The Loop
Ted Bishop, with help from his daughters, tries to repair damage done
Ted Bishop was in a philosophical mood Saturday morning. Stripped of his PGA presidency but not his PGA membership, Bishop went to work at Legends G.C. in Franklin, Ind., to oversee a Ryder Cup-style competition. "I'm on the putting green as we speak," Bishop said via text message. "[This is the] First Day of the rest of my life. Woke up to a train whistle early this morning, and as it faded away I thought it's leaving without me." While Bishop's name will be removed from the PGA's historical record, his legacy will not. Love him or hate him, and there were plenty on both sides, Bishop had a core of supporters that called or texted or emailed in the 12 hours between his demotion and our correspondence. "Past Ryder Cup captains, past PGA and major champions, but most importantly PGA members, many of which I do not know and people I haven't heard from in years," Bishop said. "That has been gratifying." [#image: /photos/55ad7b31b01eefe207f700a6]|||175738039.jpg|||"It's important for people to know that's not the type of person he is," Bishop's daughter said.
There were two members of the golf business without the list of credits that also weighed in on behalf of Bishop, one of them a PGA member. They were Ashley Davidson, membership director at Legends G.C. and Ambry Bishop, an assistant pro at St. Andrews G.C. in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., and also golf coach of the women's golf team at St. John's University. They are Bishop's daughters. "I'm 32 years old, and never once in 32 years has he ever hinted or made a derogatory comment or a suggestion about women," said Ambry Bishop. "This is a tough day. He's done nothing but empower me and promote me to be the most successful person, type of person I'm trying to be." It was a tough day for Ambry Bishop more as a PGA member than golf coach. She learned of her father's email through members of her team, all of whom, she said, were supportive. She talked about her father's support of girls' junior golf, her high school team and the college team she coaches. "This is a tough pill to swallow," she said. "Yeah, looking back on it, he could have chosen better words. It's important for people to know that's not the type of person he is." Davidson concurred. I spoke to her Friday afternoon, just after Bishop was impeached by a vote of the PGA's Board of Directors. "He's not a sexist person," Davidson said. "He doesn't make those kind of remarks." Davidson had a good handle on the type of personality that led to his demise. "I love my dad, and I know he is an honest man that sometimes says things that later he's sorry for -- and I'm sure he feels that way now," she said. "But he does care what people think. This kind of stuff tears him down."