CEO Slumbers Awakens R&A from Near-Vegetative State

How ironic is it that the man engaged specifically to modernize and manage change in golf’s most influential governing body should be called ‘Slumbers,’ within an organization that has in effect sleepwalked its way through the past 250 years. But, as Mike Wilson finds out, change for the better is well underway in creating a venerable organization fit for purpose for the many challenges facing it in the 21st century

First prize of the Open rising from US$1.1m in 2010 to US$1.55m as Henrik Stenson won at the Royal Troon last year

Urbane, clubbable in the extreme, courteous, cautious and should the occasion demand it, curmudgeonly rather than approachable and about as far from devil-may-care is it’s possible to get, Dawson’s tenure came to an end, in 2016, having reached the sell-by date and some.

In fairness, and in large part because he knew who could unlock the Open Championship treasure trove, aka IMG, Dawson’s greatest legacy was to see the Open Championship just about retain its place as ‘First amongst equals,’ of the four ‘Majors’. First prize rising from US$450,000 in Dawson’s first year, when fellow-Aberdonian won the Claret Jug at Carnoustie, to US$1.1m when Louis Oosthuizen won at St. Andrews in 2010 and US$1.5m by the end of his tenure as Zach Johnston won in the rain at the Old Course.

And that, first-and-foremost is the primary responsibility of Martin Slumbers, a former director at global bankers Salomon Brothers, then Deutsche Bank, to maintain the status of the oldest of the four ‘Majors’, in term of historical reverence, which is a given, and secondly, hard cash, which it is not.

OK, post-Brexit plunges in the Pound have rendered the Open the least valuable of the four, ‘Majors,’ this year, but with this year’s US Open worth a whopping US$12m, Slumbers and his commercial team have their work cut out to claw back the difference, and more.

On Brexit, the 57-year-old Slumbers says, “I think it would be purely speculative to give a view on the impact of Brexit on golf at this stage,” adding, “We will continue to monitor developments in the months and years to come, but our focus will remain on fulfilling our governance responsibilities, delivering successful championships and supporting the development of the sport in a sustainable fashion.”

The two-handicapper takes a distinctly business-orientated approach to the organization and his role within it.

“We implemented a five-year strategic plan last year and are working towards our goals of developing The Open as one of the world’s great sporting events, maximising its commercial potential to enable us to invest £200 million in the sport over the next ten years and working with our partners to ensure effective global governance of the sport,” he says.

Slumbers adds, “I worked in the city for 30 years and learned a lot about the world of business in that time [and] it is so important to work with people to help them achieve their full potential,” explaining, “The R&A has such a key role to play in golf globally [so] I hope to be able to contribute some of my ideas and experience to the organisation at the same time as building on the hugely impressive range of skills and expertise of the team here. My management style is based around teams with a strong focus on delivery.”

The R&A CEO welcomed golf’s return to the Olympic fold after an 112-year hiatus, explaining, “I think you saw how much it meant to Justin Rose and Inbee Park to win Gold Medals and the players who were there thoroughly enjoyed being part of the whole Olympic experience.

“One of the key benefits of Olympic golf is the number of young people watching around the world who will have seen golf being part of the games and wanted to try it [and] it is this breadth of viewership which is very difficult to replicate outside of the Olympics.

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