Tag: PGA of America

2031 PGA Championship headed to Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, site of Phil Mickelson’s win in 2021, will host a third men’s major.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, will be the host of another major.

The venue, site of then-50-year-old Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship triumph in 2021 to become the oldest player to win a men’s major, will again host the PGA Championship in 2031.

The PGA of America also announced Wednesday that the 2029 Girls and Boys Junior PGA Championships will be at the Ocean Course.

The 113th PGA Championship is scheduled for May 2031. It will be the third time the Wanamaker Trophy is up for grabs along South Carolina’s coast. The Ocean Course previously hosted the 2012 (won by Rory McIlroy) and 2021 PGA Championships. It’s the ninth course to host three or more PGA Championships.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Future sites through 2034

Other significant events at the Ocean Course include the 1991 Ryder Cup won by the American side, the 2005 PGA Professional Championship (Mike Small) and the 2007 Senior PGA Championship (Denis Watson).

Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course in South Carolina (Courtesy Kiawah Island Golf Resort)

The Ocean Course rankings

“We are ecstatic to bring the Junior PGA Championships and PGA Championship to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 2029 and 2031,” said PGA of America President John Lindert, who is PGA director of golf at the Country Club of Lansing in Michigan. “Past PGA Championships at Kiawah Island have provided no shortage of memorable moments and historic performances, all taking place along a breathtaking coastal setting. The Ocean Course’s challenging layout and rich history make it an ideal destination for our championships.”

The Ocean Course was designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1991, shortly before the Ryder Cup. At the suggestion of his wife, Alice, he engineered fairways and greens closer to the tops of the dunes alongside the Atlantic Ocean instead of on lower grades, as is common on many traditional links layouts. This increases exposure to frequent winds while providing incredible views from just about any vantage.

Performance improvement app Uplift takes $25K grand prize at inaugural Golfweek Tech Lab

Kabayama’s group took home the top honors at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort.

FRISCO, Texas — Sukemasa Kabayama, the CEO and co-founder of the performance improvement app Uplift, started Thursday with a trip to the emergency room after a bout with food poisoning. The former president of Tesla Motors Japan admitted that he had trouble standing and spent most of the morning flat on his back before finally making the medical visit.

The day, however, got progressively better.

After facing a group of other golf technology startups, Kabayama’s group took home the top honors at the first Golfweek Tech Lab, held at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort just north of Dallas.

The event, which was presented by T-Mobile for Business, was a joint venture between Golfweek, part of USA Today Sports Media Group and Gannett Co., Inc, and underdog venture team. The event united stakeholders in both the financial investment industry and golf communities with a curated group of 18 technology startups, all with the aim of impacting the business of golf.

With the victory, Uplift won the grand prize check of $25,000, along with a cover story in a future edition of Golfweek.

“I’m still a little shocked and surprised,” Kabayama said. “This turned out to be a great day.”

Uplift was one of four winners in the event’s best of show. Aside from the grand prize, the Palo Alto, California-based firm also won the player performance category. Other winners included Fabric in the fan engagement category, Clicktivated in the e-commerce category and Whoosh in the business solutions category.

The event included a number of panel discussions including one on Generative AI in sports with Jon Flynn of Microsoft and Nancy Hensley of Mercury13, as well as another on innovation and the PGA of America with Jeehae Lee of Sportsbox and Kris Hart of the PGA of America.

Stars (like Matt Fitzpatrick) are everywhere as the PGA Show is booming in Orlando this week

Organizers from the PGA of America say exhibitors from 25 countries are on hand this year.

ORLANDO — It wasn’t long ago that many were wondering whether or not the PGA Show at Orange County Convention Center was losing its fastball.

The 2024 edition of the annual trade show, however, is proving definitively the lasting power of the show — and perhaps how important it’s become in the wake of remote working quarters and increased travel.

According to organizers from the PGA of America, more than 1,000 exhibitors from 25 countries are on hand this year, and the event still includes a robust series of speakers and prominent guests, like 2022 U.S. Open champ Matthew Fitzpatrick and 8-time major champ Tom Watson. Attendees from 80 different countries registered for the event.

