2004 PGA Championship

2004 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 12–15, 2004
LocationKohler, Wisconsin
Course(s)Whistling Straits,
Straits Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
PGA European Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,514 yards (6,871 m)
Field156 players, 73 after cut
Cut145 (+1)
Prize fund$6,250,000
€5,071,152
Winner's share$1,125,000
€916,724
Champion
Fiji Vijay Singh
280 (−8), playoff
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Whistling  Straits  is located in the United States
Whistling  Straits 
Whistling 
Straits 
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Location in the United States
Whistling  Straits  is located in Wisconsin
Whistling  Straits 
Whistling 
Straits 
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Location in Wisconsin

The 2004 PGA Championship was the 86th PGA Championship, played August 12–15 at the Straits Course of the Whistling Straits complex in Haven, Wisconsin (postal address Kohler).[1] The purse was $6.25 million and the winner's share was $1.125 million.

Vijay Singh, the 1998 champion, earned his third and final major title in a three-hole aggregate playoff, defeating Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco.[2] At the time Singh, age 41, was third in the world rankings;[3] the win moved him to #2 and he ascended to the top spot three weeks later, displacing Tiger Woods.[4]

It was the first major championship at the expansive Straits Course, designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1998,[5] which allowed high attendance and was highly profitable for the PGA of America. It set records with over 94,400 tickets sold and an overall attendance of 320,000 for the week.[6] The overall economic impact was $76.9 million, shattering the previous record of $50.4 million in 2002, and nearly doubling that of 2003.[7]

The PGA Championship returned just six years later, in 2010, displacing the more confined Sahalee Country Club near Seattle,[8][9][10][11] which hosted in 1998, Singh's first major win. The admittance at Sahalee in 1998 was capped at 25,000 per day by the PGA of America.[12] In early 2005, its chief executive officer, Jim Awtrey, cited the proximity to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as the main reason for the retraction, and that Sahalee was targeted for 2012 to 2015 for another PGA Championship.[8][10] Whistling Straits was awarded the 2010 event days later.[13] The PGA of America has yet to commit to a return to Sahalee before 2028, but the championship returned to the West in 2020 at San Francisco.

  1. ^ 2004 PGA Championship Official Site
  2. ^ Ferguson, Doug (August 16, 2004). "A little birdie salvages Singh's rough final round". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. p. E1.
  3. ^ "Official World Golf Rankings" (PDF). Official World Golf Rankings. August 8, 2004. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  4. ^ "Official World Golf Rankings" (PDF). Official World Golf Rankings. September 5, 2004. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  5. ^ D'Amato, Gary (June 23, 1999). "Pros get opportunity to play like pros". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 5C.
  6. ^ D'Amato, Gary (May 25, 2005). "Wisconsin has become major force on national scene". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 6C.
  7. ^ D'Amato, Gary (January 22, 2005). "Whistling Straits on course to host PGA Championship". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 1A.
  8. ^ a b Smith, Craig (January 21, 2005). "Sahalee loses PGA in 2010". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "Whistling Straits ahead". PGA of America. 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Booth, Tim (June 4, 2009). "Sahalee getting prepped for 2010 Senior Open". Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  11. ^ Shedloski, Dave (August 13, 2010). "Sahalee pro reflects on what might have been". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  12. ^ Dear, Tony (August 2010). "What Now for Sahalee?". Cybergolf.com. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  13. ^ D'Amato, Gary (January 25, 2005). "PGA gives Kohler offer he can't refuse". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 1C.