This week marks the 107th edition of the PGA Championship, which will be contested this year at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Quail Hollow, which we'll circle back to in just a moment, also hosted the 2017 PGA Championship with Justin Thomas walking away with the famed Wanamaker Trophy.
Xander Schauffele, of course, will be the defending champion this week, as he captured his first major championship last year at Valhalla, earning a second just a few months later at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
So, what else do we need to know about the 2025 season's second major? Let's have a look.
Who runs the PGA Championship?
Contrary to what some may believe, the PGA of America runs the PGA Championship, not the PGA Tour.
What is the difference between the PGA of America and the PGA Tour?
The two organizations used to be one and the same and was known as the Professional Golfers Association.
But in 1968, the players, led by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and others, broke away and formed what would become the PGA Tour.
As a result, the PGA of America put more of a focus on the club professionals, whose main goal was to grow the game, while the PGA Tour became focused on running professional events.
How do the two organizations get along, and how do they work together?
After a series of agreements, they tend to get along well.
Among the many agreements, since the split, is that all PGA Tour players are considered PGA of America members, specifically membership category A-3—if they are current members of the Tour.
A PGA of America member sits on the Board of the PGA Tour, and category A-3 allows PGA Tour members to play in PGA-owned and operated events like the PGA Championship and the U.S. side of the Ryder Cup.
Furthermore, the PGA of America uses results of PGA Tour events as some criteria and qualification for some of its events, most notably the PGA Championship and U.S. Ryder Cup team members.
Most notably is the PGA Tour recognizing the PGA Championship as a major.
Most notably is the PGA Tour recognizing the PGA Championship as a major championship, but there are many other agreements that stay below the radar.
In some cases, PGA of America members qualify for PGA Tour events, the PGA of America helps run some PGA Tour Qualifying events, the PGA Tour sponsors some PGA of America events, and so on.
Where is the PGA of America based?
For many years, the PGA of America headquarters were located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, but in 2023, the organization opened a 660-acre property in Frisco, Texas, and has been gradually relocating there.
The property currently features the PGA of America headquarters, an OMNI hotel, two 18-hole golf courses (known as Fields Ranch), a 10-hole lighted par-3 course, a large practice range, a shopping an entertainment district, a GIGANTIC lit putting green with a jumbotron over it, the Northern Texas PGA headquarters, and a putting course.
The 2024 PGA Professional Championship was staged there, and the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, PGA Junior League Championship, and the 2027 and 2034 PGA Championships all will be held at Fields Ranch as well.
What is the PGA Professional Championship, and how is it different from the PGA Championship?
Formerly known as the Club Professional Championship, it is a 312-player all-professional event, the largest all-pro event in the world, and is staged a few weeks prior to the PGA Championship. It is open to PGA of America members (with some exclusions) who qualify through their PGA Section’s Professional Championship.
PGA Section? What is that?
The entirety of the PGA of America is broken into 41 Sections. They generally follow state lines but have numerous exceptions. The Tennessee section includes portions of Georgia and Mississippi, California has separate Northern and Southern Sections, and the Pacific Northwest is made up of four states.
Each Section stages its own events, including a Section Professional Championship where top finishers qualify for the national PGA Professional Championship. The PGA Sections also manage other programming like junior golf, education seminars, various summits, etc.
So, the PGA of America has Sections with PGA members, and the PGA Tour players are also PGA members? Yes, everyone is a member.
How many club pros play in the PGA Championship?
A total of 20 club pros play the PGA Championship each year and earn their respective spots by finishing in the top 20 of the PGA Professional Championship.
If club pros were not eligible, then it would not realistically be the championship of the PGA of America.
From a personal standpoint, I made the PGA Professional Championship twice, competing in 2022 and 2024 but missing the cut both times.
My putter was ice cold in 2022, and my game was iffy at best when the 2024 event came around. That was the closest I have gotten, but I continue entering my Section’s Professional Championship each year.
So going back, doesn’t the PGA Tour play at Quail Hollow every year?
Yes, Quail Hollow Club is usually the host of the PGA Tour’s Truist Championship (formerly the Wells Fargo). But with the PGA being staged there this year, the Truist was contested at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
What are some future PGA Championship venues?
