Nathan Charnes, the vice president of golf’s PGA of America who has been serving as acting president in recent months, has been elected to the role permanently.
Charnes becomes the organization’s 45th president and succeeds Don Rea Jr., who was stood down from the role in May following a series of missteps during the 2025 Ryder Cup team competition.
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At the time, the PGA of America’s board of directors announced a leadership transition on the back of Rea's suspension for the last six months of his two-year term.
As part of the change, Charnes was promoted to acting president, while PGA secretary Eric Eshleman, was named interim vice president and has served in a dual role until the election took yesterday.
Eshleman was also elected as the PGA of America’s new permanent vice president, while Jared Barnes was elected secretary.
Charnes will now serve a two-year term representing the organization's more than 30,000 PGA professionals.
He has been involved extensively with the PGA of America for more than 20 years, both locally and nationally.
Rea was elected president of the PGA of America in November 2024 to replace John Lindert, but drew negative headlines in September 2025 for dismissing the abusive and expletive-laden comments thrown at the European team and golfer Rory McIlroy during the Ryder Cup tournament at Bethpage Black.
Responding to a question about the abuse by UK public service broadcaster, the BBC, Rea said: “Well, you’ve got 50,000 people here that are really excited and, heck, you could go to a youth soccer game and get some people who say the wrong thing.
“It happened when we were in Rome [in 2023] on the other side, and Rory understands … things like that are going to happen, and I don't know what was said. But all I know is golf is the engine of good.”
The ensuing public backlash over the remarks saw PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague apologize to McIlroy and his wife, Erica, who was also subjected to abuse.
A week later, Rea then apologized in an email to PGA of America members, stating “some fan behavior clearly crossed the line” and was “disrespectful, inappropriate, and not representative of who we are as the PGA of America or as PGA of America golf professionals.”
In the email, he admitted that he didn't represent the PGA of America “in the best light with some of my comments.”
Rea also fell under scrutiny for an awkward trophy presentation to the European team for announcing they had retained the Ryder Cup rather than won it, as well as viral clips showing him singing karaoke on the Saturday night of the tournament while the US team was losing.
After the Ryder Cup, Rea was removed from the PGA Tour Policy Board and disappeared from public appearances on behalf of the PGA of America.
Sprague, meanwhile, was announced as the PGA of America’s chief executive in December 2024, becoming the first former president to take up the role.
Sprague served as president from 2014 to 2016 and as honorary president from 2016 to 2018. He also previously served as the PGA vice president and served a two-year term as PGA secretary.
He took over from Seth Waugh, who retired after his contract ended on June 30, 2024.
