Momentum is building for the 2027 PGA Championship in Frisco—particularly outside the ropes—but the PGA of America isn’t ready to compare its new home to the other historic courses that will host majors next year.
“Iconic venues aren’t born or just created overnight,” PGA of America CEO Terry Clark tells Front Office Sports.
The PGA of America—a separate entity from the PGA Tour—operates the PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, and other major events. Fields Ranch East, the centerpiece course of the sprawling PGA Frisco campus in Texas that opened in 2023, will host its first men’s PGA Championship next year when plenty of famous courses will be on display. The Open is returning to St. Andrews, the home of golf, the U.S. Open is returning to fan-favorite Pebble Beach, and Augusta National will have its annual showcase during The Masters.
PGA Frisco is already tapped to host another PGA Championship in 2034, alongside several other future championships, which Clark believes will ultimately elevate the venue’s status. “It’s the combination of a lot of unforgettable championships over time that you build,” Clark says. “It’s constantly getting better, and I certainly know that will be the case. This is a more modern course, and one that we know has to build over time.”
Home-Course Advantage
Although the 2027 PGA Championship is still more than eight months away, the event has already broken financial records. “The enthusiasm for the 2027 PGA Championship has surpassed even any of our optimistic expectations,” Clark says.
Alongside an expected crowd of roughly 200,000 fans throughout the week (general admission for the four competition rounds is sold out), corporate hospitality sold out faster than any previous PGA Championship. That’s impressive, given the 2025 PGA Championship in Charlotte surpassed $23 million in hospitality sales, and the 2026 tournament at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia topped that number. “We are a mile ahead of that,” PGA Championship director Jason Mengel tells FOS.
The PGA Frisco campus, where the majority of PGA of America employees are based, is anchored by a $500 million Omni resort, which will be available for players to book rooms in during the PGA Championship. It will also be used for some VIP experiences; a slew of bars, restaurants, and retail locations on site will also be incorporated into the tournament experience.
Fields Ranch East, designed by renowned golf architect Gil Hanse, previously hosted the women’s and men’s senior PGA Championships in 2025 and 2023, respectively. After learning from those tournaments, the PGA of America built a new main fan entrance for the 2027 PGA Championship and leveled some tee boxes—an alteration from the original design that included rolling turf similar to a hilly fairway in some tee areas.
A Ryder Cup at PGA Frisco?
PGA Frisco has been rumored to be the favorite to host the 2041 Ryder Cup—the next U.S. edition still up for grabs—but Clark won’t commit to that just yet. “I think that’s way far out to be commenting on speculation around Ryder Cups for the future,” he says.
Clark, who took over as PGA of America CEO in January following Derek Sprague’s resignation after just one year on the job, is excited by the chance to lead the U.S. Ryder Cup operations. “One of the opportunities is how do we continue to make that better,” he says. “Both how does our team compete in the best way possible? And how do we think about putting on a spectacle and event that really exceeds what our fans deserve?”
Last year, the U.S. lost on home soil for the first time since 2012. Next year in Ireland under captain Jim Furyk it will attempt to win on European soil for the first time since 1993. “[Furyk] is a constant learner that’s trying to get better from what he’s learned from the past and what we can do,” Clark says. “We talk on a regular basis. I’ve been so impressed with how he operates and how he thinks. We’re trying to both lift this up.”
Furyk is also serving as a vice captain for this year’s U.S. Presidents Cup team, which will face off against the International squad later this month at Medinah just outside Chicago. And while there is no formal affiliation between the American Ryder Cup operations, controlled by the PGA of America, and the Presidents Cup, which is run by the PGA Tour, Clark sees plenty of collaboration in the works.
“I think there’s a lot of learnings in Team USA that happen already,” Clark says. “I think people get stuck around who has control on those and do we work together? But go back to Jim Furyk is a vice captain on the Presidents Cup and working with a lot of the vice captains that have been part of the Ryder Cup or will be part of it in the future and captains. So, I think there’s a lot of learning and connection with that.”
