RYE, NY—For forty years Westchester County Club served as host to the PGA Tour. Starting in 1967 the annual event showcased the world’s finest players linked to a venue of considerable stature and, most importantly, the New York metropolitan area. The event started in a grand way—Jack Nicklaus winning the inaugural event. Along the way a who’s who of golf’s royalty would hoist the trophy including the likes of Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Ray Floyd, Hale Irwin, Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, to name just a few. After 2008 the relationship between the club and the PGA Tour ended in a rather ignoble way as no new extension could be agreed upon.
Now after sitting on the sidelines since 2007, Westchester CC is once again thrusting itself forward serving as host for a collaborative golf major—the first of its kind with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship—commencing June 11-14. The event has a new dynamic, through a joint organizing roof with the PGA of America lending its standing for the first time to a women’s professional event. The LPGA—the other main organization in the partnership— has been the main global force for women’s professional golf since its founding in 1950. The new event is the former LPGA Championship, started in 1955, and is the second oldest continuous women’s professional event outside of the US Women’s Open.
The $3.5 million purse will be among the highest in all of women’s golf and the event will be televised nationally by NBC Sports for the final two rounds. The event will also precede by one week the Men’s U.S. Open so more eyeballs should be available—if the interest is there.
