The US PGA Championship was first instituted in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, NY for professional golfers. It is one of the few championships that will not accept high-ranking amateurs. It is the last of 4 major men’s golf tournaments and has hosted great finishes since its inception. From Jim Barnes who won the first Championship and got $500.00 to Tiger Woods who won in 2006 and 2007and received $1.224 million and $1.26 million, respectively, every champion has taken home the Wanamaker Trophy for beating the field as well. Winning earns the golfer a lifetime-qualifying status for the tournament and invitations to the remainder of the major tournaments for 5 years.
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This year, the 69th Senior PGA Championship will be held in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan at the Oakland Hills Country Club’s South Course August 7th through 10th. The south course, designed by Donald J. Ross and Rees Jones, opened in 1918, with Walter Hagen as the first professional. The Country Club has hosted various professional golf tournaments throughout its history. The South Course has hosted all tournaments played at Oakland Hills. During the Great Depression, it was open to the public and made into a daily-fee, semi-private club. Robert Trent Jones redesigned it and it reopened in 1969. Jones’ son, Rees, renovated the South Course beginning August 1, 2006 and it completely closed on October 1, 2006 and was reopened in 2007.