that to see them properly settled in. The Board also agreed that, at that stage, I will take up a role as President of International Relations which will see me represent the European Tour through the Olympic Games in 2016.”
The search for O’Grady’s replacement is already under way, with David Williams, who took over from the long-serving Neil Coles as the Tour’s chairman last December, having tasked the Nominations Committee, chaired by David Jones, to find the right person to lead a 155-strong staff at its Wentworth HQ.
“The Tour is now embarking on a new phase in its development and that is why George has considered that it is the right time to ask the Nominations Committee to find his successor,” said Williams, who has been carrying out a root-and-branch review of every aspect of the Tour over the past 11 months.
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