The payoff is more than a decade away, but that didn’t dampen the excitement of PGA of America executives as they made official overnight what had leaked out last week. The Olympic Club in San Francisco, a five-time venue for the US Open, will host its first US PGA Championship in 2028 and then be the site for the 2032 Ryder Cup.
“This is a special moment for our association,” said PGA of America president Paul Levy. “We’re excited to showcase The Olympic Club and its Lake course, and combine them with many tastes, sights and sounds that make San Francisco and the Bay Area so distinct.”
Having its annual championship in California, affording a ratings-loving primetime finish on America’s East Coast, likely provides a financial boon for the PGA of America, which will have a similar set up when the 2020 PGA is played a kilometre or so away from Olympic Club at TPC Harding Park. However, the Ryder Cup hasn’t been played on the West Coast since Thunderbird Country Club held it in Rancho Mirage, California, in 1953. The anticipation of a primetime finish in golf’s most historic team event is something that will make the 15-year wait a little easier to handle.
The Olympic Club’s alignment with the PGA of America comes after negotiations with the USGA to bring a sixth US Open to the club in 2027 (after last hosting that championship in 2012) bogged down, according to club president Dan Dillon. At that point, he began to have conversations with PGA of America chief executive Pete Bevacqua, the carrot of a Ryder Cup to go with the PGA becoming too enticing to pass up.
“Our membership is elated to host the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup, two more gems that add to the rich multi-sport history of America’s oldest athletic club,” Dillon said in a press release. “Our collective anticipation for these signature events has already begun.”
With Olympic Club in the fold, the PGA of America has eight courses locked in to hold the US PGA Championship between now and 2030 (see below). Additionally, three of the next four sites for when the Ryder Cup is played in the US are now confirmed, Whistling Straits hosting in 2020 and Bethpage Black in 2024, with the 2028 still available.
FUTURE US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SITES
2018: Bellerive Country Club, St Louis
2019: Bethpage Black, Farmingdale, New York
2020: TPC Harding Park, San Francisco
2021: The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina
2022: Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, New Jersey
2023: Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York
2028: The Olympic Club, San Francisco, California
2024-’30 Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma (exact date to be announced)
