Kerry Haigh, Chief Championships Officer for the PGA of America, has been setting up championship courses for three decades, but the 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship offered him a new opportunity: With Southern Hills also playing host to next year’s PGA Championship, Haigh will be setting up major championships on the same venue in back-to-back years.
“It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to see what is happening this year to help us for next year,” Haigh said. “We’ll be using different tees, but we will re-remember the green complexes, and how tough and challenging they are, which hole locations work, which ones are challenging. I’ve never had this opportunity to have a major championship the year before another major championship. It’s great.”
Usually a course might go a minimum of seven or eight years between hosting majors (this year’s Senior PGA was Southern Hills’ first major since the 2007 PGA Championship, won by Tiger Woods).
In the final round , the tee at the par-4 17th hole was moved to 251 yards, the third time this week a forward tee was used (on Thursday, the hole measured 342 yards).
“Having a dramatic hole that late in the round, very late, is exciting,” Haigh said. “I think as a player you like to be challenged, or have to think. For me, I think golfers enjoy the game more when you have those sort of decisions to make – as opposed to “Ho hum, same shot every day.”