Also, while most guests come from the United States or Europe, many of the exhibitors come from China, Korea and Canada. A handful of the major golf club manufacturers still haven’t returned to the show, but many have and the floor has been an endless stream of activity.

“The PGA of America is actively sourcing more opportunities to partner with like-minded organizations, golf facilities and mission-driven individuals across Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa,” said Sean D. Thornberry, Director of Global Development at the PGA of America.

Here’s a look at some of the fun:

Golf merchandise spotlight: PAC Golf has produced ball markers and more for nearly 25 years

The Oregon-based firm is coming up on a quarter-century of selling these popular pieces.

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As the new year approaches, golf merchandise companies are wrapping up the finishing touches on orders that will get their 2024 lines into retail stores, pro shops, and at live events.

Golfweek is taking a look at a number of golf merch manufacturers and distributors, after sifting through their wares at the PGA Merchandise Show in Frisco, Texas, last summer.

We start with PAC Golf, a small company that offers ball markers, divot tools, bag tags and more with course logos and other imaging.

The Oregon-based firm is coming up on a quarter-century of selling these popular pieces that give golf courses a truly unique sense of style.

“We enjoy what we do and we try to have fun with it,” Mark Regalado, the CEO of PAC Golf, told Golfweek.

Stefan Schauffele says Xander’s Ryder Cup place was in jeopardy, sounds off on player payment

Stefan Schauffele gave pointed comments on player payment at the Ryder Cup to multiple outlets on Sunday.

Xander Schauffele compiled a 1-3-0 record at last week’s Ryder Cup, but according to a report in The Times, his status on Team USA was up in the air until just a few weeks before the event.

Stefan Schauffele, Xander’s father, told The Times that his son’s place on Zach Johnson’s squad was in doubt due to a dispute over an agreement granting Netflix access to the team room for its Full Swing docuseries. The issue reportedly wasn’t resolved until just weeks before a team scouting trip to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome. Stefan also claimed the PGA of America used “strong-arming tactics.”

A report from Sky Sports during the Ryder Cup claimed there was friction in the U.S. team room, and that Patrick Cantlay was at the center of the conflict due to his beliefs that players who play in the Ryder Cup should be paid. The reporter, Jamie Weir, also shared that “Before the Ryder Cup it was widely reported that (Schauffele and Cantlay) were the ones refusing to allow Netflix cameras access to the team room.”

Cantlay, who played twice alongside his good friend Schauffele, refuted the report all weekend.

Stefan claimed the “ink-smear” about a fractured team room may have developed Xander and Cantlay asking for a “player participation and benefit agreement,” which he said was sent in July, to be amended in three different places, one of which regarded the Netflix access. The U.S. went on to deny access to the team room to preserve the “sanctity and sacredness of Team USA” after a unanimous vote by Johnson and his players.

From the Times report:

“The PGA of America were not willing to even talk to us about (the three amendments),” Stefan Schauffele told The Times. “It was very late in the schedule right before the team came here [to Rome] to practice because they had moved the deadline and they said, ‘If you don’t sign it by then, you’re off the team’, but they never gave us the contact information of their legal counsel.”

“Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2), finally, the head of the PGA of America got wind of this, because it was not him that was blocking it, and put our lawyers in contact with the PGA of America’s general counsel, and then it took a few hours to hash it out and it was fine. Then I received a message that Xander was back on the team. That you can quote. That’s the extent of this and I think it’s shameful.”

Stefan confirmed the issue of players not being paid is a point of contention, but told the Times it wasn’t discussed in Rome “because it’s the wrong venue and time,” but does think a conversation needs to be had and sides need to come to the table to negotiate.

“The PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe need to be more transparent and disclose how this money from the Ryder Cup is being distributed,” he said.

“They are using players’ intellectual properties to make money and the American players don’t get paid,” he added. “More importantly, this would become a non-issue if all proceeds, net proceeds, from the Ryder Cup were to be donated to common charitable causes. Right now, the American players are asked to donate their time pro-bono in the name of patriotism so these organizations can benefit from the profits.”

