Keith Pelley's first day as Chief Exec of 

European Tour

NEWS RELEASE
A new era in golf unfolds today – Monday August 3 – when Keith Pelley officially begins his tenure as Chief Executive of The European Tour.

The 51 year old Canadian will bring not only his extensive business pedigree across the Atlantic, but also his in-depth knowledge of professional sport and media, having worked across both industries for the past 30 years.

Latterly President of the Rogers Media conglomerate in Canada, Pelley was also President of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Earlier in his career he was CEO of the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, during which the team won the championship title in his first year of leadership.

“I said back in April, when news of my impending appointment was released, that I was proud and honoured to be joining The European Tour as its new Chief Executive and those feelings resonated once again when I walked through the front door for the first time officially this morning,” said Pelley.

“Over these past three months I have travelled and spoken to many people involved with The European Tour and I have been encouraged to find that the Tour already has a highly regarded reputation worldwide – naturally I will be seeking to build and expand on that in the years ahead.

“I have also seen how our European Tour members have excelled on the global stage in recent years and it is appropriate that my first two weeks at the helm sees them vie for a World Golf Championship title in Ohio and a Major Championship in Wisconsin. Naturally I wish them all well in that quest.

“Finally, I have spent the majority of my career working in the media and I was therefore delighted to meet many of the guys who cover our sport on a regular basis during my trip to Wentworth in May. As I said then, I look forward to getting to know them all and working together with them to help promote The European Tour in the future.”

Pelley will become only the fourth Chief Executive in the history of The European Tour, following in the footsteps of the Tour’s original founding father John Jacobs OBE (1971 – 1974), Ken Schofield CBE (1975 – 2004) and George O’Grady CBE (2005 – 2015).

David Williams, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The European Tour, said, “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to welcome Keith officially as our new Chief Executive. His experience as a senior business leader and team builder, his extensive media and broadcast background and his interest in sport all fit perfectly with our agenda moving forward.

“As he has seen for himself already first hand, this is an exciting time for The European Tour. We have some of the best players in the world alongside some of the most exciting tournaments and I know Keith will build on the framework put in place by George O’Grady over the past ten years.”

Thomas Bjørn, a 15-time winner on The European Tour and Chairman of the Tournament Committee, said: “On behalf of the players, I am very pleased to welcome Keith as our new Chief Executive. Having spoken with him on numerous occasions I am very much aware of the desire he possesses to drive the Tour forward in every direction, which can only be good news for everyone associated with European golf.

“Personally, I am also delighted that the first regular European Tour event he will attend will be the Made in Denmark tournament in Farsø later this month. I look forward not only to welcoming him to the Himmerland Resort that week, but also to working alongside him in the future.” 

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