Major Controversy: Quail Hollow Defends Hosting PGA Championship

CHARLOTTE — This week’s PGA Championship returns to Quail Hollow Club, typically the site of an annual PGA Tour event, for the second time, which has created a bit of controversy in the golf community.

Some vocal fans and media are not excited by the prospect of playing one of the four major championships at a course that usually hosts a “regular” professional golf tournament. The Masters is the only men’s major that is annually played at the same place, while the PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and Open Championship (also known as the British Open) rotate among both familiar and sometimes new courses.

In addition to hosting the 2017 PGA Championship and 2022 Presidents Cup, Quail Hollow welcomes the PGA Tour each May (when it’s not hosting another major event). Any criticism of the course hosting golf’s biggest events doesn’t bother club officials, though.

“You have to respect somebody’s opinion, right? That’s life,” Johno Harris, who is general chairman of the 2025 PGA Championship and the son of Quail Hollow president Johnny Harris, told Front Office Sports. 

“At the end of the day, we feel strongly about hosting the best players in the world. We were successful in 2017, and I think we’ll be successful this year. Hopefully, we will continue to host the best players in the world, whether it’s the PGA Tour or whether it is the PGA of America.”

Big Bucks

There is a financial element at play. The PGA of America, which is separate from the PGA Tour and operates the PGA Championship, will have a record week of premium hospitality sales, FOS has confirmed. That’s due mostly to the large number of banks and other corporate entities with strong presences in Charlotte.

Quail Hollow is not alone in hosting majors in addition to the PGA Tour. In California, Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines host annual PGA Tour events and are part of the typical U.S. Open rotation.

Quail Hollow is locked into hosting the PGA Tour’s Truist Championship from 2026 to 2032. Venues are not yet set for the PGA Championship in 2033, 2035, and beyond. So, what will it take to get a third major in Charlotte?

“Our job is to host the best tournament we can, and all that will take care of itself,” Harris said.

A U.S. Open at Quail?

While Quail Hollow appears intent on bringing the PGA Championship back next decade, don’t expect the club to vie for the other major played Stateside.

“I grew up here in the state of North Carolina,” Harris said. “And honestly, there’s probably one place that the U.S. Open should be, and that’s Pinehurst No. 2.” 

Pinehurst is the home of the USGA’s new headquarters and one of several recently branded anchor sites of the U.S. Open, set to host the major four more times through 2047.