Editor’s note: The original April 2023 version of this article was lost. The Lee Daily Register rebuilt it in October 2026 from the sources cited below. Fred Ridley’s personal net worth has not been made public, and this article does not estimate it.
As the Masters gets underway, the man who runs it has one of the most unusual résumés in golf: a former U.S. Amateur champion who chose a law career over the professional tour. Fred Ridley has been chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament since 2017.
The amateur who said no to the tour
Ridley played on the University of Florida golf team from 1970 to 1974 and earned a business degree there in 1974, according to a 2022 profile by UF’s Warrington College of Business. In 1975 he won the U.S. Amateur, beating eight opponents including future major champion Curtis Strange and Andy Bean, days before returning to law school at Stetson University. Stetson allowed a sabbatical so he could play the Masters and U.S. Open invitations that came with the title, the profile says.
He later captained the U.S. Walker Cup team in 1987 and 1989.
A Tampa real estate lawyer
After about three years at the sports management firm IMG in Cleveland, Ridley returned to Tampa in 1980 to practice law. He joined Foley & Lardner, where he chaired the firm’s national real estate practice and served on its management committee, according to the UF profile. He has also served on the board of Starwood Property Trust, and in February 2021 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to the University of Florida Board of Trustees.
From the USGA to Augusta National
Ridley joined the U.S. Golf Association’s Executive Committee in 1994 and later served as its president. In 2006 he became chairman of the Masters Competition and Rules committees, a post he held until succeeding Billy Payne as chairman of Augusta National in 2017, the profile says.
What about his net worth?
Augusta National is a private club, and Ridley’s personal finances are not public. The Lee Daily Register found no verifiable source for a net worth figure. What is on the record is a long career as a partner at a large national law firm and a seat on a public company’s board.
What happened next
Ridley was still chairman of Augusta National and the Masters in April 2026, when he gave his annual press conference before the 90th Masters, The Augusta Press reported.
