Mike Davis is taking over as executive director of the U.S. Golf Association without having to give up part of his old job that he loved the most — setting up golf courses for the U.S. Open. The USGA said Wednesday it has selected Davis to be its seventh executive director. He replaces David Fay, who retired in December after 21 years in charge. Davis, a 21-year veteran of the USGA and its senior director of rules and competition since 2005, has become popular with the players over the last five years for his sense of fairness in setting up U.S. Open courses. He introduced the concept of graduated rough, and twice in the last four years has declined to change a par 4 into a par 5 because he felt it made those holes fair and exciting. One of those was the 18th at Torrey Pines in 2008, where Tiger Woods (FSY) made birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff that he won. Staying involved in course setup was key to Davis taking over as executive director. "They knew I very much wanted it," Davis said of his new job. "I tried to argue the point that not only is it something I very much like, it's something I've gotten decent at. So why look for a change?" When asked if the job description was altered for Davis, USGA president Jim Hyler replied, "The short answer is slight." "Obviously, Mike has done a terrific job with the U.S. Open setup and we'd be nuts if we pulled him out of that," Hyler said. "We want him to continue to be involved in our signature event from a course setup standpoint. When we talked with Mike about this job, we never dreamed he would not be involved in the setup. It fits very well. We get the best of both worlds."

Mike Davis chosen as head of U.S. Golf Association