R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers will step down at the end of 2024 after nine years as one of golf’s leading administrators.
Slumbers, 63, will oversee the running of this year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon and the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews before leaving her post.
He succeeded Peter Dawson as boss of the R&A and secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club after joining the St Andrews-based organizations in 2015.
“It’s been a privilege,” he said.
“This is a role I am proud to fulfill on behalf of the employees of the R&A, the members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and all of our global partners.”
Since then, Slumbers has been involved in a number of key developments in the sport, including new rules that will limit the distance golf balls can travel in coming years.
Insisting that “something must be done”, the Englishman, a former international banker, worked in tandem with the United States Golf Association to introduce the rule changes.
They will come into force in 2028, despite strong opposition from several leading players and manufacturers during an extended consultation period.
Slumbers introduced an all-ticket policy for the Open which first came into play when the championship was held at Royal Portrush in 2019, the same year he oversaw the modernization of golf’s rules.
In recreational gaming, a revolutionary global handicapping system was rolled out the following year.
Slumbers also led a merger with the Ladies’ Golf Union, the body that represented women’s golf, and launched initiatives to make golf more open and inclusive.
The R&A says it has doubled its financial commitment to golf with a greater focus on women and girls. Last year, the Women’s Open prize fund increased by 23% to $9 million (£7.07 million).
“In any career, there is a time to allow the next generation to take their turn,” Slumbers added in a statement released by the R&A.
“I am grateful to have had the honor, for nearly a decade, of being the steward of all that the R&A and golf in general stands for.”