. >> charlie: we continue with golf with tim finchem, the commissioner of the pga tour. >> the united states has literally half of the golfers on the planet, and the majority of the top elite players. in 1960, to give you some frame of reference, in 1960 when arnold palmer went to augusta and was on cbs television, there were 5 million golfers in the united states. there are now 30 million golfers. and if you look at a trend line from 1960 when golf hit television with arnold palmer who is the perfect storm, it's a constant -- it's a constant disway. >> charlie: iraqi government, ebola and golf when we continue. funding for charlie rose is provided by the following: >> rose: additional funding provided by: >> and by bloomberg. a provider of multimedia news and information services worldwide. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> charlie: we begin this evening with iraq. president obama authorized airstrikes targeting i.s.i.s. militants on thursday. they are the first direct u.s. military involvement in iraq since 2011.

joining us now exclusively is pga tour commissioner tim finchem and cofounder, former reebok chairmanpaul fireman now with fireman capital partners. mr. fireman, beginning with you, a big deal. president's cup is a marquee event, a television event, how does it feel to get it? >> it's an exciting event, thrilled to have it. we competed, of course, with many courses around the united states that are prestigious, but the commissioner and board picked us, and we're going to do everything in our power to make it the best. >> and commissioner, so the president's cup in 2017 is going to be there, start of the 25 -year partnership between the force and pga tourment i assume many, many more marquee events will be coming to the new york city area as a result of this deal? >> well, i think that's right, and we get rave reviews from all over the globe with the setting here and the proximity to the statue of liberty, and, of course, the new york sky line that it's just great television. to know we'll play here on a regular basis for the next 25 years is a great thing for the tour. >> yeah, tim, w

. ♪ >> tim finchem is here. he was commissioner of the pga tour for 20 years. profile has grown significantly. he successfully navigated the treacherous period for professional golf. i am pleased to have been here at this table for the first time. you and i did a program together in 1984. >> 30 years ago. the campaign situation. >> tell me about -- you took over. they seem to have the good fortune of having somebody ready to step into the footsteps of somebody who really put the sport in great financial shape and great marketing. >> i think the sports that i've been most successful have a long tenure for leaders. it allows maturity to develop. a lot of options for succession. relationships are key in sports and sports marketing. they are smart guys. they built a really strong organization. when it was time to go, they had a smooth transition. they have got people that have been there 15, 20 years who can step in. the professional game is growing. it has been on a long, steady growth. if you go back the last 35 years, constant growth, almost without exception, e