PGA Tour honors former president for impact on golf

	An avid sports fan, Gerald Ford also stayed active as a sportsman, keeping fit with golf, tennis, running and skiing, to name a few. AP

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- The PGA Tour has paid a glowing tribute to former U.S. President and golfing enthusiast Gerald Ford, who died on Tuesday aged 93.

Ford, whose brief presidency is remembered mainly for his controversial pardon of Richard Nixon, had a lifelong love affair with the game and regularly attended the Tour's Bob Hope Classic in California.

"In addition to all his well-documented public accomplishments, President Ford made tremendous contributions to the game of golf," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement on Wednesday.

"His support included participation in many of our pro-ams and, in so doing, helped to generate awareness and significant dollars for our tournament charities."

Ford, who had a home in the Palm Springs area where the Bob Hope Classic has been held since 1960, made his debut in the tournament as a competitor in 1977.

In 1995, he joined former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush and defending champion Scott Hoch in a heavyweight celebrity grouping, Clinton becoming the first sitting U.S. president to play in a PGA Tour event.

Ford was also honorary chairman at the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994 when the U.S. beat the Internationals 20-12 in the Ryder Cup-style event.

"His presence and involvement was instrumental in launching the Presidents Cup with an aura of sportsmanship and integrity and helped establish a tone for the event that continues today," Finchem added.

TREMENDOUS AMBASSADOR

"For all these contributions and for his personal qualities of integrity and honour, President Ford was a tremendous ambassador for golf. We're indebted to him and we will miss him."

A talented American football centre at the University of Michigan, Ford turned down offers from two NFL teams after graduation before establishing his unwavering love of golf.

He befriended golfing great Arnold Palmer and played in several PGA Tour events over the years, among them the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic, now called the Honda Classic, and the St. Jude Classic, where he produced a hole-in-one.

He hosted his own celebrity pro-am, the Jerry Ford Invitational, in Vail, Colorado, for 25 years. Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural title and donated the entire $10,000 first prize back to the organising committee.

He frequently generated newspaper headlines with some of his less successful golfing exploits. On several occasions, he struck spectators with errant tee shots, among them a 71-year-old woman who needed 10 stitches for a cut on her nose.

Good friend and fellow golfing enthusiast Bob Hope made Ford the butt of some of his jokes.

"He's easy to spot on the golf course," Hope said. "He drives the golf cart with the red cross painted on top."

Along similar lines, Hope added: "It's not hard to find Jerry Ford on a golf course. You just follow the wounded."

Ford, the oldest living U.S. president before he died of undisclosed causes at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, took Hope's good-natured humour in his stride.

"I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators," he often said with a smile.

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