KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills Brings Tulsa Center Stage
HORNSBY READY TO GOLF: Hornsby, the mascot of the Tulsa Drillers, welcomed PGA Senior defending champion Ken Tanigawa to a media event at Oneok Field in April. At right is Tulsa Drillers President and General Manager Mike Melaga.
The PGA of America’s 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship has brought the eyes of the golfing world to Tulsa for the May event at Southern Hills Country Club.
The 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship — the most historic and prestigious event in senior golf — welcomes approximately 8,000 spectators per day, a decision that was made in coordination with the City of Tulsa and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“After a year away, we’re excited to re-establish the legacy of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship,” said PGA President Jim Richerson. “Southern Hills, with all of its pedigree, is certainly a special place. It’ll be exciting to watch this great American golf course, which our friend Gil Hanse restored to Perry Maxwell’s original vision, on a Major Championship stage, not once, but twice, in as many years.”
Those who purchased tickets to the 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship have first priority for 2022 PGA Championship tickets when they go on sale on June 1. The 2022 PGA Championship will be played at Southern Hills, May 16-22, 2022.
“Over the next 15 months, our friends in Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma will have a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to see so many of golf’s greatest living Champions compete for two Major Championships at Southern Hills,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of the PGA of America. “To that end, we’ll host and promote a responsible on-course environment that is both memorable and in line with local health protocols.”
Ken Tanigawa, 53, is the defending champion at this year’s event. He won the 2019 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. The 2020 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship was not played in adherence to local COVID-19 mitigation policies in Southwest Michigan.
“The health and well being of our volunteers, spectators and players has always been our top priority, and we are thrilled that we were able to work together to find a safe way to bring back this incredible event,” said Deb O’Connor, director of Global Corporate Reputation and Community Relations at Whirlpool Corporation, parent company of KitchenAid. “With 1,500 people currently employed at our Tulsa Whirlpool plant, we could not be more excited to bring this iconic Championship to such a special community.”
The field for the 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship includes the top 35 Senior PGA Club Professionals, who qualified during the 2020 Senior PGA Professional Championship, which was won by Omar Uresti of Austin, Texas, October 15-18, at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
