In 1975, Florida Gator Golfer Fred Ridley set his career in motion by winning the U.S. Amateur, the preeminent amateur golf tournament in the United States, on the James River Course of the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. He defeated Keith Fergus in the 36-hole final, having beaten Curtis Strange and Andy Bean in previous rounds of the match-play championship.
Ridley was a member of the U.S. World Amateur Eisenhower Trophy team in 1976, and the U.S. Walker Cup team in 1977. In the 1977 Walker Cup, he won two singles matches (both against Sandy Lyle) and lost his foursomes match. He also won the Monroe Invitational in 1976. He served as captain of the U.S. Walker Cup teams in 1987 and 1989, and of the U.S. World Amateur team in 2010. He played in three Masters Tournaments and a U.S. Open as an amateur. Internationally, Ridley competed in the British Open in 1976 and the British Amateur in 1977 and 1987. Ridley was elected president of the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 2004, and served as the co-chairman of the International Golf Federation. Over the years, he has been elected as a member of virtually every board and committee in the USGA. Ridley, who is a member of Augusta National Golf Club, served as the competition committee chairman for The Masters in 2011. On August 23, 2017, Augusta National announced that Ridley would succeed Billy Payne as chairman of the club,officially taking over when the club reopened for its 2017–18 season on October 16. Ridley remains the last U.S. Amateur champion to have never become a professional golfer.
