PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The PGA of America's 39th showcase event for its member Professionals, the PGA Club Professional Championship, will bear a new name and event logo, in addition to an expanded field.

The renamed PGA Professional National Championship will be contested June 22-25, 2006, at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y.

A 312-player field, double the size of last year's Championship, will compete for a total purse of $500,000, at Turning Stone's Atunyote Golf Club and Shenendoah Golf Club. The field will play one round each on the two courses, with the final 36 holes contested at Atunyote Golf Club.

The PGA Professional National Championship is presented by Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra; Buick and Club Car. The Greg Norman Collection is the Official Golf Apparel of the Championship. The Golf Channel, the exclusive media partner, will continue its live televised coverage of the Championship, and The PGA Tour is a contributing partner.

"The PGA of America's tradition of conducting a premier National Championship for its finest playing Professionals continues to evolve, as we visit outstanding venues around the country," said PGA of America President Roger Warren. "This year's PGA Professional National Championship, with an expanded field, underscores our Association's efforts to further promote our member Professionals by bringing more members and their playing skills into the national spotlight."

The national field was assembled from 41 Section PGA Professional Championships conducted in 2005. The Section Championships and the National Championship offer a combined purse of more than $1.3 million. This year, the low 20 scorers in the PGA Professional National Championship will earn a berth in the 88th PGA Championship, Aug. 17-20, 2006, at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club.

With Turning Stone Resort & Casino serving as host, New York becomes the 13th state to host the PGA Professional National Championship, which originated in 1968.

Turning Stone Resort & Casino has hosted two former Eastern PGA Club Professional Championships, along with numerous Section and statewide PGA-sanctioned events.

Atunyote Golf Club, a Tom Fazio design, opened for play in July 2004. The course was listed by Travel & Leisure Golf as one of the "10 Best New Public/Resort Courses," and was selected in 2004 by GOLF Magazine in its "Top 10 New Courses Your Can Play."

Atunyote, (pronounced "Uh-DUNE-yote"), is the Oneida nation word for "eagle." The course features a parkland setting with gently rolling hills, rock formations, a preserved deadwood marsh, a stream and waterfalls and several lakes and ponds. A New England-style clubhouse opened this spring. The par-72 Atunyote layout measures 7,315 yards from its back tees.

Designed by Rick Smith, Shenendoah Golf Club opened in May 2000 and has earned a niche in the 2005-06 Golf Digest directory of "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses;" and was also ranked No. 2 in New York in Golfweek's "America's Best" public access courses.

Shenendoah Golf Club was crafted from a natural landscape to create wooded parkland holes, open pastures that retain the feeling of a links course and also features several low-country holes. Golf Digest's 2002-03 "Best Places to Play" rated Shenendoah Golf Club the No. 1 public access course in conditioning. The par-72 layout can be stretched to 7,129 yards from its back tees.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary, The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf, while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.