PGA Championship’s Quick Organization Could Set New Precedent

This weekend’s PGA Championship could mark a comeback moment for golf’s top earning athlete of all time, and potentially establish a new precedent for how the tournament selects its venues.

The Championship usually selects its hosts years in advance to allow ample time to develop sponsorships, event marketing, and to field course adjustments. 

However, the 2022 edition at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was put together in a relatively hasty 16 months after the tour voted to remove it from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster N.J., following the violent rally at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

• The prize purse for the PGA Championship will be $12 million. 
• The course was lengthened to 7,635 yards from 6,968 yards to fit tournament standards.
• Concession prices, namely the $18 beers, have turned heads, including golfer Justin Thomas, who tweeted, “Gotta treat the fans better than that.”

Tour officials said that around 30 venues sought to host the Championship, and the experience has made them reconsider if such long lead times are necessary going forward.

Lurking Tiger

Tiger Woods, 46 years old and 14 months removed from a serious car accident that nearly cost him a leg, is projecting confidence that he can win the Championship.

His $1.7 billion in earnings, including $121 million in prize money, is second among all athletes, behind only Michael Jordan.