World Golf Championship Event Moving to Bradenton: PGA
BRADENTON, FL — The World Golf Championship-Mexico Championship is moving to The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton Feb. 25-28, the PGA Tour said in a news release.
The organization is moving the event to Florida “due to logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the tour said.
The World Golf Championship will be staged without general admission ticketed spectators but will have a limited number of club members and invited guests onsite for competition days. It will also include a Wednesday pro-am and honorary observers, the tour said.
The tournament will now kick off a four-week Florida Swing that also features the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, The Players Championship and The Honda Classic.
It’s also the second of back-to-back weeks of professional golf in the Bradenton-Sarasota area. The Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic will be played the week prior across the street at Lakewood National Golf Club.
The tour is expected to return to Mexico in 2022, Ty Votaw, PGA TOUR executive vice president said. For now, the tour is working to secure a title sponsor for the 2021 event in Bradenton.
The World Golf Championships’ new venue is named for one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship in the game’s history, the tour said. The club was designed by Jack Nicklaus in association with fellow World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin. Nicklaus conceded a 2-foot putt to Jacklin on the final hole of the 1969 Ryder Cup. The gesture, known as “the concession," guaranteed the first tie in Ryder Cup history.
The United States still retained the Cup with the tie, but it would have won the Cup outright if Jacklin, winner of the 1969 Open Championship, missed the short putt.
“I don’t believe you would have missed that, but I’d never give you the opportunity in these circumstances,” Jacklin recalled Nicklaus telling him. Jacklin also won the 1970 U.S. Open.
The Concession was named “Best New Private Course” by Golf Digest when it opened in 2006. Bryson DeChambeau won the individual title in the 2015 NCAA Championship at Concession.
“This is a monumental opportunity for The Concession to host an event at the level of a World Golf Championships and showcase the unique layout and rich history of this Club to a global audience,” said Bruce Cassidy, president of The Concession Golf Club. “With our past experience hosting high-profile events, we believe this course will provide a stern but memorable test of golf to this collection of the very best players in the world.”
This article originally appeared on the Bradenton Patch
