Professional Golfers' Association of America
Founded in 1916, the Professional Golfers' Association of America is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States and claims to be the largest working sports organization in the world with more than 28,000 members. The organisation is now primarily a representive body for club and teaching professionals, as elite tournament golf in the United States is run by the PGA TOUR. There is a separate organization for female professional golfers, both tour pros and club and teaching professionals, called the LPGA. The governing body for the game of golf in the U.S. is the United States Golf Association.
The association conducts 40 tournaments for its member professionals each year including events which attract elite tournament golfers:
Ryder Cup Matches (in cooperation with the PGA European Tour)
PGA Championship (one of men's golf's four major championships)
Senior PGA Championship (one of the five senior majors)
PGA Grand Slam of Golf (a match exclusively for the winners of the four major championships)
The PGA of America no longer operates the main U.S. professional golf tours, which are run by an affiliated organization now known as the PGA Tour. The tour separated from the PGA of America in 1968.
Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain & Ireland)
The Professional Golfers' Association is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is just one of many PGAs around the world, but like British organisations in several other sports, it has no territorial designation in its name because it was the first in the world to be founded.
The Professional Golfers' Association was established in 1901. For many years it was a combined organisation for club professionals and tournament professionals, but when the two branches of the golfing profession diverged due to the increasing financial rewards available to leading tournament golfers, it split in two. A separate Tournament Division with its headquarters at Wentworth Club was established in the 1970s, and in 1984 this became the independent PGA European Tour.
The Association is based at The De Vere Belfry in central England and has a membership of over five thousand professionals. Its activities include the training of assistant professionals and the continuing education of members; the organisation of golf tournaments, including tournaments for its members and the Ryder Cup; the promotion of pro-am golf tournaments and amateur golf, which provide work for its members; and the promotion of junior golf. |
