There are various sports administrators who seem to enjoy the kind of prolonged, unchallenged reigns usually reserved for medal-clad despots.

Sepp Blatter, for instance, has been kicking around the presidential office of FIFA, the world governing body, since the vulcanization of the football. By many accounts, wee Sepp is about as popular in certain quarters as a dictator with halitosis. George O'Grady, in contrast, has been a thoroughly decent, honest and popular man at the helm of golf's European Tour.

With links to the circuit going back some 40 years, O'Grady was its chief executive for 'only' nine years and will now stand down at some point in the coming months, having asked the board of directors to begin the process of finding and appointing a successor.

It's not something that has happened too often. Since John Jacobs, the first of the heid honchos during the tour's formative years from its inception in 1971, the Wentworth-based organisation have been steered by only three men. Ken Schofield, a Scot, took up the reins in 1975, before O'Grady snuggled himself into the hot seat in 2005. Who the tour will turn to next is open to debate, but there is a general, initial consensus that it will be an external appointment; a man, or indeed a woman, with the kind of business nous and far-reaching vision that, in particular, can continue to tap into the lucrative markets of the Far East.

One name that has often been banded about in golfing circles is that of Guy Kinnings, the canny head of global affairs at IMG. Given that Kinnings has been the long-serving manager of Colin Montgomerie, and the calming head on many a furious frontline when a seething, bubbling Monty has just squirted a two-footer by the hole to miss the cut, you could argue that leading the European Tour would be like running a Buddhist retreat in comparison.

That is all speculation, of course, and David Williams, a commercial expert who was appointed as the European Tour's new chairman last December, will now face his first key task. The search for O'Grady's successor will, no doubt, be an extensive trawl through various areas of expertise. For Andrew Coltart, the former European Tour winner and Ryder Cup player, there is a lingering sense that an opportunity has been missed.

"I would have liked some deputy, who could have been following in George's tracks for the last few years on tour, and would then slip seamlessly into the post, but we've missed the boat," suggested Coltart, as he likened the process to the line of succession employed by the European Tour's successful approach to the Ryder Cup captaincy. "I'd like to know why we've not. We could have looked at this a few years ago and made a seamless transition.

"It was an opportunity to continue the relationships and build on relationships that were already in place. Now, all of a sudden, we have to have a fresh face in, which might take a bit of a transition."

Coltart, a past member of the tour's player committee when O'Grady became the top man, was, like many, complimentary of the Irishman's time at the helm. It is not an easy task, particularly when constant comparisons are being made between Europe and the money-soaked powerhouse that is the PGA Tour and the leading players are increasingly lured to the riches of the US scene.

From a fledgling circuit with a prize pot of some £275,000 back in 1972, the European Tour is now a multi-million-pound operation, stopping off at 26 different countries over the course of a campaign.

O'Grady's term in office has had its ups and downs, but he has been largely praised for his vision and leadership. Having capitalised on the emerging markets in Asia and the Middle East to drive the tour's expansion, the 65-year-old will leave the circuit on a strong financial footing.

He was instrumental in overseeing the development of the Race to Dubai and the lucrative Final Series, while the success of Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, and all those contract signings and key agreements that bring in the dosh, continues to give the tour a healthy glow.

The financial crisis in Europe, which led to a savage reduction of events in the tour's traditional heartland, was a tough one to stomach, though, while controversial incidents over the past year or so left O'Grady on the back foot. He was dragged into the controversy over Sergio Garcia's "fried chicken" jibe at Tiger Woods when O'Grady used the term "coloured" in an ill-fated attempt at calming what was portrayed as a racist storm. Lambasted and ridiculed by many hard-thumping critics who didn't even know him, O'Grady was clearly hurt by the saga. He was also criticised for his handling of the tragic case involving the caddie, Iain McGregor, who died on the course during this season's Madeira Islands Open. The tournament, under orders from on high, resumed.

The voyage of a chief executive in the turbulent waters of sport is never plain sailing, but O'Grady, a likeable, approachable man, has steered the ship admirably.