Past PNGA President Cliff Shahbaz Nominated to 2016 USGA Executive Committee

The Nominating Committee of the United States Golf Association (USGA) has announced the nomination of Clifford J. Shahbaz, of Portland, Ore. to serve on the USGA Executive Committee for 2016. Shahbaz, who served as president of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) from 2007-2010, is the first Pacific Northwest native to serve on the USGA Executive Committee since Bruce Richards of Seattle, Wash. served on the committee from 2001-2005.

The election of officers and the 15-member USGA Executive Committee will take place Feb. 6, 2016, at the USGA’s Annual Meeting at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, Calif.

Retired Lt. Col. Shahbaz, a decorated Air Force pilot with two combat tours in Vietnam, is an instructor pilot for Boeing Training & Flight Services in Portland, Ore. He flew 28 years for United Airlines, retiring in 2006 as a B-747 captain. Shahbaz learned to play golf in high school and has dedicated more than 20 years as a volunteer to the PNGA and Oregon Golf Association as a Rules official. A member of the PNGA’s board of directors since 1998, during his tenure as PNGA president he assisted the Association in the purchase and management of The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. He is also a trustee of the Pacific Coast Golf Association, having served a one-year term as its president in 2012. Shahbaz is a nine-year member of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Committee, and he has supported the USGA as a Rules official at the U.S. Senior Open and several national amateur championships. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.

The Nominating Committee also announced the nomination of Diana M. Murphy, of St. Simons Island, Ga., to serve a one-year term as the 64th president of the USGA. Murphy, 59, is the second woman in the association’s 121-year history to be nominated as president, following Judy Bell, who served as USGA president in 1996 and 1997.

Two other current members of the Executive Committee have also been nominated to serve as officers. They are: Sheila C. Johnson, of Middleburg, Va., to continue as secretary, and George J. Still Jr., of Atherton, Calif., as treasurer.

The other 10 current members of the Executive Committee nominated to continue their service are: William E. Fallon, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; J. Stuart Francis, of Hillsborough, Calif.; C. Malcolm Holland III, of Dallas, Texas; G. Thomas Hough, of Atlanta, Ga.; Robert D. Kain, of Gates Mill, Ohio; Martha J. Lang, of Birmingham, Ala.; Gregory B. Morrison, of Duluth, Ga.; Asuka Nakahara, of Merion, Pa.; Mark E. Newell, of McLean, Va.; and Mark P. Reinemann, of Pewaukee, Wis.

Along with Shahbaz, J. Michael Bailey, of Salt Lake City, Utah was also nominated to serve on the USGA Executive Committee for 2016. Robert C. Weber, of Hobe Sound, Fla., has been nominated as general counsel.

Two current members of the Executive Committee will retire at the 2016 Annual Meeting: Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., of St. Louis, Mo.; and William W. (Skip) Gist IV, of Omaha, Neb. Ernest J. Getto, of Santa Barbara, Calif., will also retire as general counsel.