May 08, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
The Truist Championship is in Philly temporarily, for just one year.
It's a pretty good time to be a Philadelphia-area golf fanatic.
Various tours are inching closer and closer to the city. The LPGA already has its yearly Atlantic City event, the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Seaview Golf Club. And last year, the Korn Ferry Tour debuted its Magnit Championship at Metedeconk National Golf Club in Jackson, N.J..
But for various reasons, ranging from scheduling issues to infrastructure concerns, Rory McIlroy and the big boys on the PGA Tour are only occasional visitors to the Delaware Valley and its abundance of spectacular and historic golf courses.
That changed this week as a one-off Truist Championship stint teed off at Philadelphia Cricket Club.
"It's spectacular," Justin Thomas said of the Wissahickon Course in Flourtown. "Obviously I would love to play some of the others — I haven't played Merion. I'm honestly kind of bummed that I hadn't played here beforehand because I selfishly would have tried to go play Merion while I was here... I think that there's so many, so many great courses that I'm sure we could have tournaments like this at, but just the infrastructure and the property itself don't allow for all of it. So it's cool that we get to come to a new place like this and experience it and play it."
"It's a great place for golf, and the fans are very educated and engaged," Ryan Ogle told PhillyVoice. Ogle has been living in the Philly area as he prepares to be the tournament director for the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink. "The PGA Championship hasn't been at Aronimink since 1962, we definitely think this will be a great market."
"I think that our golf courses, you could probably play 10 U.S. Opens within 10 miles of here and you may not have even heard of some of the golf courses," Brian Quinn, former golf pro and Temple golf coach said, speaking to media members prior to yet another pro golf event — the APGA Jefferson Classic at the 1912 Club in Plymouth Meeting. "It's an amazing community here."
The APGA has hosted a bevy of events in the area, and a Champions Tour tournament, the Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic, will take place in Bethlehem next year as well.
"You don't have enough access for all the fans that are going to come," former Eagles wide receiver and First Tee board member Mike Quick said. "I remember how difficult it was at Merion (host of the 2013 US Open) just to get people in and out of that facility, that's a large part of it. Some of these great golf courses don't have room for all the people."
Quick and Masters champion McIlroy agreed on that point.
"I feel like we don't play enough tournaments in the Northeast, but a lot of the Northeast golf clubs are smaller venues like this," the career grand slam winner told the Philly press. "And just with how big these tournaments have become over the years, it's very hard for a golf course like this to hold a big tournament. The logistical problems that it causes is the main issue."
But the PGA Tour, USGA and other pro golf organizations are seeing that the Philly area is undeniable. In addition to the PGA Championship next spring, Merion will become a regular major championship host in 2030, and every 10 years after that in the US Open rotation.
"Philly's got some good fans," Xander Schauffele said Wednesday, when asked if a regular tour stop should take place in the Northeast. "They're into a lot of other sports, and I've heard there's a pretty good number of people coming out for this week. Hopefully, the weather stays away and it's like today. That would be awesome. I'm sure the weekend, if it's like this, will be a good viewing and a good following.
"Yeah, if the fans and the community support it, then we should be here."
Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
