William Porter “Billy” Payne
Age: 78
Born: Athens, Ga.
Family: Wife, Martha; daughter, Elizabeth Payne Sikes; and son, William Porter Payne Jr. (CEO, Centennial Holding Company)
Education: University of Georgia, B.A., political science (1969). Played football (receiver and defensive end); won the SEC title and played in the Sugar Bowl; named NFF National Scholar-Athlete (1968); J.D., University of Georgia School of Law (1973)
1973-88
Lawyer, real estate
1987
Forms the nonprofit Georgia Amateur Athletic Foundation to bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
1988
The U.S. Olympic Committee selects Atlanta as the U.S. bid city.
1990
The International Olympic Committee chooses Atlanta to host 1996 Games.
1991
Named president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games
1992
Bill Hartman Award recipient, University of Georgia
1995
Secures groundbreaking $40 million Olympic sponsorship deal with NationsBank
1996
Presides over the Atlanta Summer Games
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inductee
Olympic Order recipient, Atlanta Summer Olympic Games
1997
Theodore Roosevelt Award recipient, NCAA
NationsBank Corp., vice chairman
1998
Orchestrate.com (Premiere Technologies Inc. subsidiary), chairman
1998-2004
The Tour Championship (PGA Tour), chair
2000
Masters Media Committee, chair
2000-13
Gleacher & Co., managing director
2004
Centennial Holding Company, founding member and chairman
2006-17
Augusta National Golf Club, chairman
2008
Signs ESPN broadcasting deal for new coverage of the Masters’ par-3 tournament
Starts the junior patrons program at the Masters
2009
Distinguished American Award recipient, National Football Foundation
2011
Augusta National and EA Sports collaborate for content integration into the video game “Tiger Woods PGA Tour”
UGA Circle of Honor inductee
2012
Establishes Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore as first female members at Augusta National Golf Club
2013
Opens Berckmans Place
2014
Georgia Trustee inductee, Georgia Historical Society
Introduces the Drive, Chip & Putt junior competition alongside USGA and the PGA of America
2018
University of Georgia dedicates the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility
William D. Richardson Award recipient, Golf Writers Association of America
2019
World Golf Hall of Fame inductee
2025
Georgia Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Georgia State Golf Association
Gold Tee Award recipient, Metropolitan Golf Writers Association
2026
Dan & Tally Sweat Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District
— Compiled by Emma Grace Jimenez
