LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Saturday will mark 100 days until PGA Championship week begins at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, and tournament officials will parade the Wanamaker Trophy around town in celebration.

The trophy, which is named after Rodman Wanamaker — one of the founding members of the PGA of America — has been awarded to the winner of the PGA Championship since the inaugural event in 1916. Etched in its side are the name of all 105 winners, everyone from Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan to Louisville's own Justin Thomas and Bobby Nichols.

The Wanamaker Trophy's week-long tour will include three events, PGA officials said in a news release Thursday:

  • Omni Louisville Hotel on South 2nd Street
    • 5-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2
    • People can sign up on-site and enter to win two Friday grounds tickets for the championship
  • Topgolf on Oxmoor Lane
    • 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6
    • People can sign up on-site and enter to win two Saturday grounds tickets for the championship
  • University of Louisville's women's basketball game at the KFC Yum! Center
    • 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8
    • Ticket giveaway for two Sunday grounds tickets for the championship

At Valhalla, crews are hard at work around the property finishing the final major projects before the pros arrive.

In late-2021, the club began work to re-sod the entire golf course. The course was transitioned from a cool-season Bentgrass to a warm-season Zyosia grass, allowing for easier maintenance of the course during the warm season, course superintendent John Ballard said. The course has been lengthened by about 100 yards, extending tee boxes on holes 1, 12, 14 and 18. No. 1 will play 50 yards longer, and No. 12 can go 20 yards longer. No. 14 can now be played as a 250-yard par three.

The grounds crew also totally reworked the green site on No. 13, further defining the rock and water features behind and to the right of the green on Valhalla's signature hole.

Additionally, crews are in the middle of a large-scale renovation to the clubhouse and the green site on No. 13.

The 486-acre property sits off Shelbyville Road, just east of Interstate 265. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, it opened in 1986 and remains the No. 1-ranked course in Kentucky, according to Golf Digest.

Valhalla has also played host to many marquee events that drew national and international attention to Louisville:

  • 1996 PGA Championship: Won by Mark Brooks
  • 2000 PGA Championship: Won by Tiger Woods
  • 2004 Senior PGA Championship: Won by Hale Irwin
  • 2008 Ryder Cup: Won by the United States
  • 2011 Senior PGA Championship: Won by Tom Watson
  • 2014 PGA Championship: Won by Rory McIlroy

Championship tickets are sold out, but practice round tickets remain available for Monday through Wednesday. For more information on tickets and to buy yours today, click here. And if you'd like to register to volunteer at Valhalla before the Feb. 15 deadline, click here.

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