Valhalla being considered for a 5th PGA Championship, those in charge praising it as a 'wonderful venue'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- On June 1, 2022, the future of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club was thrown into doubt. Nearly two years before the best golfers in the world descended on Louisville for the 2024 PGA Championship — Valhalla's fourth — much of the city assumed it would be the last.

That day, a group of Louisville investors and businessmen announced they'd purchased Valhalla, assuming local control of a club that the PGA of America had a least partially owned for 26 years and had repeatedly utilized to host its biggest events.

PGA leadership decided to invest elsewhere, building a massive new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, complete with a new championship golf course that already has two future dates for PGA Championships.

So long, Valhalla? Maybe not.

The PGA of America's president, CEO and chief championships officer fielded the question Wednesday at Valhalla that many in Louisville have asked. Was the sale of the course the end of their interest in Louisville?

It didn't sound like it.

Seth Waugh, John Lindert and Kerry Haigh — PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, President John Lindert and Chief Championship Officer Kerry Haigh hold their annual news conference Wednesday at Valhalla Golf Club ahead of the PGA Championship. May 15, 2024. *(WDRB Photo)*

"Two of the three PGA Championships we've had here have resulted in a playoff," PGA of America President John Lindert said. "So it's a wonderful, wonderful venue. The community is extremely supportive. We've sold out of tickets. Hospitality has been off the charts. So from that perspective, for me, I would say it would continue to be considered."

And that may not just have been lip service to the local fans. A source tells WDRB that the PGA of America has, in fact, discussed a return to Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which would be its record-tying fifth. It's in a group with four other courses for the next available date, which is 2032.

Those other four courses being considered for the PGA of America's next announcement — Bethpage Black Course, Oak Hill Country Club, Atlanta Athletic Club and Southern Hills Country Club — all very well may appear on the calendar before Valhalla. But the assumption that local ownership of the club means it'll no longer garner national attention isn't the case, and PGA of America leadership said as much Wednesday.

"The fact that we don't announce something this week or next week or even next year doesn't mean Valhalla isn't a great venue that we are thinking about," PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said.

The course has never been the most interesting, golf fans will tell you, and players Tuesday and Wednesday told reporters repeatedly that while it produces great leaderboards and is a fair test, it lacks a certain variety of shot-making.

"It's all right in front of you," Louisville native and two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas said Tuesday. "You just hit a driver really far and really straight and hit your irons well. That seems to be the theme here."

And that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a ball-striker's golf course, something that's evident in the last two champions its produced: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, maybe two of the best drivers and long-iron players of the last 50 years.

The golf shots? They might lack creativity. But you better step up and hit them. And that has created three compelling leaderboards, something that's become the de facto identity of Valhalla's championship resume.

"For the most part ... you're just grabbing a driver when you get to the tee and you're just hoping you hit the fairway, and then you're probably going to hit somewhere between a 5- and an 8-iron into the green," Thomas said. "I think when you give all of us very similar places to play from, you have the opportunity for more bunched leaderboards.

"... History has kind of proven, at this tournament, that they have been pretty bunched leaderboards, and it's been very close coming down the stretch."

That drama combined with the fan and corporate support Louisville has shown in 1996, 2000, 2014 and now in 2024 set a blueprint for what the PGA of America expects. For a casual golf fan looking at Louisville and Valhalla on TV, it might not be a slam dunk. For fans on site and those in charge of selling a seven-day tournament experience, it's still world class, regardless of who owns it.

"Louisville shows up and they show up in every way," Waugh said. "... It's an amazing town that gets behind things, which is fantastic."