March 2, 2011 – The United States Golf Association has named Mike Davis as its new executive director. Davis has been with the USGA since 1990, most recently as the Senior Director of Rules & Competitions, and succeeds Met Area native David Fay, who retired in December after 21 years at the helm of the world’s most influential golf organization.

Davis, 46, becomes only the seventh executive director in the USGA’s 117-year history.

“I am humbled and extremely grateful to the United States Golf Association for the trust and confidence it has placed in me as executive director,” said Davis. “I am passionate about the USGA and its mission. The work of the association is done by thousands of volunteers and hundreds of staff, whose collective efforts truly help better the game that so many of us love.”

Davis is a central Pennsylvania native who has held a variety of posts within the USGA’s championship department. He was chosen in 2005 to succeed Tom Meeks as Senior Director of Rules and Competitions, a job in which Davis was responsible for conducting the USGA’s 13 individual championships and four team championships, as well as overseeing the Rules of Golf Department. His course setups for the U.S. Open and other USGA championships have garnered near-universal praise.

Read the Q&A with Mike Davis in the current issue of The Met Golfer.

In addition to his championship duties, Davis has spoken at several Rules seminars around the country, including those conducted by the MGA each spring. Davis last appeared at the MGA/Met PGA Rules Workshop in 2006, when the U.S. Open was held at Winged Foot Golf Club. It was that year that Davis implemented several of the course setup elements, such as graduated rough and the movement of teeing grounds, that have become standard practice at USGA championships in the years since.

As two of the nation’s oldest and most important amateur golf associations, the MGA and USGA have enjoyed a close working relationship for more than 100 years. The MGA annually conducts local and sectional qualifying for USGA national championships, and has worked closely with Davis on a number of occasions.