PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Beginning this year, the top 20 finishers in the PGA Professional National Championship will gain an exemption into the following year's showcase event for its member professionals. Additionally, PGA Life Member Active members will be allowed to compete for the national title.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the PGA Professional National Championship, which will be held June 21-24, at Sunriver (Ore.) Resort.
A 312-player field will compete for a total purse of $550,000, at Sunriver's Crosswater Golf Club and Meadows Golf Course. The field will play one round each on the resort's premier courses, with the final 36 holes contested at Crosswater Golf Club, which hosted the 2001 National Championship.
"The PGA Professional National Championship is a premier event in our Association, one that all of our members can be proud and for the great Champions and venues that we have enjoyed over the past 39 years," said PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb. "We are most pleased to announce that the low 20 finishers this year will gain exemptions in the 2008 Championship and that PGA Life Member Active members, many of whom have competed before at the national level, can join the qualifying field. We look forward to a great Championship at Sunriver Resort in June."
The PGA Professional National Championship is presented by Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra; Buick and Club Car. The Golf Channel, the exclusive media partner, will present live televised coverage of the Championship, and The PGA Tour is a contributing partner.
The National Championship field will feature representatives from 41 Section PGA Professional Championships conducted in 2006. The Section Championships and the National Championship offer a combined purse of $1.5 million. PGA Life Member Active members are eligible to compete in the Section Championships and advance to the National Championship. Past National Champions, who carry Life Member Active status, are immediately eligible for the National Championship.
The low 20 scorers in the PGA Professional National Championship will earn a berth in the 89th PGA Championship, Aug. 9-12, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Both Sunriver courses are the hubs of premier events this year, with Crosswater Golf Club hosting the JELD-WEN Tradition, the final major of the Champions Tour season, Aug. 13-19. The Meadows Golf Course is the site of the USGA Senior Women's Amateur, Aug. 30 to Sept. 6.
Sunriver's 605-acre resort is positioned between the Big Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers. Inspired by the Scottish highlands, Crosswater Golf Club's heath land-style course offers a perfect blend of strategy and aesthetics. Opened for play in 1995 and ranked No. 28 by Golf Digest in its listing of "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses." The course features a wide range of fairway lengths and the constant interplay of wetlands, ponds and rivers.
Designed by Bob Cupp, the par-72 Crosswater Golf Club will measure 7,563 yards, making it the second longest layout in PGA Professional National Championship history. The Meadows Golf Course, a collaborative effort between Fred Federspiel and John Fought, is a par-71 layout that will play to 7,001 yards in the Championship. The Meadows winds its way along the great meadow and through groves of Ponderosa Pines.
The PGA of America is the world's largest working sports organization comprised of 28,000 men and women golf Professionals who are the recognized experts in growing, teaching and managing the game of golf while serving millions of people throughout its 41 PGA Sections nationwide. Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has enhanced its leadership position in a $62 billion-a-year industry by growing the game of golf through its premier spectator events, world-class education and training programs, significant philanthropic outreach initiatives, and award-winning golf promotions. Today's PGA Professional is the public's link to the game, serving an essential role in the operation of golf facilities throughout the country.