- 2026: Aronimink Golf Club-Newtown Square, PA
- 2027: PGA Frisco-Frisco, TX
- 2028: The Olympic Club, Lake Course-San Francisco, CA
- 2029: Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course-Springfield, New Jersey
- 2030: Congressional Country Club-Bethesda, MD
- 2031: The Ocean Course-Kiawah Island, SC
- 2034: PGA Frisco-Frisco, TX
Who is in the field for the 2025 PGA Championship?
Last but not least, here's a look at the entire field for the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
- Ludvig Aberg
- Byeong Hun An
- Daniel Berger
- Brian Bergstol
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Akshay Bhatia
- Brandon Bingaman
- Richard Bland
- Michael Block
- Keegan Bradley
- Jacob Bridgeman
- Dean Burmester
- Sam Burns
- Brian Campbell
- Rafael Campos
- Laurie Canter
- Patrick Cantlay
- John Catlin
- Bud Cauley
- Eugenio Chacarra
- Andre Chi
- Wyndham Clark
- Eric Cole
- Tyler Collet
- Corey Conners
- Cam Davis
- Jason Day
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Thomas Detry
- Luke Donald
- Jesse Droemer
- Jason Dufner
- Nick Dunlap
- Nico Echavarria
- Austin Eckroat
- Harris English
- Tony Finau
- Patrick Fishburn
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Rickie Fowler
- Ryan Fox
- Sergio Garcia
- Bobby Gates
- Ryan Gerard
- Lucas Glover
- Max Greyserman
- Ben Griffin
- Larkin Gross
- Rasmus Hojgaard
- Nicolai Hojgaard
- Adam Hadwin
- Harry Hall
- Brian Harman
- Padraig Harrington
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Russell Henley
- Justin Hicks
- Garrick Higgo
- Joe Highsmith
- Ryo Hisatsune
- Lee Hodges
- Rico Hoey
- Tom Hoge
- Max Homa
- Beau Hossler
- Viktor Hovland
- Mackenzie Hughes
- Sungjae Im
- Nic Ishee
- Stephan Jaeger
- Tom Johnson
- Dustin Johnson
- Takumi Kanaya
- Michael Kartrude
- Martin Kaymer
- John Keefer
- Si Woo Kim
- Michael Kim
- Tom Kim
- Chris Kirk
- Kurt Kitayama
- Patton Kizzire
- Jake Knapp
- Greg Koch
- Brooks Koepka
- Thriston Lawrence
- Min Woo Lee
- Ryan Lenahan
- Justin Lower
- Shane Lowry
- Robert MacIntyre
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Denny McCarthy
- Matt McCarty
- Max McGreevy
- Rory McIlroy
- Tom McKibbin
- Maverick McNealy
- Shaun Micheel
- Phil Mickelson
- Keith Mitchell
- Taylor Moore
- Collin Morikawa
- Keita Nakajima
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
- Dylan Newman
- Joaquin Niemann
- Alex Noren
- Niklas Norgaard
- Andrew Novak
- Thorbjorn Olesen
- John Parry
- Matthieu Pavon
- Taylor Pendrith
- Marco Penge
- Victor Perez
- J.T. Poston
- Seamus Power
- David Puig
- Jon Rahm
- Aaron Rai
- Patrick Reed
- Davis Riley
- Patrick Rodgers
- Justin Rose
- Xander Schauffele
- Scottie Scheffler
- Adam Scott
- Cameron Smith
- Elvis Smylie
- John Somers
- Bob Sowards
- J.J. Spaun
- Jordan Spieth
- Eric Steger
- Sam Stevens
- Sepp Straka
- Nick Taylor
- Rupe Taylor
- Sahith Theegala
- Justin Thomas
- Davis Thompson
- Michael Thorbjornsen
- Sami Valimaki
- Erik van Rooyen
- Daniel van Tonder
- Jhonattan Vegas
- Karl Vilips
- Jimmy Walker
- Matt Wallace
- Timothy Wiseman
- Gary Woodland
- Cameron Young
- Kevin Yu
- Will Zalatoris