Inductees

The stories about the very first PGA TOUR-sanctioned event ever to come through Springfield always seem frozen in time, sort of like the kickoff of the first Super Bowl or the drop of the puck on the night of the Miracle on Ice. No one knew the magnitude of what was to come.

One story not widely known is that a guy who years later would help ensure the tournament’s long-term success was a volunteer caddie. Rich ‘Rico’ Pierson, at the time a general contractor from Texas, was helping a buddy in August 1990 at what’s now the PGA TOUR Korn Ferry Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper (PCCC).

Thirty-two years later, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly honored Pierson with the President’s Award during the 2022 Outdoor Sports Luncheon presented by Reliable Toyota.

Within a decade of caddying at Highland Springs Country Club, he became a PGA TOUR Rules Official and then an Advance Tournament Official who readied golf courses ahead of tournaments, including the PCCC for 23 years.

In essence, Pierson has been a longtime friend of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, whose President’s Award is bestowed on an individual who champions the Hall of Fame and sports in the state.

Thanks to Pierson’s behind-the-scenes work, the show has gone on, with the tournament able to gift nearly $18.4 million to Ozarks children’s charities since the PCCC’s inception. That includes a record $1.007 million in 2021.

In his role for the PCCC, Pierson arrives one week ahead of the tournament and readies Highland Springs Country Club, reviewing tee and hole locations. Just a few of his duties as an official includes marking the course and working with the staff of the PCCC to ensure that skyboxes, tents and other parts of the tournament’s fan experience doesn’t interfere with play during championship week.

And to think he was a caddie in the inaugural PCCC.

“The clubhouse wasn’t completed, but I remember the first hole and the fifth hole when you drove in,” Pierson said. “And 18 and 9 paralleled each other. It was really pretty. And a tough walk, too.”

Pierson has worked for the PGA TOUR since late 1991.

That’s when he joined the PGA TOUR’s marketing and promotions department, having ended his decade-long general contracting business at the height of the savings and loan crisis, as money had dried up.

By the end of the decade, the PGA TOUR recruited him to its team of rules officials in anticipation of a wave of retirements.

By then, his love for the game had only grown. His dad had taught him to play years before, and Pierson’s mom instilled the passion for sports. He also had volunteered at the Byron Nelson Classic in the late 1980s. Then, in the mid-1990s, none other than PGA TOUR great Fred Couples asked Pierson to caddie for him in Australia.

“The confidence I had in myself, I knew I could do it,” Pierson said of becoming a rules official. “This was being inside the game like nothing else.”

It’s been a fun challenge. Pierson must know every detail of the rule book, travel away from home several weeks at a time and serve as the face of the PGA TOUR to local communities.

He has certainly forged strong friendships with the PCCC, including Tournament Executive Director Jerald Andrews and Tournament Operations Director Marty Willadsen, as well as Highland Springs Director of Golf Brian Maloney.

“I’m lucky to have the tournaments I advance. They all have their different qualities that you like,” Pierson said. “The thing about the PCCC is Jerald and Marty and the volunteers, and Brian Maloney and the staff. It’s just that Midwest, down-to-earth friendliness.”

Additionally, the PCCC’s 1,000-person Volunteer Army adds fuel to Pierson’s passion for his job. That includes the Susan Miles-led Champion Athletes of the Ozarks, whose developmentally disabled kids and adults run the Volunteer Tent – which Pierson makes a point to visit.

Overall, what a great run it’s been. Mentors along the way were Arvin Ginn and Wade Cagle, and Pierson also cannot thank his wife, Ann, and his family enough for their understanding and support.

“It’s great to be at the golf course,” Pierson said. “I’ve been around long enough to have a hole in one at one of the great par 3s (No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass island green) at the home of The PLAYERS Championship, caddy for Fred Couples and build relationships with players, caddies, tournaments and colleagues. It’s a great life.”