By Leonard Shapiro John Mascatello, a widely-respected sports agent who specialized in golf and had a client list that included some of the world's top players and major championship winners, died at his home in St. Simons Island, Georgia on June 27. The cause of death was stomach cancer. He was 61. Mr. Mascatello, a long-time resident of the Middleburg, Virginia area, was known in his highly-competitive business as a low-key but immensely diligent, creative and persuasive recruiter of talented young players, then helping to guide their careers both on and off the course, signing many of them to lucrative endorsement deals along the way. "John was always the smartest guy in the room, regardless of the subject," said Bud Martin, his partner and friend over the last three decades. "He could tell the plumber a better way to fix the pipes, but with absolutely no arrogance. And it also was remarkable how unimportant taking credit for anything was to him." One of Mr. Mascatello's early clients was long-hitting, and later controversial John Daly, a two-time major champion who he and Martin signed only a few months before Daly came out of nowhere to win the 1991 PGA Championship by three shots at Crooked Stick Golf Club outside Indianapolis. It was only Daly's third major championship appearance. Daly was the ninth alternate and got into the field only after Nick Price withdrew because his wife was having a baby. Daly, then 25, stunned the golf world and won with staggering 300-yard plus drives and a brilliant touch around the greens. "Long John" Daly later earned another nickname-"Wild Thing"- because of erratic behavior and alcohol addiction. Mr. Mascatello's wife, Beth Ann, once told a writer that any time the phone rang after 11 p.m., they feared Daly was in trouble again. Mr. Mascatello's current firm represents Daly to this day. He once negotiated two endorsement deals for Daly at the same time, one for the weight-loss specialist TrimSpa, the other for Dunkin' Donuts. A day after Daly used super glue to close up a wound in his right hand, Mr. Mascatello began pitching the company that made the glue for a possible endorsement opportunity. "There's nothing more credible than having a genuine real-life moment like that involving the use of a product," Mr. Mascatello told ESPN.com at the time. Mr. Mascatello began his career in 1985 at ProServ, a Washington, D.C.-based sports management firm that represented pro tennis players. Mr. Mascatello headed its fledgling golf department and, in 1991, he and Martin, also a ProServ alum, launched their own golf representation business, Cambridge Sports International. They sold the company to SFX Sports Group in 1998 and Mr. Mascatello served as CEO. In 2011, SFX was purchased by Wasserman, a major Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment marketing and management firm. For the last ten years, Mr. Mascatello, Bud Martin and Terry Reilly, an early Cambridge hire, ran Wasserman's golf division, which represented more than 50 players, men and women, worldwide. The client list includes top players like Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson and the PGA Tour's latest phenom, Matthew Wolff, who won his first PGA Tour event in 2019 at age 20. Mr. Mascatello was Wasserman's executive vice president and managing executive. "One of John's most endearing qualities is that he just loved talented people, not just golfers," Reilly said. "He loved American Idol. 'Did you see that little girl sing?' he'd say. John was never a jealous guy. He was always content in his own space. "He could have been the PGA Tour commissioner. In a meeting, he always understood other people's viewpoints before he would talk about our selling points. He tried to figure out what they wanted and needed, and then he would figure out what we could do to make that work. He never did it the wrong way." John Stephen Mascatello was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 29, 1960, the son of Antonio Vince Mascatello and Mary Anne Mascatello (Carlone). He grew up in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn Poly Prep Country Day School. He was a 1982 graduate of the University of Vermont, earning a B.A. in political science with a focus on international relations and nuclear warfare. In 1985, he earned a law degree and a Masters from the American University Washington College of Law. Mr. Mascatello then joined ProServ, a Washington, D.C. sports representation agency headed by former tennis star Donald Dell. The company specialized in representing professional tennis players. Mr. Mascatello was hired and eventually was asked to start up a golf division. His first client was Scott Verplank of Oklahoma State, the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 29 years when he prevailed in a playoff at the 1985 Western Open the summer before his senior year of college. Verplank was highly recruited by the major sports representation companies but said he chose Mr. Mascatello "because of his personality and his manner. He always made whoever he was with feel more important than he was. Everyone in the world was trying to get me, but we just hit it off. He was honest and straightforward, in a way that wasn't at all abrasive. He represented me for 36 years. He was my manager, my advisor and my great friend." When Mr. Mascatello and Martin started Cambridge Sports, they sought out a headhunting firm to help find administrative help. Beth Ann Greeley was working at the recruiting company, and Mr. Mascatello was too shy to ask her out. Martin did it for him, and the three of them went to a happy hour at The Front Page, a popular D.C. restaurant. After that first date, Beth Ann told her sister she had met the man she was going to marry. Mr. Mascatello told Martin he had met the woman he was going to marry. And so they did, in September 1992. They initially lived in Georgetown and moved to the Middleburg area in 1993. They also vacationed for 15 years in Sea Island, Ga., where a number of golfers and several agents also lived. Four years ago, they purchased a house there and moved permanently from Middleburg during the recent pandemic. The Mascatellos both were heavily involved in the Middleburg community for many years. They volunteered in a number of capacities, including helping to raise funds for the Windy Hill Foundation, The Hill School and Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing. Professionally, Mr. Mascatello also worked with several PGA Tour player foundations and, with Mark Steinberg (Tiger Woods' long-time agent) and Steve Loy (Phil Mickelson's agent), served on an advisory council for the PGA Tour. Mr. Mascatello was a member of the Middleburg Tennis Club and a skilled and competitive player. He was a member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., Loudoun Golf and Country Club in Purcellville, Va., and Sea Island Golf Club. Mr. Mascatello was an avid sports fan, helped coach several youth sports teams, and loved watching his three now-adult children compete when they were growing up. Mr. Mascatello was only 26 himself when he became 21-year-old Verplank's first and only agent. "I wouldn't have stayed with him for as long as I did if I didn't think he was doing all the right things," said Verplank, who still competes on the PGA Tour's senior over-50 circuit. "Thirty-six years is a long time, but I felt John always put my interests at the top of his list, no matter who else he signed. We had a great working relationship. He was kind of like a big brother." Mr. Mascatello is survived by his wife, Beth Ann Mascatello of St. Simons, Ga.; three children, Brian James Mascatello of San Francisco, Cal., Olivia Grace Mascatello of New York, N.Y., and Luke Michael Mascatello of St. Simons Ga. and three brothers, Dr. Vincent James Mascatello of Mclean, Va. (Marie), Anthony Mascatello of Brooklyn, N.Y. (Lise Friedman), and Robert Mascatello of Chantilly, Va. (Shannan Longway). A funeral service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville, Va. on Monday, July 19 at 11 a.m., with a reception at the Middleburg Community Center following the service. Donations in Mr. Mascatello's name may be made to the Windy Hill Foundation in Middleburg Va