The 2020 PGA Championship will be contested without on-site spectators when it tees off this August 3-9 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
The PGA of America made the decision to play the first men’s Major of 2020 without spectators in coordination with the state of California and city and county of San Francisco, with the health and well-being of all involved as the top priority.
“We are thrilled to welcome the PGA Championship to San Francisco,” said San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed. “We are able to safely take this step toward reopening because of the ongoing sacrifices of our citizens, the continued committed work of our healthcare workers and the early action we took to battle Covid-19.”
The PGA of America will continue to monitor Covid-19 developments and work in concert with the state of California and San Francisco city and county public health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention through championship week.
“We are both inspired and honored to ‘play on,’” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. “In doing so, we will spotlight not only the beauty of TPC Harding Park, but the fortitude of San Francisco and its remarkable people. We’d like to thank the state of California and the city and county of San Francisco for being terrific partners in helping us get to this place. While the local community cannot be with us physically on-site, we will certainly carry their spirit of resilience and unity with us as we stage our major championship, on their behalf, for all the world to see and enjoy.”
TPC Harding Park, which is managed by the city’s recreation and park department, is the fourth municipal golf course to host the PGA Championship.
Seven of the past 10 winners of the PGA Championship went on to become No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including Brooks Koepka who won his second consecutive PGA Championship in May 2019 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. The two-time defending champion will bid to become the first player to win the same Major three consecutive times since Australia’s Peter Thomson claimed three straight Open Championships from 1954 to 1956.
The field also will once again include the top 20 PGA club professionals, who will qualify during the PGA Professional Championship to be played in late July at Omni Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas.
Prior to its postponement on March 17, the PGA Championship was originally scheduled for May 14-17.
