Saturday News Dump: PGA Of America Locks In Baltusrol For '23 KPMG LPGA, '29 PGA

I'm fairly certainly a Saturday in the summertime is the only opportunity more likely to get something less notice than a Friday evening in summertime. 

As Kevin Casey notes for Golfweek, this is the second joint KPMG LPGA and PGA Championship site announcement and great news for the women, who will return to a former U.S. Women's Open site and scene of many fine championships.

For Immediate Release:

PGA OF AMERICA TO HOST KPMG WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AND

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AT BALTUSROL GOLF CLUB

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (June 30, 2018) – The PGA of America announced today that Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey will host two of its pillar championships: the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2023 and the PGA Championship in 2029.

Founded in 1895, Baltusrol has played a prominent role on the national golf stage for nearly 125 years. Both Championships will be staged on Baltusrol’s famed Lower Course, which is an A.W. Tillinghast design. Since opening in 1922, the Lower Course has hosted 10 major golf events, including seven professional major championships.

The 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be the second women’s major championship played on the Lower Course. In a duel of World Golf Hall-of-Famers, Mickey Wright topped Betsy Rawls by six shots to win the 1961 U.S. Women’s Open.  

This will be Baltusrol’s third PGA Championship: Phil Mickelson and Jimmy Walker notched memorable one-shot victories on the Lower Course in 2005 and 2016, respectively.  

“The PGA of America is delighted to continue our wonderful relationship with Baltusrol well into the future,” said PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua. “We’re excited to watch the best men and women in the game measure themselves against one of the most historic and challenging golf courses in the world, Baltusrol’s Lower Course.”

The KPMG Women’s Championship is a collaboration of the PGA of America, LPGA and KPMG, and focuses on the development, advancement and empowerment of women.

“KPMG’s commitment to elevating women on and off the golf course is exemplified by the selection of Baltusrol Golf Club as the host of the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship,” said Lynne Doughtie, KPMG U.S. Chairman and CEO. “To help more women in business advance to the C-suite, the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit will be held at Baltusrol and bring together top leaders across multiple industries with women nominated by their CEOs to attend.”

“The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has quickly become synonymous with greatness, and what better venue to solidify that than Baltusrol,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “Even casual fans equate Baltusrol with ‘major’ moments in golf, and we’re thrilled that the best female golfers in the world will get to test their games at such an iconic venue in 2023.”

In 2014, Baltusrol Golf Club was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, one of only four golf properties to earn this distinction.

“Since 1901 the best players in the world have competed against each other on our golf courses," said Rick Shea, Baltusrol President. "We look forward to working with the PGA of America to showcase the best women and men in these two Major Championships.”