“The PGA (of America) uses this money, and the PGA Tour gets 20 percent that goes into the retirement of every member. The 12 players supposedly need to eat it and their intellectual property gets abused for the benefit of 200 other people. That’s not right.”

But Stefan didn’t stop there. He also gave some interesting quotes to No Laying Up’s Kevin Van Valkenburg.

“If the PGA of America is a for-profit organization, they need to have the players share in that profit instead of being so damned intransparent about it with intent,” Stefan said. “They should reveal the numbers, and then we should go to the table and talk. Alternatively, they can donate all proceeds after opening the books to a charity of our joint choice, and then we will happily play for free. Please print that.”

“I think it’s absolutely non-controversial,” he continued. “Imagine if the winners got $2 million and the losers get nothing. How good of a competition would we have now? I think it could be made so much better because of that. I don’t see a negative there. I think we need to talk about it without bringing up the issue of patriotism, which I think is a really, really cheap shot. Because they’re so wrong, especially these (PGA of America members) are not owning any mirrors in their houses because they’re the ones that are not patriotic. Hopefully the conversation, in seriousness, leads to talks about it that make sense. And then everyone can be happy.”

The discussion around the Sky Sports report was never going to end with Cantlay’s denial, and Stefan Schauffele throwing gas on the sizzling fire has only ensured the discussion of players being paid will continue long after the 2023 Ryder Cup post-mortem ends.

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Future Ryder Cup sites through 2037

Seven future Ryder Cup sites have been announced through 2037.

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The Ryder Cup was first contested in 1927 at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The U.S. was captained by Walter Hagen and the Americans won 9 ½ to 2 ½.

In 2023, two years after getting routed 19-9 at Whistling Straits, the Europeans reclaimed the Ryder Cup, sweeping the first four matches on Thursday and riding a wave to a 16 ½ to 11 ½ victory.

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Future Ryder Cup sites have been announced through 2037.

The Ryder Cup shifted back to odd years starting in 2021.

Lynch: Ryder Cup won’t be unscathed by golf’s new world order. Radical change is coming

This is the major event most vulnerable to radical change from the cash arms race disfiguring golf.

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ROME — Every Ryder Cup offers a masterclass in provincial myth-making, somehow convincing the credulous that Europe’s team room is always friction-free and that only American fans are guilty of boorish behavior. This week in Rome, one of the Cup’s most enduring fables was exposed — the utopian notion that it exists on a patriotic plane entirely unsullied by something as vulgar as money.

That’s not because some team members feel they should be paid to play (a position that’s neither new nor entirely unpardonable). The finances matter enormously to Ryder Cup organizers, who depend on its proceeds to operate for the years between “home” editions. Widen the lens beyond individual players or even individual Cups, and it becomes apparent that this is the major event most vulnerable to radical change in whatever ecosystem emerges from the cash arms race disfiguring golf.

The Ryder Cup reliably showcases the sport’s greatest theater and passion. That’s the user experience. The apparatus around the Cup and its inner workings are strained, and demand a rethink that’s more pressing than any ideas we’ll see emerge from the post-mortem analysis of Team USA’s latest defeat.

Some of the issues are owed to the ownership structure. Europe’s half of the Cup is mostly held by the DP World Tour, with minor slices owned by a couple of regional PGA associations. There is no asset of remotely comparable value that the European circuit can bring to the new for-profit entity it is creating with the PGA Tour and, negotiations pending, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (plus sundry investors who don’t have a side hustle abusing human rights).

Yet as vital as the Ryder Cup is to the books of its various owners, it is commercially isolated. Business types gripe about its limitations in terms of opportunities and partnerships that global sponsors will pay handsomely for. Eventually, some enterprising corporate cipher will see a means by which it can be plugged into a bigger commercial platform to increase profits. Any such platform must be built around the world’s best players, so it seems ordained that wherever the major tours go in the coming years, the Ryder Cup must follow.

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And that involves major changes to what we know now.

