Jim Richerson, PGA of America Honorary President

PGA of America Honorary President
The Riviera Country Club &
The Riviera Tennis Club,
Pacific Palisades, California

PGA Honorary President Jim Richerson was named General Manager of
The Riviera Country Club & The Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, California, in 2021.
The iconic club, which was founded 95 years ago, has hosted numerous championships, highlighted by two PGA Championships and a U.S. Open. It is currently the home of the
Genesis Invitational, which is hosted by Tiger Woods, and will serve as the official golf course for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Richerson was elected President at the 104th PGA Annual Meeting in 2020. During his tenure, the game of golf experienced record participation and growth, which further elevated the role and stature of the PGA Professional. Previously, he was elected as Vice President in 2018.
When Richerson was elected Secretary as a member of the Wisconsin PGA Section in 2016,
he became the first Wisconsin PGA Member to be elected as a National Officer.

A member of the PGA Board of Directors from 2013-15, representing District 6, Richerson also served the Wisconsin PGA Section as an Officer & Board Member. In addition, he was chair of the Wisconsin Education Committee and a Board Member of the Wisconsin State Golf Association. During his term as District 6 Director, Richerson served as chair of the National Properties Committee, as a member of the National Budget and National Investment Committees, and as a PGA.com Advisory Board member. He was the recipient of the 2013 and 2016 Wisconsin PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award, the Section’s 2011 Horton Smith Award and the 2012 Bill Strausbaugh Award.

Prior to his role at The Riviera Country Club, Richerson served as Senior Vice President of Operations for Troon. Richerson was part of a team responsible for helping oversee the day-to-day management of Troon’s expanding portfolio, while serving 585-plus locations around the globe, including 630-plus 18-hole equivalent golf courses and 620-plus food and beverage operations, with properties located in 45-plus states and 30-plus countries.

Previously, he served as Kohler Co.’s General Manager & Director of Golf for more than 11 years, overseeing the operations at Whistling Straits & Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin and The Duke’s Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.  Richerson also played an integral role for Kohler Properties in conducting major golf championships. He was an Executive Committee Member of the 2007 U.S. Senior Open, the 2010 PGA Championship, the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, where he also served as the General Chair, and the 2015 PGA Championship.  Richerson spent the first 18 years of his career affiliated with the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Golf Corporation, holding various management and executive positions at golf properties in six states.

Richerson learned the game from his father, Bill, who coached golf at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University). Jim was a four-year letterman and captain of the golf team at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He was elected to PGA Membership in 1995. 

Richerson and his wife, Kristi, are the proud parents of a daughter, Mary-Claire.