THE SIDELINES : LPGA Picks Former TV Executive as Tour’s New Commissioner

Charles S. Mechem Jr., a retired Cincinnati television executive, was named today as the fourth commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Assn.

Mechem was introduced at a news conference by LPGA President Judy Dickinson at Indigo Lakes Resort in Daytona Beach, where the LPGA is headquartered.

“Charles Mechem is not only a highly successful businessman, whose background is perfectly suited to the needs of the LPGA, but he is a first-class, well-respected, quality individual,” Dickinson said.

Mechem, 60, replaces William Blue, who was fired Aug. 21 after serving less than two years of a five-year contract.

The new commissioner recently retired as chief operating officer of Great American Communications in Cincinnati. Great American was a co-sponsor of the LPGA Championship at Kings Island, Ohio, from 1978 to 1989.