Location |
United States, varies Charlotte, North Carolina in 2017 |
---|---|
Established | 1916 |
Course(s) | Quail Hollow Club |
Par | 72 |
Length | 7,442 yd (6,805 m) |
Organized by | PGA of America |
Tour(s) |
PGA Tour European Tour Japan Golf Tour |
Format |
Stroke play (1958–present) Match play (1916–1957) |
Prize fund | $10.5 million |
Month played | August |
Aggregate | 265 David Toms (2001) |
To par | −20* Jason Day (2015) *equals record for all majors |
Jimmy Walker | |
2017 PGA Championship |
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the U.S. PGA Championship or U.S. PGA outside of the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four major championships in professional golf, and it is the golf season's final major, played in mid-August on the third weekend prior to Labor Day weekend. (It was rescheduled for 2016 to late July to accommodate golf's return to the Olympics.) It is an official money event on the PGA Tour, European Tour, and Japan Golf Tour, with a purse of $10 million since the 97th edition in 2015.
In line with the other majors, winning "the PGA" gains privileges that improve career security. PGA champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship) for the next five years, and are exempt from qualifying for the PGA Championship for life. They receive membership on the PGA and European Tours for the following five seasons and invitations to The Players Championship for five years. The PGA Championship has been held at a large number of venues, some of the early ones now quite obscure, but currently it is usually staged by one of a small group of celebrated courses, each of which has also hosted several other leading events, including the U.S. Open and Ryder Cup.
In 1894, with 41 golf courses operating in the United States, two unofficial national championships for amateur golfers were organized. One was held at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island, and the other at St. Andrew's Golf Club in New York. In addition, and at the same time as the amateur event, St. Andrew's conducted an Open championship for professional golfers. None of the championships was officially sanctioned by a governing body for American golf, causing considerable controversy among players and organizers. Later in 1894 this led to the formation of the United States Golf Association (USGA), which became the first formal golf organization in the country. After the formation of the USGA, golf quickly became a sport of national popularity and importance.