"I wish we could have come up with something that made the same statement but didn't create as much negative reaction," he said. "But as this has unfolded, I'm glad there's dialogue. Let's talk about this, and the lack of diversity in golf."
He denied the cover was an attempt to sell more magazines, noting that Golfweek is 99 percent subscriptions.
"I was a little shocked by the commissioner's reaction," he said. "It was rather strong, particularly from someone who rarely comments on things on his own tour."
The day after Tilghman was suspended, Finchem said it was clear the Golf Channel was "was taking this unfortunate incident very seriously."
"Over the years, many PGA Tour players and staff have had the chance to get to know Kelly," he said. "Knowing her, her comment seems to us to be very uncharacteristic and we believe it was completely inadvertent. We have no reason to believe that she was intentionally malicious in her remark."
Golfweek is one of two weekly magazines devoted entirely to golf.
Golf World, coincidentally put on its cover this week a photo of Bill Spiller, one of the black pioneers in the sport, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of his push to integrate the PGA Tour.
