2016 PGA Championship Moved Up a Month


Normally a fixture in August, the fourth and final major of the year - the PGA Championship - will be shifted to July in 2016, making way for golf's re-introduction as a sport in the Rio Olympics.

The 98th PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., will be held the week of July 25-31 as the PGA of America marks its centennial year by joining the golf world in preparing for the game's return to the Olympic Games.

The PGA Championship will be played in July for the first time since 1968. With the exception of 1971, it has been conducted in August every year, beginning in 1969.

Baltusrol, home of many memorable U.S. majors, was selected in 2008 as the site of the 98th PGA Championship. The Rio Summer Olympics, scheduled for August 5-21, will have men and women golf competitions for the first time since 1904 at the St. Louis Games. Entrants in 2016 will be determined by the Official World Golf Rankings as of July 11, 2016.

"The PGA of America is excited for what the year 2016 means for our association and the game of golf. It promises to be a historic season on many levels," said PGA of America president Ted Bishop. "We celebrate our centennial; our PGA Championship is being hosted on one of the greatest courses in America and the Olympic Games cap the summer by welcoming back golf as an official sport.

"We believe that moving up the PGA Championship date that year is a win-win for our viewing audience, our spectators as well as for what is likely to be, once again, the strongest field in golf."

The PGA Championship traditionally is the final event where American golfers can earn points in attempting to get an automatic berth in the biennial team event. It will still serve that purpose in advance of the Americans competing against Europe in the 41st Ryder Cup, September 27 through October 2, 2016, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

Baltusrol's Lower Course, where Phil Mickelson won the Wanamaker Trophy in 2005, is the second New Jersey course to host the championship, following Seaview Country Club in Atlantic City, where in 1942 Sam Snead earned the first of his three PGA titles.

Virtually every celebrated champion in American golf has competed at Baltusrol, from Willie Anderson, Francis Ouimet, Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones to Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Mickey Wright, Nancy Lopez, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods.

Here are the sites of future PGA Championships:

2014 Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Ky.
2015 Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.
2016 Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, N.J.
2017 Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.
2018 Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis, Mo.
2019 Bethpage Black, Farmingdale, N.Y.
2020 TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, Calif.
2021 TBA
2022 Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, N.J.

For more information the PGA of America, visit www.pga.com.