PGA WRAP UP
A PGA CHAMPIONSHIP TO SAVOR Years of planning have major payoff
Will Zalatoris prepares to hit his second shot on 18 in a playoff against Justin Thomas. by ken macleod
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eeks after Justin Thomas held off Will Zalatoris in an aggregate three-hole playoff to win the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, Championship Director Bryan Karns was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Honestly, a lot of us are still waiting for the big negative and we haven’t found one,” Karns said of the post-tournament critique conducted by the PGA of America after each of its flagship events. While the city that was constructed at Southern Hills was being rapidly dismantled, the numbers, surveys and reviews coming in all indicated the tournament more than met
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GOLF OKL AHOMA • JUNE/JULY 2022
“I was just writing a note to Kerry about its goals in corporate sales, attendance, concession sales, television ratings, merchan- how much I enjoyed the last five years of planning and problem solving,” Myers said. dise sales and operational efficiency. Without releasing specific numbers, Karns “Being able to stand next to him for five said total attendance for the week was close years and discuss options and scenarios reto 200,000 with about 40,000 per day Thurs- lated to everything, it’s just such a logistical process and that’s what I day through Sunday. All really enjoy. Working with corporate tent availability Gil Hanse on every aspect was sold. Merchandise sales of the restoration. set records on three of four “My personal goal days. Since Southern Hills’ through all this was to contract is based on pershow that a classic venue centages of corporate sales like Southern Hills could as well as other sales, the challenge the best players club should come out well. in the world without narThe success extended to rowing fairways, having rehow the course presented ally deep rough or tricking itself and how it played. it up. We wanted to see if Thomas and Zalatoris were we could change the narra5-under through 72 holes tive that only second-shot of regulation play. After What a week for Nick players who hit great irons greens were not mowed FriSidorakis and Russ Myers. could compete here. We day morning due to Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh’s fear ended up with Rory McIlroy leading one of predicted gales Friday morning, several day, Zalatoris and Bubba Watson in conplayers shot low when winds died to noth- tention, not your typical target golfers. So ing Friday afternoon, including Bubba Wat- I think we were successful in that as well.” That is exactly what Hanse was looking son matching the course record with a 63. Otherwise the course played just as Haigh for throughout his restoration as well. “The best architecture is where the player and superintendent Russ Myers hoped and decides how they want to play it versus the prepared it to for years. W W W.GOLFOKL AHOMA.ORG
