The PGA Championship has an identity crisis. Here are some big ideas to fix it

TL;DR

The PGA Championship faces an identity crisis, overshadowed by the Masters and U.S. Open. PGA officials highlight its uniqueness due to varying course conditions each year.

Key points

The PGA Championship is overshadowed by the Masters and U.S. Open.
It features a different golf course each year.
PGA officials emphasize the championship's unique identity.
The event has faced criticism for its identity crisis.
Kerry Haigh is the PGA's chief championships officer.

Mentioned in this story

PGA ChampionshipKerry Haigh

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — The PGA Championship is upon us, and you could be forgiven if you thought, “Wait … already?” The afterglow of the Masters hasn’t even faded before the PGA sneaks up each year. Sandwiched between Augusta and the majesty of the U.S. Open, the PGA is a bit of an awkward fit, a tricky major hemmed in even more by the PGA Tour’s Signature Events.

So even though the PGA Championship is a major that counts every bit as much as the other three legacy-wise, there’s a bit of an identity crisis at work here. The Masters is aspirational tradition, the U.S. Open is bring-it muscle, The Open Championship is generational sophistication. But the PGA is … what, exactly? Famous for getting its best player arrested a couple years back, yes, but is that something the PGA really wants to promote going forward?

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“Every year we play a new, different golf course: Different grass, different architect, different climate, different geography,” PGA chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said Wednesday. “So the championship never favors one particular player. This week is totally different than last year, will be totally different than next year. So in that way, that's our identity.”

Here are a few options for some more concrete ways to create that identity.

Move back to August

“Glory’s Last Shot” wasn’t a great PGA Championship slogan, although it was so much better than the neurotic “This Is Major.” At least it was an ethos, one last chance to claim a life-changing win before the long winter. The PGA moved out of the summer slot in 2019 in order to avoid the Olympics every four years and keep the PGA Tour’s playoffs from extending into the NFL season, which are both valid concerns.

The move to May changed the slate of available venues, allowing states like Texas and Oklahoma to host tournaments. (More on that in a bit.) But it also created a calendar that is tightly packed from April to July, one that may not allow players to be at their best for every major. A return to August could let the calendar breathe … but it sounds like a return to August won’t be happening any time soon.