From The Blog

Kiawah Hosts 2012 PGA Championship

Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s renowned Ocean Course, site of the 1991 Ryder Cup and 1997 World Cup, has been selected to host the PGA Championship in 2012. The Championship is contested in August and is last among the four “Grand Slam” events in professional golf. Obtaining this significant tournament is a powerful confirmation of Kiawah Island as a premier golf destination.

Since no major tournament has ever been played in the Palmetto State, it also provides a sporting distinction for South Carolina, where America’s first golf match took place in Charleston on Harleston Green in 1786. The announcement was made at a press conference on June 23, attended by Governor Mark Sanford, Resort owner Bill Goodwin, Kiawah Development Partners CEO Buddy Darby, PGA CEO Jim Awtrey, and the Resort’s Director of Golf, Roger Warren, who also is President of the PGA of America.

Landing a major golf tournament will have a dramatic impact on the local economy, with an estimated $80 million resulting from the event. At the same time, it will present logistical and infrastructure challenges for an estimated 40,000 fans attending the tournament. Organizers are, however, confident that those issues will be solved, and that the 2012 event will be remembered as a milestone in the history of Kiawah Island.

The Ocean Course will host the 2012 PGA Championship.

Attending the June 23 press conference were (from left to right):

SC Governor Mark Sanford,
Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Director of Golf Roger Warren,
PGA of America CEO Jim Awtrey,
Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Chairman Bill Goodwin, Ocean
Course Designer Pete Dye and
Kiawah Development Partners
CEO Buddy Darby.