The PGA of America replaced president Don Rea on Friday afternoon, moving Nathan Charnes from vice president to acting president until November. The association said the change followed a series of issues over time that it determined were detrimental to the organization.
Rea had been set to finish a two-year term in November, but his departure came after months of fallout from last September’s Ryder Cup, which the PGA of America ran. He drew criticism for remarks on the Sunday of the event, when he said fans booing at somebody does not make them play worse and that Americans having to control the crowd can distract from playing. He also said he had not heard some of the fan comments aimed at Rory McIlroy.
Rea tried to repair the damage the next day with a letter to PGA of America members. He said some of his comments were seen in a negative light and wrote that he truly apologized. McIlroy later said in November that Rea had reached out to apologize.
The Ryder Cup episode did not end there. Rea was recorded singing “Lose Yourself” by Eminem on Saturday night of the event, and video of the performance was circulated by The Fried Egg golf website. After Europe won the Ryder Cup 15-13, Rea also said the Europeans had retained the cup instead of winning it outright, a line that added to the scrutiny around him.
By February, the pressure had already begun to show in public. Golfweek’s Adam Schupak reported that Rea had been reassigned to handle member-first priorities. At last week’s PGA Championship, he was not publicly seen. Asked about the structure of the organization then, PGA of America CEO Terry Clark said Rea had been focused on “how we think about our membership” and that the association had asked him to keep his focus on the member side.
Clark’s remarks and Friday’s move point to the same conclusion: Rea’s role had been shrinking before it ended. The PGA of America framed the change as an internal decision tied to the good of the association, not as a routine handoff, and Charnes now takes over with only months left before the presidency was already due to turn over.
