The occasion of the 71st edition of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at PGA Frisco on June 19–22 in Frisco, Texas, possesses a degree of significance that resonates on many levels beyond its appointment as the year’s third major championship in women’s professional golf.
The $10.4 million championship, the second-richest event in women’s golf in this country, represents the third significant PGA of America championship in as many years to be held at its new home office and adjoining Omni PGA Frisco Resort and golf facility, and the second major championship after its debut in 2023 hosting the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
Like the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship was staged exclusively on Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, one of two courses at the Omni Frisco PGA Resort. Last year, the East – designed by Gil Hanse with Jim Wagner – and West courses welcomed the PGA Professional Championship.
Aside from the age-specific Senior PGA Championship, a major championship on either the men’s or women’s primary tours hasn’t been held in North Texas since Jack Nicklaus won the first of his five PGA Championship titles in 1963 at Dallas Athletic Club. Before that, you have to go back to 1927 when Walter Hagen won his fourth straight PGA Championship and fifth overall with a 1-up match-play victory over Joe Turnesa at Cedar Crest Golf Club in Dallas.
“That’s a pretty good track record as far as champions go,” notes Jason Mengel, Championship Director for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
On the women’s side, only the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open has been played in North Texas; Meg Mallon won the title that year at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.
Never before, however, has the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship been contested in the state of Texas. This will be quite a meaningful debut in the Lone Star State, and Mengel manages to put it into perspective. “Obviously, it’s so great that women’s sports are having a moment,” he explains. “I think we’re all aware of that. And, so, we’re really looking forward to adding to that story of female athletes and women’s sports having this moment. It’s going to be special.”
Thousands of spectators are expected to attend the second-oldest major championship in women’s golf daily, and that excites PGA of America President Don Rea Jr.
“It’s very exciting to bring out a major championship like the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to our home in Frisco,” he says. “It’s a chance for new visitors to experience PGA Frisco, and for us to show them why we’re so proud of it.
“And it’s always great to celebrate women’s golf and the amazing growth the game is seeing through greater participation from women and girls. This is an exciting time in golf, and we’re glad to help keep the momentum going by hosting this great championship.”
While tweaks to the Fields Ranch East layout have been negligible, the exam the women will encounter will be different from either of the two previous championships in a couple of ways.
First, of course, will be the yardage, which is set at 6,604 yards for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a par 72 with an outward 37 and inward 35. The tournament dates, in the heart of June, will enable Roger Meier, PGA Frisco’s Senior Director of Golf Maintenance Operations, to present a more lush Bermudagrass layer to greet the 156-player field. That could mean more challenging lies in the rough for those who stray off the generous fairways. The small greens, perched above bunkers and chipping runoffs, should be firm and fast.
“You have to really be sharp with your distance control,” says Sandra Changkija, PGA/LPGA, Assistant Professional at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida, who played in the 2024 PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch East and West. “If you’re missing greens, you’re going to have to work hard to get up and down.”
The most significant change of all is the flipping of the ninth and 18th holes in the championship sequence. The order of play will be holes 1–8, followed by the reachable 484-yard par-5 18th, then 10–17 and, finally, the ninth, which is a strong par 4 measuring 443 yards.
“It will be a tremendous finishing hole with a lot of drama if things are close,” says Fields Ranch Director of Golf Paul Earnest, PGA. “There’s a bunker in the center of the fairway, and the approach shot will likely come off a little bit of a downhill lie to a green that’s uphill and very well bunkered. So, it’s a really challenging finish. Could be a big swing (of strokes) there. You’re not going to be done until the ball’s in the hole.”
Mengel adds that the area around the ninth green is more conducive to accommodating a larger crowd, as well as hospitality areas.
“So, at the Senior PGA Championship, what we found is we had a very exciting finish with the playoff between Padraig Harrington and eventual champion Steve Stricker.
“But, we just found that with our contractual commitments and hospitality venues, there wasn’t a lot of room left over for the general spectators to experience it. Finishing on nine allows more of an atmosphere to be created, allows more gallery to kind of funnel in and be in close proximity, creating a championship atmosphere for fans and for the players as they come down the stretch.”
That wasn’t the only lesson gleaned from the 2023 Senior PGA Championship. There have been tweaks to the footprint and a shifting of some of the infrastructure. The main entrance is in a different location, eventually leading spectators through PGA District, the entertainment, shopping and dining complex, plus the 10-hole, par-3 course called “The Swing.”