PGA of America officials said that next week's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits is already the event's highest-grossing tournament in its 97-year history "based on general ticketing and corporate sales," besting the previous record set during in '04 at the same venue, according to Josh Lintereur of the MANITOWOC HERALD TIMES REPORTER. A sellout "is expected once championship play gets underway Aug. 13, with attendance over the course of the week expected to top 200,000 people." Tournament Dir Jason Mengel noted Whistling Straits has held "two successful" PGA Championships in '04 and '10, and said, "Certainly all indicators are that this one will be successful." Mengel said that this year's event "nearly eclipsed the PGA Championship's single-day ticket sales record when tickets first went on sale last August and nearly broke the monthly record as well." Special-ticket passes "sold out within months, leaving only single-day tickets" as the event approaches. Mengel said that 50% of ticket buyers "have come from Wisconsin," with another 20% from the Chicago area. More than 100 corporate-hospitality products "were offered, including suites and chalets, priced from $35,000 to $270,000," and all "have sold out" (MANITOWOC HERALD TIMES REPORTER, 8/2).
