DEATHS OF IMG CHAIRMAN TED FORSTMANN, JAPANESE LEGEND

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
Ted Forstmann, the billionaire buy-out maverick who orchestrated the acquisition of IMG, one of golf's most powerful management and media firms, died last Sunday from the effects of brain cancer, according to a company statement.
He was 71.
Long a high-profile player in mergers and acquisitions circles, Forstmann ascended into golf's hierarchy, too, almost overnight in 2005 when he led an investment-group takeover of IMG.
In addition to serving as chairman of the Cleveland-based company – which has dealings in nearly every facet of golf business, from player representation to tournament operations to TV – Forstmann's visibility increased because of his friendship with US PGA Tour players such as Vijay Singh and appearances at the AT and T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
IMG had become available to Forstmann after the death of agency founder Mark McCormack, the iconic marketer who managed Arnold Palmer's career and made him a household name.
During Forstmann's tenure at the helm of IMG, the company became increasingly profit-driven, with aims of an inevitable re-sale to reward investors.

LEGENDARY JAPANESE PLAYER DIES AT 74

Japanese golf legend Teruo Sugihara, who won 63 times worldwide in a career spanning more than 50 years, died today after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 74.
In 2006, at the age of 68, he became the oldest player to beat the halfway cut in a Japanese Tour event.