PGA Professional Championship To Visit Scenic Belfair In 2019
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2017-12-20
The PGA Professional Championship Will Mark Its Move To April With A 2019 Visit To Scenic Belfair In South Carolina.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (PGA of America) — Belfair of Bluffton, South Carolina, one of the Southeast’s acclaimed golf destinations, will host the 2019 PGA Professional Championship, the world’s largest all-professional event.
The 52nd edition of the PGA Professional Championship will be conducted for the first time in the spring, April 28-May 1, 2019. All four rounds will be broadcast live on Golf Channel. The Championship is presented by Club Car and OMEGA.
It will be the 10th visit by the Championship to the Carolinas PGA Section and third appearance in the state of South Carolina. The 312-player event was last played in the Palmetto State in 2014 in Myrtle Beach.
“The PGA of America is excited to take the PGA Professional Championship to Belfair, which is an outstanding location to showcase our finest playing PGA Professionals,” said PGA President Paul Levy. “Belfair features the elements we look for in this national championship - challenging courses, inviting facilities and a staff that embraces an exceptional field.”
Beginning in 2019, the PGA Professional Championship will be played in late April as a result of new competition dates for the PGA Championship, which will move to May 16-19, 2019.
The 2018 PGA Professional Championship will be conducted June 17-20, at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside, California.
The PGA Professional Championship field is comprised of players who advanced from the 41 PGA Section Championships, along with Past Champions. The low 20 scorers at Belfair will earn a berth in the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
“Belfair is truly a unique property and certainly all of us look forward to hosting the 2019 PGA Professional Championship,” said Belfair PGA General Manager/COO Ken Kosak. “We have a number of PGA Professionals who have made it their home, and we are most proud of that.”
Belfair, featuring the Tom Fazio-designed East and West Courses, will host the 2018 U.S. Open local qualifying tournament; and was the site of the 2013 South Carolina Open; and the Players Amateur (2000-11), which featured past Champions Ben Curtis, Rickie Fowler, Bill Haas and Brian Harman.
“We are excited about the opportunity to have Belfair exposed on a national stage,” said Belfair PGA Director of Golf James Swift. “It is particularly gratifying to have our Association’s finest players playing on our courses.”
The West Course, which will host play during all four rounds, is a parklands design that was opened for play in 1996. LINKS Magazine called it “what could be the finest set of golf holes in the Lowcountry, if not on the East Coast.” This 18-hole, par-72 course with 7,111 total yards from the championship tees.
The East Course, reminiscent of the links courses of Scotland, opened in 1999 and showcases deep-water views, open windswept fairway and fresh water lakes and lagoons. The par-71 layout measures 6,900 yards from the championship tees.