Why a move to May, Kiawah’s Ocean Course and fans have PGA Championship organizers giddy

The state of South Carolina has an unprecedented three tournaments on the 2021 PGA Tour schedule with the temporary relocation of the RBC Canadian Open in June to Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland due to coronavirus restrictions in Canada.

The RBC Heritage is being played this week in Hilton Head Island, and the crown jewel of the trio will be played in five weeks, when the PGA Championship returns to Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course.

One of professional golf’s four major championships, the PGA was last played on the scenic and treacherous layout in 2012.

Its return has the PGA of America giddy about the possibilities considering the circumstances of a date change from August to May 20-23, return of spectators to the tournament, and characteristics of the host course, which has numerous holes along the Atlantic Ocean and its dunes.

“It’s one of the best settings for a golf event,” said tournament director Ryan Ogle. “I don’t know if you can find a better setting to host an event, not only for the course and the competition and the drama I think it will present, but also the way it’s going to be represented on our broadcast to 164 countries and half a billion households by putting a bright light on the Lowcountry and on the state of South Carolina. . . . It checks all the boxes.”

Collin Morikawa, winner of the 2020 PGA Championship, speaks to the media beside the Wanamaker Trophy at Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course on Monday. Morikawa will defend his title and the trophy at the 2021 PGA Championship at the course from May 20-23. April 12, 2021
Collin Morikawa, winner of the 2020 PGA Championship, speaks to the media beside the Wanamaker Trophy at Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course on Monday. Morikawa will defend his title and the trophy at the 2021 PGA Championship at the course from May 20-23. April 12, 2021

Big move on the PGA Tour calendar

The PGA Championship – which for decades has been the final major of the year in August – was supposed to move to May last year under a reworked PGA Tour schedule. But it was postponed until Aug. 6-9, 2020 because of the coronavirus. Spectators were banned at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

“I think May is going to be a great change from 2012,” Ogle said. “You see drier weather, which is great from our spectator plans and the spectator experience. You see more wind, which is good for the competition, which is really going to test the players. The wind is the defense on this course. Without wind you’re going to see low scores. With wind you’re going to see high scores. . . . It’s also mild temperatures. It’s really hot in August. So the climate, the wind and the dryness of May is a great combination for the championship and I think we’re going to benefit from it.”

Defending champion Collin Morikawa played the course for the first time Monday with an ESPN film crew and some media members in tow for much of his round. He experienced the blustery conditions that can make Pete Dye’s oceanside masterpiece that hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup dubbed the “War on the Shore” a beast.

“The wind picked up the last hour and a half, two hours, and those final few holes, even though it was downwind, do not play easy,” Morikawa said. “I’m sure [the greens] are going to be a little firmer, a little faster. It’s not going to be easy to stop shots, whether it’s with a wedge or a 4-iron.”

The course has Paspalum grass on its greens, but the putting surfaces have been overseeded for the winter and Kiawah resort president Roger Warren, a past PGA of America president, said they will be “fuller, smoother and faster” in May than they would be in August. The rough can be deeper with winter rye grass, but won’t be as gnarly as it could be in the summer with warm-weather Bermudagrass the predominant grass.

The course has been lengthened since 2012 with three new back tees to extend its length up to a gaudy 7,876 yards.

“I was hitting a bunch of 6-, 5-, 4-irons into greens, even had a couple 5-woods,” Morikawa said. “Yeah, you really can’t get lazy on any of these shots. You can’t take anything for granted because it’ll bite you in the butt for sure.”

A harrowing storm and heavy winds during the second round in 2012 led to scores of 90 and 93 by a couple competitors.

Rory McIlroy, then 23, managed a 3-over 75 in the second round and captured the Wanamaker Trophy by a tournament-record eight strokes with a 13-under 275.

Kiawah Island Golf Resort President Roger Warren (left) and PGA of America President Jim Richerson speak to the media beside the Wanamaker Trophy at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course on Monday. The 2021 PGA Championship will be played at the course from May 20-23. April 12, 2021
Kiawah Island Golf Resort President Roger Warren (left) and PGA of America President Jim Richerson speak to the media beside the Wanamaker Trophy at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course on Monday. The 2021 PGA Championship will be played at the course from May 20-23. April 12, 2021

Allowing a limited number of spectators

Though the tournament was sold out prior to the onset of the coronavirus, attendance will be limited to 10,000 spectators.

Ogle said the PGA partnered with state officials and its medical provider MUSC “to make sure we host this championship responsibly. We’re confident that number is going to be a great setting and unique setting but also have the excitement that spectators are back. . . . The players really feed off of the spectators and you heard a lot of comments saying that when they had no spectators for a long time. They missed the fans.”

Ogle said ticket holders were pared down based primarily on the date of the purchase, with the earliest purchasers retaining their tickets. “We’re confident this will be the last time we ever have to do that,” said Ogle, who moved to Johns Island in September to be at the tournament site full-time.

There will be corporate chalets but no spectator grandstands for social distancing, so attendees will be allowed to bring a collapsible chair, and masks will be required. To limit personal interaction, tickets will be mobile and there will be no cash transactions. A spectator guide is available at www.pgachampionship.com/spectatorguide.

“I think it’s going to be a great spectator experience for those joining us,” Ogle said.

The limited attendance will help the PGA alleviate the logistical problems that plagued the tournament in 2012 due to the course’s remote location several miles inside the resort, which has just a two-lane road.

Off-site public parking located adjacent to Freshfields (830 Kiawah Island Parkway, Johns Island) will be complimentary in part because the payment process backed up traffic in 2012.

On-island vehicles are being limited and turn lanes for shuttles have been created to further alleviate traffic.

The tournament will be broadcast by CBS and ESPN – with broadcast and digital coverage also on CBS Sports and ESPN+.

Corporate chalets are being constructed to the left of the 18th green and fairway at Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course ​on Monday. The 2021 PGA Championship will be played at the course from May 20-23. April 12, 2021.
Corporate chalets are being constructed to the left of the 18th green and fairway at Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course ​on Monday. The 2021 PGA Championship will be played at the course from May 20-23. April 12, 2021.