Could Australia be set to host the US PGA Championship?

The PGA of America is talking about playing the US PGA Championship outside of the US.

A piece by GolfWorld’s Ron Sirak is causing ripples in the golf world after he suggested that tournament organisers of the fourth major of the year, the US PGA Championship, are considering hosting it outside of the US within the next decade.

“This is an exercise we are going through, an analysis. It is far from a fait accompli that we are going to take the PGA Championship international,” PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua said when asked to comment on information obtained by Golf World.
“When we sat down to map our strategic plan to service our members and grow the game the question arose as to what impact it would have to take the PGA Championship to an international location once or twice a decade.”

The US PGA Championship is currently scheduled to be held on American soil until 2019, so the earliest this could happen is 2020.

Ben Everill’s piece in the Australian newspapers today muses that Australia’s best golf courses could be perfect for such a big event.

This would give Australia’s best courses, like Royal Melbourne who will host the World Cup in November, a chance to play host to one of the biggest events in the sport.

The US PGA Championship has always been mooted as the mobile major, as it lacks the public importance and perceived traditions of the other three majors.

PGA of Australia’s CEO Brian Thornburn has responded to the article and is obviously keen to pursue the opportunity.

“I think the international players would definitely support a Major being played in Australia,” said Thorburn today.

“Over the last three years nearly all of the biggest names in world golf have competed in Australia and they’ve got nothing but positives to say about our courses, crowds and hospitality.”

The idea of the fourth major being hosted outside the US has been discussed before, mostly by golf fans outside the US or by those wishing to see more of the majors love spread around a little.

The difference this time is that the chatter is coming from the PGA of America themselves. Stay tuned for more on this over the coming months.