Newtown Square, PA. Since 2019, the PGA Championship has occupied the calendar spot of mid-May. That specific location was chosen with a clear sense of purpose.
But since that decision, a number of questions have arisen on whether the timing still works.
A bit of historical rewind is needed.
In concert with the PGA Tour, the PGA of America made a two-fold tournament switch.
The leadership in Ponte Vedra wanted to bring back onto the schedule a March time frame for the prestigious Players Championship. That event had been a consistent staple in the March time frame originally but moved to May in 2007. The timing for the “new” placement only caused more issues for other events and was not seen as the optimum time for TPC / Sawgrass, the host venue, to be showcased.
The leadership of the PGA of America had equal questions concerning the timing of its flagship event. The PGA Championship had been in a constant August time frame from the late 1960s thru 2018. That time frame was seen as a plus and the event was marketed as “Glory’s Last Shot” — in reference to the championship being the culmination as the concluding major championship for that calendar year.
The August time frame had its own set of issues.
Courses hosting the events had to secure a massive number of volunteers and August time presented complications for many since the month historically was a key vacation time for many prior to the re-opening of schools.
The PGA Championship has seen a number of unique changes through the years. From 1916 to 1957, the event was conducted at match-play. In 1958, the event changed to its present format — 72 holes conducted over four consecutive days.
The August time frame was not a constant presence. The event was played once in 1971 in February in Florida and had the good fortune in having Jack Nicklaus capturing the Wannamaker Trophy. However, that event featured sparse crowds and the championship quickly returned to August the next year.
The PGA Tour and PGA of America opted for a double-switch. The Players Championship would go from May back to March and the opening meant the PGA Championship would go from August to May.
The upside on that choice meant the PGA Championship would be in the second slot following April’s Masters. The golf season was just ramping up as opposed to August when the golf calendar was nearing conclusion.
The downside in May was that the earlier time presented concerns on whether specific sites, namely in the Northeast and Midwest of the U.S. would be sufficiently ready when coming out of winter months.
The first May PGA Championship was staged at Bethpage Black‘s course on Long Island, NY. In 2019. The weather provided much cooler temperatures but the event went well and produced the second consecutive victory by Brooks Koepka.
Other Northeast venues were scheduled. Oak Hill in Rochester, NY hosted the ’23 event and this year’s event is being played just outside of Philadelphia at Aronimink. Future Northeast sites are also on tap with Baltusrol in New Jersey in 2029, Congressional in the Washington, D.C. Area in 2030 and a return to Bethpage and Oak Hill respectively in 2033 and 2035.
Present day issues are now front and center. The PGA Tour has stated its intention in dramatically altering its tournament schedule and that likely will happen in 2027. As a clear statement – the two long-time Hawaii events which kicked off the PGA Tour have been scrapped.
Moving an event is always a problematic decision. Having predictability on the calendar has always been a plus for viewers and attracting sponsors through enhanced visibility.
The golf calendar has set priorities with key events normally played in the same time frame. The Masters is played in early April, the US Open concludes on Father’s Day and The Open Championship is played in mid-July. Other sports follow predictability on the schedule. The Kentucky Derby is held the first Saturday in May. The Indianapolis 500 is conducted over the Memorial Day weekend.
The PGA Championship has always been viewed as the “weak sister” when held against the other three. Moving an event requires serious thought on the potential upsides and the serious downsides.
The PGA’s new CEO Terry Clark stated in a recent interview with Golfweek‘s Eamon Lynch that moving the PGA Championship was not a high priority on his radar screen.
“We’ve got a really good slot. We’ve seen some strength and we’re seeing the media side of it and the numbers. We open up some courses and make some of them harder, but not impossible. A lot of people like the identity in that spot. You’re not in the middle of summer; you’re not being moved by the Olympics. Then there’s some who like to translate the identity to more of our marketing, you know, ‘Glory’s last shot.’ I don’t think creating an identity means you have to go backwards to something you were before. But if people think I’m sitting in a conference room plotting out how to get from May to August, that’s not a priority right now.”
The upside of May is that specific venues in other locations in the U.S. could come to the forefront. The PGA Championship is planned for the association’s headquarters in the greater Dallas area at PGA Frisco in 2027 and 2034.
So, is May set in stone?
As anyone who has studied the PGA Championship through the years, the final word that’s stated now could well flip the script.
In short – keep your bags ready.
