Focus shifts to 2022 PGA Championship, time is tight for ticket purchases
By Ken MacLeod
With the 2021 KitchenAid Senior Championship in the books, it’s time to start looking ahead to the 2022 PGA Championship.
If you have intentions of going to see Phil Mickelson defend his championship against the best players in the world and have yet to register for tickets, pay close attention.
By June 14 an email will be going out to those in the early group, which includes everyone who bought tickets or volunteered at the Senior PGA Championship. This will give the registrants priority access to purchase tickets for 2022.
Then on June 21, an email will go out to the second group, which is everyone who preregisters at www.pgachampionship.com. If you have any thought of attending, get preregistered now. There is no obligation to purchase, but tickets will largely sell out shortly after those sales are opened on June 21. Those who wait will likely find themselves paying higher prices on ticket resale sites.
Similarly if your company is interested in corporate hospitality large or small, you should contact the club or championship director Bryan Karns very soon, as the response for the 2022 event has been overwhelming.
Several factors are contributing to that. Golf has been in a good place since the beginning of the pandemic, the local economy is strong and Mickelson’s victory has raised the profile of the event even to a new level. Also many companies who were intending to have a larger presence at the Senior PGA rolled their big investments into 2022 due to both Covid restrictions and the January announcement that the 2022 championship would be coming to Southern Hills and not Trump Bedminster.
“It’s mind blowing the kind of response we’ve had,” Karns said. “The one this year will go down with an asterisk, because the attendance and corporate investment could have been much higher without Covid. But everything the last six months came together better than we could have imagined and we had a great event. Looking ahead though, the demand is high and things are gong to move fast.”
For single session ticket buyers, the PGA is looking at making practice rounds as affordable as possible, while experimenting with an inclusive ticket for tournament rounds that will include food and beverage. Details will be announced prior to tickets going on sale.
Karns said the Senior PGA Championship won Sunday by Alex Cejka went well. Parking was frustrating for some at first but with the relaxation of Covid restrictions the tournament was able to have shuttle buses running from ORU by Friday. The Pro-Am party Monday night was a hit with the participation of sports figures such as Bob Stoops, Mike Boynton, Lon Kruger, Steve Largent, Philip Montgomery, Chris Tidland and Brandon Weeden. On Wednesday Whirlpool, owner of the title sponsor, made a major expansion announcement.
One hitch was Thursday’s afternoon storm that washed out play close to 4 p.m., but the tournament was able to get back on time by early Saturday.
Photos by Rip Stell
