Jay Madara, the PGA Tour's executive vice president and chief financial officer, will retire effective March 31 at age 54. He joined the organization in 2021 and played a key role in major financial initiatives amid changes in professional golf. The Tour has begun searching for a successor.
Jay Madara, who has served as the PGA Tour's executive vice president and chief financial officer since 2021, announced his retirement effective March 31. At 54, Madara steps down after overseeing the organization's financial operations, including budgeting, reporting, and long-range planning for both competitive and commercial aspects.
During his tenure, Madara contributed to several pivotal developments. He helped establish the PGA Tour's player equity program, which provides ownership stakes to leading players to foster alignment between athletes and the organization. Additionally, he was involved in forming PGA Tour Enterprises, the Tour's for-profit commercial arm, and securing an initial $1.5 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S.-based sports owners and investors. This investment came at a critical time as the PGA Tour navigated competitive pressures from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp praised Madara's impact in a statement: “Jay has been an instrumental leader during a period of significant change for the PGA Tour, and his financial stewardship helped position our organization for long-term growth. We are grateful for his contributions and service and wish him and his family all the best in retirement.”
Prior to joining the PGA Tour in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Madara held senior finance roles at NBCUniversal Media, where he was CFO for Operations and Technology, and at Golf Channel as CFO. He also worked at Comcast in Philadelphia and graduated from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. According to the Tour's most recent tax filing, Madara earned just over $2 million in total compensation in 2024.
The PGA Tour has not named a successor and has engaged global consulting firm Korn Ferry to lead the search for a new chief financial officer.
