ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 2, 1994                   TAG: 9403020093
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PGA'S BEMAN STEPS DOWN

Deane Beman, who has presided over a 20-year period of enormous growth and prosperity, has decided to step down as commissioner of the PGA Tour.

Beman announced Tuesday he will not seek an extension of his contract, which runs through December, 1995.

"He has done a tremendous job. He has given us a period of growth and prosperity that was unbelievable a few years ago," said Peter Jacobsen, a former player-director on the PGA Tournament Policy Board.

"He will be missed. I don't think the players will realize what a great job he has done, nor how much he will be missed, until he leaves. The first thing I will say to him is: `Don't go. We need you.' "

Beman's announcement was made on the 20th anniversary of his appointment as successor to the late Joseph C. Dey, the Tour's first commissioner.

The 55-year-old Beman, a former U.S. and British Amateur champion and winner of four PGA Tour titles, said he hopes to compete in some Senior Tour events.

In Beman's 20-year run, tour purses grew from $8.2 million to more than $103 million this year.

Keywords:
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