Jared Rice to lead business development for PGA TOUR’s Championship Management division
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced today that Lee Smith has been named Executive Director of THE PLAYERS Championship and replaces Jared Rice, who has taken a new role leading business development for the TOUR’s Championship Management portfolio of events.
Smith comes to THE PLAYERS Championship after spending the last five years as General Manager at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he was instrumental in helping the PGA TOUR contest THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2019 and 2021. While overseeing an onsite staff of nearly 150 team members at the club, he secured the LPGA Tour’s Mizuho Americas Open, which will debut at Liberty National in June. Since 2008, Smith has been a key member of the TPC Network, serving as Head Golf Professional at TPC Sugarloaf outside Atlanta; General Manager of TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas; and Regional Director of Operations for TPC Networks, a role he held concurrently with his position at Liberty National. He has been a Class A member of the PGA of America for more than 20 years.
“My time with the TPC Network and Liberty National Golf Club has been a wonderful chapter of my career, and I cannot thank those teams enough for their unwavering support of this opportunity,” said Smith. “I’m excited to transition to Ponte Vedra Beach to help build on the tremendous momentum THE PLAYERS Championship has established in recent years. We will continue to elevate the experience for our players, partners and fans, while ensuring the Northeast Florida community benefits immensely from those efforts.”
Originally from Illinois, Smith received a B.S. degree in Sport Management from Southeast Missouri State University (where he was a four-year letter winner on the men’s golf team) before later attending the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where he earned a Masters in Sports Law & Business. He will relocate to Florida from New Jersey in the coming months.
“We are delighted for Lee to transition into his new role as Executive Director of THE PLAYERS Championship, where he will be a tremendous leader for our tournament team as well as the Northeast Florida community,” said Matt Rapp, Senior Vice President of Championship Management. “His vast years of experience leading TPC properties through championship events, while initiating future growth opportunities, made him a perfect selection for this vital role at the PGA TOUR.”
Rice, who has served as Executive Director of THE PLAYERS and Senior Vice President, Tournament Revenue for Championship Management since November of 2016, will focus exclusively on the latter in his new role as Senior Vice President, Sales & Market Development for Championship Management. That portfolio of events currently includes the Sentry Tournament of Champions, PLAYERS Championship, FedEx St. Jude Championship, TOUR Championship and the Presidents Cup.
“Jared’s tenure leading THE PLAYERS has allowed the PGA TOUR’s premier championship to grow into one of the elite global events in sports. Under his leadership, THE PLAYERS produced a first-class experience for our players and fans, and we’re looking forward to his next chapter in growing the Championship Management part of our business,” said Rapp.
Under his guidance, Rice orchestrated the tournament transition from May back to March in 2019; guided THE PLAYERS through the 2020 cancellation due to Covid-19 and the PGA TOUR’s first event to host fans at scale in 2021; doubled the number of national partners; and furthered the event’s long-standing charitable impact, including a $2 million gift last fall to fund the complete redesign and expansion of the Nemours Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Jacksonville.
THEPLAYERS.comFacebookTwitterInstagram
About THE PLAYERS Championship
THE PLAYERS Championship annually combines the strongest field in golf with the world-class venue that is THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Morgan Stanley, Comcast Business and Optum® are the exclusive Proud Partners of THE PLAYERS. Proceeds from THE PLAYERS benefit Northeast Florida charities and have totaled more than $110 million since it began in 1974 and moved to Ponte Vedra Beach in 1977. For more on THE PLAYERS, visit THEPLAYERS.com. For more on the surrounding areas, visit floridashistoriccoast.com or visitjacksonville.com.
About Optum
Optum is a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 210,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). For more information, visit www.Optum.com.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 42 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit http://www.morganstanley.com.
About Comcast Business
Comcast Business offers a suite of Connectivity, Communications, Networking, Cybersecurity, Wireless, and Managed Solutions to help organizations of different sizes prepare for what’s next. Powered by the nation’s largest Gig-speed broadband network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is the nation’s largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and one of the leading service providers to the Enterprise market. Comcast Business has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and associations as a leader and innovator, and one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services.
For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social
CONTACTS:
Miranda Rossum, THE PLAYERS, 407-492-1399, mirandarossum@pgatourhq.com
Stewart Moore, PGA TOUR, 904-540-2765, stewartmoore@pgatourhq.com
