Rickman Rules With Christer Lindberg Bowl Award3 min read

CPG ANNUAL AWARDS SUPPORTED BY ROLEX

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Former Executive Director – Governance and Chief of Staff of The R&A, David Rickman MBE, has been awarded one of the CPG’s highest honours, the Christer Lindberg Bowl.

The award recognises those that have had a significant impact upon the world of golf, and there may be no better example than the man who oversaw the governance of the sport in collaboration with his colleagues from the USGA for 37 years.

“It is a huge honour to receive the award, particularly when I look at the list of illustrious past winners and see names such as Sir Michael Bonallack, Peter Dawson and John Paramor who I worked with both on and off the course,” said Rickman during his acceptance speech that was shown during the CPG Festival of Golf at Saïdia Resorts in Morocco.

“I have many happy memories of working with the team at the CPG for many years as part of our work in the governance of the game…and of course working with the Member Countries. The R&A’s responsibilities are wide and we take them very seriously, and we can only do the best job for our sport by understanding the perspectives from each country across the world to help us understand the global game. I am hugely thankful to be recognised by the CPG and all these countries.”

The Christer Lindberg Bowl was created in recognition of the CPG’s first Chairman, providing acknowledgement to individuals and organisations that embody passion and influence within golf and have dedicated themselves to servicing the sport.

Rickman has been a part of, and for over 25 years was at the helm of, The R&A’s governance function, probably most commonly associated with the rules of golf, but also including Amateur Status, equipment standards, and handicapping.

His responsibilities also increased towards the end of his tenure incorporating HR and facilities functions and has even been instrumental in developing the new R&A staff building in St Andrews, at which he recently had the honour of breaking first ground using a special 1890s Bogey hole cutter provided by The R&A‘s World Golf Museum.

Rickman has been a familiar face with the CPG and its Member Countries having been hugely supportive with the organisation’s development since its beginnings in the early 90s, including various occasions to connect with PGAs and PGA Professionals at events and conferences, and more recently with the extensive consultations with the PGA community around updates to the Rules of Amateur Status.

Since joining in 1987, Rickman has also become a familiar sight at the world’s greatest amateur and professional tournaments with no less than 34 Open Championships under his belt, 28 of those as Chief Referee.

Working at over 130 events including the Masters Tournaments, US Opens, Walker Cups, and many more, it was his eighth AIG Women’s Open where he finally hung up his stopwatch at where other than St Andrews last August.

Most recently, just after his retirement had begun, Rickman was also recognised by the King Charles III and the UK royal family with an MBE, one of the highest honours a Briton can receive, for his services to golf.

To find out more about the Annual Awards and the Festival of Golf visit cp.golf/festival.