The qualification system in Europe has been modified more frequently than Cher’s face, but every tweak has had the same rationale: accommodating stars who mostly compete in the U.S. while preserving a pathway to the team for guys who ply their trade at home. Leveraging the Ryder Cup to reward loyalty to the DP World Tour is parochial but necessary. On the opposite shore, the PGA Tour has no ownership stake but is the means by which players qualify. These systems (mostly) work now, but what happens if top players one day commit to a lucrative global schedule of tournaments elevated above the current American and European circuits? The Ryder Cup qualification system will immediately become unfit for purpose.

The fix for that is something that should be considered now: go to 12 captain’s picks and dispense with the points system entirely. Such a move would certainly have opponents, but plenty of pros. It would be tour-agnostic and grant skippers the latitude to choose on form and compatibility, and to do something that’s impossible with automatic qualifiers: leave at home those openly ambivalent about being here. It would also restore authority to captains, particularly future U.S. leaders, and not leave them hostage to the preferences of the automatics, which is what Zach Johnson essentially admitted has been his situation.

(If the team is to be drawn from whatever strata exists, why not the captaincy too? Former players are by disposition and circumstance myopic and deferential to their colleagues. Why not a captain from outside the traditional golf sphere? Someone recognized for their ability to get the best from the best. While the captain hits as many shots as the spectators, playing status need not be a consideration. Make it a position for proven performance specialists, not past their prime players.)

For all the pablum about continental rivalries, the modern era in the Ryder Cup has always been tour versus tour, PGA against Europe. The old legends — Ballesteros, Faldo, Woosnam — felt disrespected when they traveled to the U.S., which only fueled their determination to stick it to the Yanks every two years. Now, at least half of the European team lives stateside and both Scandinavian standouts this week — Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg — spent their formative years in U.S. colleges. The old enmity is being diluted, and that will only accelerate as the lines between tours are blurred. What the Ryder Cup cannot lose or imperil is its heartbeat, the thousands of spectators who bring the noise regardless of what side of the ocean it is held on.

The concerns voiced in the aftermath of the 44th matches in Rome will be short-term in nature — what went wrong for the U.S., who is to blame, what must be done. However entertaining these recriminations may be for onlookers, those of us who love the Ryder Cup must grasp that the years ahead will bring challenges even more daunting than trying to beat Europe at home.

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PGA of America responds to Stacy Lewis’ comments that golf missed an opportunity with the Solheim and Ryder Cup back-to-back in Europe

“We are enthusiastic supporters of the U.S. Solheim Cup Team and are promoting the Solheim Cup in a number of ways.”

Stacy Lewis didn’t hold back on Wednesday when asked if she thought more could’ve been done to promote the first back-to-back Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup in Europe.

“I think it was a missed opportunity for the sport of golf,” said Lewis, who said she worked hard trying to get some synergy between the organizations.

The first Solheim Cup ever contested on Spanish soil gets underway Friday at Finca Cortesin, where Team Europe looks to win three in a row. Next week, the Ryder Cup will be held in Rome for the first time.

The PGA of America gave Golfweek the following statement in response to Lewis’ comments:

“We are enthusiastic supporters of the U.S. Solheim Cup Team and are promoting the Solheim Cup in a number of ways. For starters, we are creating digital assets and collaborating with our friends at the LPGA on our social media channels. For the first time, we produced a U.S. Ryder Cup Team video in which the players and our Captain expressed their support for the Solheim Cup Team.

“We are also supporting the Solheim Cup with editorial content on PGA.com and by engaging with Solheim Cup content across PGA of America channels. Finally, our CEO Seth Waugh will be onsite in Spain to cheer on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team for all of us. While scheduling and logistics challenges precluded some other joint activations, the PGA of America will help to raise awareness in a meaningful way through our digital and social media efforts.”

The U.S. Ryder Cup Twitter account released a good luck video on Thursday at 10 a.m. with the likes of Wyndham Clark wishing luck to fellow 2023 U.S. Open winner Allisen Corpuz, and Brian Harman giving a shoutout to fellow British Open winner Lilia Vu.

The Solheim Cup has been contested in odd years since 2003. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing Ryder Cup officials to cancel in 2020, the biennial men’s event opted to stay with odd years after the 2021 contest at Whistling Straits.

The Solheim Cup moves back to even years next year at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.

