Fay: "It wasn't that long ago when I made the decision."

Brendan Prunty talks to David Fay about the unusual timing and the circumstances of his retirement announcement from the USGA. It also allows his paper's photo editor to unearth a photo that Fay would  probably rather see burned.

Yesterday morning Fay made good on that promise. In a move that caught the entire golf community by surprise -- including Mottola himself -- Fay, the face of the USGA for 21 years, announced that he will be stepping down effective Dec. 31. The longtime-Summit resident sent out an email to the staff at the USGA notifying everyone of the decision.

"It wasn't that long ago when I made the decision," Fay said in an exclusive phone interview with The Star-Ledger Friday night. "I'm very happy and proud of what we've done at the USGA. It won't feel odd to leave at all. It's been a great run and it's time to call it a day."

Larry Dorman filed this NY Times goodbye piece, while Gary Van Sickle says that Fay changed "the perception of the USGA — as much as that's possible."