Hazeltine To Host 2019 Women's PGA Championship
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Another major golf tournament is heading to Minnesota.
The KMPG Women's PGA Championship will be held at Hazeltine Golf Club in Chaska in 2019.
Last fall, Chaska hosted the Ryder Cup, an international team competition pitting American players against Europe pros.
Hazeltine President Bob Fafinski said it was a "win" for the entire state of Minnesota.
"The experience was off the charts," Fafinksi said. "We are proud of our golf course and proud of what we do here."
Fafinski says it's the mission of the golf club to host national championships.
The Ryder Cup brought in an estimated 250,000 people to the course, and some $150 million to the local economy.
"It was exciting," Fafinski said. "The weather was fantastic, we had unbelievable golf and we had extraordinary matches."
The success of the Ryder Cup is one of the reasons Pete Bevacqua, CEO of the PGA of America, chose Hazeltine for the Women's PGA Championship.
"The Ryder Cup was absolutely spectacular in every sense of that word," Bevacqua said.
Fafinski says he is confident the PGA will continue to pick Hazeltine and Minnesota for future majors.
The course's first major event was a women's event in 1966, and another one in 1977 -- but it has been several years since an event like the LPGA championship has been played at the golf club.
Fafinski says preparations for the June 2019 event started as soon as the announcement was made.
The KPMG Championship is set for June 20-23 of 2019.