History of the PGA Championship

Over 100,000 spectators attend the PGA Championship, affectionately called "Glory's Last Shot," as the final tournament of its PGA Tour, and the final major championship of the four during the professional golf season. Although the PGA Tour, an elite organization of golf tournament professionals, has been a separate organization from the PGA of America, an organization of club and teaching professionals, since 1968, the PGA of America still runs the PGA Championship and presents it each year. The tournament was originally established with the intention of providing professional golfers with a high profile tournament - partly to put to rest the widespread notion that golf was simply a laid back pastime for wealthy amateurs with time to kill. For that reason, the PGA Championship began as and still remains the only major which refrains from extending direct invitations to amateur golfers, although they may still participate if they win a different major whose prize package includes an invitation. It is also the only major golf championship that allocates a significant number of its spots to club professionals (20 out of 156). The PGA Championship is also the only major golf tournament that does not outright include the fop fifty players from the World Golf Rankings among its qualifiers; however, the specifications for eligibility nevertheless manage to include them all by default. Entrants into the championship are determined based on their performances in the club pro championship held in June. Among qualifiers for the PGA Championship are: • Former PGA Champions • U.S. Open winners from the past five years • Masters Tournament winners from the past five years • Open Championship winners from the past five years • Last Senior PGA Champion • Lowest 15 scorers from the previous year's PGA Championship • Lowest 20 scorers from the last PGA Professional National Championship • Top 70 leaders from the last PGA Championship Points list • Most recent members of the United States and European Ryder Cup Teams, who are among the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings at least a week in advance of the tournament • Winners of tournaments either co-sponsored by the PGA Tour, or approved by the organization, that have taken place since the last PGA Championship • Any additional players selected at the discretion of the PGA of America organization • Vacancy fillers from a list of approved alternates (from below the 70th place on the PGA Championship Points List) to bring the total to the maximum of 156 players The first PGA Championship took place in 1916. It was held at the Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York, and Jim Barnes of England walked away as the first winner in the history of the championship. He was rewarded with a $500 prize, as well as a gold medal with diamond studs that had been donated by Rodman Wanamaker, a prestigious department store owner, who had arranged a luncheon between the biggest names in the golf sporting industry to discuss a means he had in mind of making money by forming a professional golf association and selling associated merchandise.