With the passing of former U.S. President Gerald Ford on Tuesday at the age of 93, you can expect to see many tributes commemorating his personal and political life. One of those tributes comes from the PGA Tour, which is honoring Ford as a passionate golfing enthusiast who may have contributed more to the sport than he did to American politics.
Even though Ford played college football at the University of Michigan, he turned down two offers from NFL teams so he could play golf instead. He regularly attended the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., where he lived, and he became good friends with Hope and Arnold Palmer. He was the honorary chairman of the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994, hosted his own celebrity pro-am tournament for 25 years, and participated in many tournaments that generated awareness and fundraising dollars for the PGA’s charities. “For all these contributions and for his personal qualities of integrity and honor, President Ford was a tremendous ambassador of golf. We’re indebted to him and we will miss him,” says PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.
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