PGA of America history

The following year, on April 6, 1917, the United States entered the Great War that would claim the lives of more than 10 million combatants worldwide.

In 1921, the PGA Championship made several splashes when 19-year-old former caddie Gene Sarazen defeated defending Champion Hutchison in an early-round match, and later when a dynamic bon-vivant named Walter Hagen became the first American-born PGA Champion by defeating Barnes 3 and 2 in the final.

Hagen and Sarazen would emerge as key figures in PGA of America history, with Hagen winning a total of five PGA Championships and Sarazen three, including the 1922 Championship at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, becoming (still to this day) the youngest PGA Champion ever at age 20.

1927 saw the creation of the Ryder Cup, which was a match between teams of British and American players.

The first “playing professionals” organization was formed in 1932.

The PGA created an Unemployment Relief Committee in 1933, and the organization's business administrator took a salary cut.

The “Caucasian-only” membership clause, introduced in 1934 into the PGA bylaws, is eradicated from the PGA Constitution.

1937: PGA Senior's Championship established for older golf pros.

Meanwhile, the PGA Championship continued, with Byron Nelson claiming the first of his two Championships in 1940 at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

By 1941, when The PGA of America celebrated its 25th anniversary, membership in the Association had grown to 2,041.

Sam Snead won the first of his three PGA Championships against the backdrop of war at Seaview Country Club in Atlantic City, N.J., in 1942.

In 1944 the PGA, desiring a golf course of its own, leased a site in Dunedin, Florida to serve as the PGA National Golf Club.

Relocating the national office to Dunedin was discussed at the 1946 Annual Meeting, but the move didn’t take place for another 10 years, when the second floor of the Dunedin First National Bank Building became The PGA of America’s headquarters.

The PGA also began a campaign to encourage young people to play golf by sponsoring PGA Junior Golf Week starting in 1948.

In 1954, Dunedin also became the home of the PGA Winter Tournament Program and the site of the PGA Merchandise Show.

In 1956 PGA headquarters were officially moved from Chicago to Dunedin, Florida, where offices were established on the second floor of a bank building.

While the Ryder Cup resumed its two-year intervals, it would be 1957 before the British Team would again regain the Cup.

CBS television purchases the broadcasting rights for the PGA Championship, making the 1958 PGA Championship the first to be broadcast on live television and radio.

In November of 1961 the PGA, bowing to continued pressure, finally changed its constitution to remove the 'Caucasians-only' clause.

In March 1965, the Association moved into 10,000 square feet of office space in the east wing of the clubhouse in MacArthur’s new country club, which for the next eight years would be known as PGA National Golf Club.

When it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1966, the PGA's membership stood at 5,837.

Hence, the inaugural PGA Club Professional Championship was held at Century and Roadrunner Country Clubs in Scottsdale, Ariz., in December 1968.

Expanded Member Programs, Rise of the Ryder Cup In an effort to recognize its most highly skilled members, The PGA initiated the PGA Master Professional Program in 1969.

Continuing in its efforts to improve members' skills, in 1970 the PGA formalized its apprenticeship program.

In 1971, the 53rd PGA Championship, the first major golf championship ever held in Florida, was played at PGA National Golf Club.

James D. Fogertey of Kirkwood, Mo., was the first PGA Professional to achieve the designation in 1972, which today is held by more than 338 PGA Professionals.

The organization also added a new major tournament in 1973--the PGA Cup.

In 1975, the Tournament Players Division was renamed the PGA Tour, which today is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf was established in 1979 as a fundraiser for this organization.

The PGA of America staff moved into its present national office in February 1981, with a staff of 63.

1984: Oldsmobile Scramble pro/am tournament introduced.

The year 1985 also saw the Americans lose the Ryder Cup for the first time in 28 years, as the European Team triumphed at The Belfry in England, 161⁄2 to 111⁄2.

In 1988 the PGA reorganized its national office.

Two years later, the Americans would fall for the first time ever on their own soil at Ohio’s Muirfield Village, and in 1989 the Europeans retained the Cup when the ensuing matches at The Belfry were halved.

1990: Shoal Creek Country Club's whites-only policy causes furor at PGA Championship.

In 1992 The PGA also purchased the rights to the 13-year-old International Golf Show, the world’s second largest golf exposition, from the Southern California PGA Section.

His first professional win came in 1993 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, where he had played golf matches in high school.

1994: Golf Professional Training Program is launched.

The PGA long held a goal of establishing a “home away from home” for its members, and that goal was realized in 1996 with the opening of PGA Village in Port St Lucie, Fla.

In 1998 the Association gained additional revenues when it sold its equity interest in both golf expositions to Reed Exhibition Companies of Norwalk, Conn., while maintaining a strategic alliance with Reed that would promote the growth of PGA Expositions into the 21st Century.

The complete purchase was solidified following the 2000 PGA Championship, which was won in dramatic fashion at Valhalla by Tiger Woods in a playoff with Bob May.

He finally broke through with a major victory in 2004 when he won the Masters by one stroke over Ernie Els.

The following article was first published in April of 2006, the month of the PGA of America’s 90th Anniversary:

In April 2010 Mickelson won his third green jacket as Masters champion, placing himself into a tie with four others for the third highest career total in the tournament’s history.

The Ryder Cup, postponed following terrorist attacks upon America on September 11, 2011, announces plans to resume on even-numbered years.

In 2013 he made up a five-shot deficit on the final day of the British Open to capture his first victory in that tournament.

Jay Monahan took office as the fourth commissioner of the PGA TOUR on January 1, 2017.

He subsequently struggled and did not win another PGA Tour event until 2018.

Like the rest of the world, the golf industry was thrown off its axis with the arrival of the COVID-19 global pandemic in the early months of 2020.

In 2021 he won his sixth career major title, capturing the PGA Championship in his first tour victory in over two years.