PGA of America’s 2023 Hall of Fame class includes Kathy Whitworth, Jim Nantz

The 2023 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be in November at the PGA’s new home in Frisco, Texas.

The PGA of America’s 2023 Hall of Fame class will feature three PGA professionals, an LPGA legend, a past PGA president and a famous broadcaster.

The PGA announced its next Hall inductee list Monday, with the official ceremony set for Nov. 8, at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort in Texas.

PGA Members Robert Dolan (Middle Atlantic PGA Section), Don Wegrzyn (Illinois PGA Section) and Herb Wimberly (Sun Country PGA Section) will be inducted alongside past president Suzy Whaley, LPGA legend Kathy Whitworth and CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz at the 107th PGA Annual Meeting. The PGA’s Hall started in 1940.

“It is an incredible honor for the PGA of America to recognize and celebrate our six inductees who have made a real impact on the game of golf and the countless individuals they’ve inspired along the way,” said PGA of America President John Lindert.

Whitworth, who died on Christmas Eve in 2022, collected 88 victories during her 23-year career, the most tournament victories by a professional golfer. She was the LPGA’s leading money winner eight times, Player of the Year seven times and won the Vare Trophy (lowest scoring average) seven times.

Suzy Whaley is a Master Professional who became the first woman elected to serve as PGA President in 2018. She played on the LPGA in 1990 and 1993 and qualified for the 2003 Greater Hartford Open (now known as the Travelers Championship), becoming the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to play in a PGA Tour event.

Nantz is a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He’s also in the Pro Football and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fames. A three-time Emmy Award winner and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year, he’s been with CBS since 1985 and joined the network’s golf coverage in 1986.

This Florida city is hoping to lure a major in 2031 or soon after. What’s the plan?

Since the PGA Championship moved from August to May, the state of Florida has become much more palatablen.

The PGA of America has the majority of its PGA Championships scheduled out through the next decade, but there are still empty holes in the docket. And since the major tournament moved from August to May, the state of Florida has become much more palatable as a destination.

As the sites for 2031, 2032 and 2033 are still to be determined, a group from the Sarasota, Florida, area is hoping to put together an attractive bid that could persuade the powers that be to give the Sunshine State just its third PGA Championship in history. Jack Nicklaus won at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens during the 1971 season while Larry Nelson won on the same course in 1987.

Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, is on deck. In 2024, it will host its fourth PGA Championship. The Nicklaus design opened in 1986.

According to a story produced by the Community News Collaborative, a non-profit that works with news organizations in the area, local politicians are trying to line up funding for the event.

Sarasota County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to direct county staffers to return on Sept. 26 with funding options for a $3 million sponsorship of The PGA Championship. If the location were to be selected, the event would be played at The Concession Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch in May of 2031 or 2033.

In two weeks, commissioners would likely be briefed on where the money could be found through the Tourist Development Tax fund, which draws revenue from short-term rentals and hotel rooms in Sarasota County. A vote to move ahead could follow.

County Administrator Jonathan Lewis told commissioners on Tuesday that Manatee County is proceeding with a primary sponsorship package of $6 million, if the location is chosen. According to a letter to commissioners from Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, the PGA of America’s board is expected to make a decision on the tournament location in November.

“This is a massive opportunity,’’ Commissioner Mike Moran said. “It cannot be ignored the economic driver and stimulus it can create for a community. I hope we’re sending a strong, hard message that we’re in full support of this.’’

Haley wrote that 2023 PGA Championship, played in Rochester, N.Y., was responsible for a $190 million economic impact. Greater Rochester Enterprise estimated 225,000 spectators attended, with about 39% arriving from more than 100 miles away.

Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa celebrates with the Gene Sarazen Cup during the trophy ceremony after winning the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on February 28, 2021, in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Concession hosted the WGC-Workday Championship in 2021. Normally held in Mexico and named the WGC-Mexico Championship, that year’s event had a new title and location due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concession, designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, was aptly named for Nicklaus’ famous concession of the final putt that Jacklin faced in their singles match in the 1969 Ryder Cup.

More: PGA Championship future sites through 2034

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