TPC Harding Park will "host two of golf's biggest events next decade," with the S.F. course set to host the '20 PGA Championship and the '25 Presidents Cup, according to sources cited by Alex Miceli of GOLF WEEK. No dates "have been set," but a "joint announcement with the PGA of America and the PGA Tour is scheduled for Wednesday" in S.F. Meanwhile, with golf returning to the Olympics in '16, Miceli noted the '16 PGA Championship "will be played before" the Aug. 5-21 Summer Games in Rio. But that will have "no effect" on the Olympic teams' makeup. A source said that Wasserman Media Group "consulted the PGA of America regarding the future of the PGA Championship" beyond '20. The source said that should golf "remain an Olympic sport" after the '20 Games, the PGA Championship results "would affect Olympic selection." The PGA of America also could "look overseas for future sites." The '09 Presidents Cup was played at Harding Park (GOLFWEEK.com, 6/26). GOLF.com's Joe Passov noted Harding Park is the "only city-owned public course managed by the PGA Tour, which financed part of the course’s recent upgrades." But PGA Tour Exec VP/Communications & Int'l Affairs Ty Votaw "declined to comment on whether the Tour would have needed to approve its use by the PGA of America for the PGA Championship." It is "no secret that the PGA of America is seeking suitable West Coast venues" (GOLF.com, 6/26).
GO WEST: GOLF DIGEST's Geoff Shackelford noted the PGA Championship would be on the West Coast "for the first time" since '88 at Sahalee Country Club outside of Seattle. By giving Harding Park its '20 date, the "prospect of an international PGA Championship is highly unlikely" until at least '24, "assuming that golf remains in the Olympic Games." Wednesday’s announcement will "give the PGA of America back-to-back public-course venues (with Bethpage Black scheduled to host the 2019 PGA) after many years of avoiding municipal or state-owned courses" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 6/26). In S.F., Ron Kroichick writes the '20 PGA Championship "could move to the spring." Wednesday’s news conference also "might address other elements of Harding’s future." The PGA Tour’s "contract with the city" calls for a FedExCup Playoff event there in '16, and "rumors also persist about next year’s Match Play Championship" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/27).
