I’ll be photographing the 94th PGA Championship at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island next month:
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The field for the 94th PGA Championship is more than two-thirds filled with 113 players – featuring 33 major champions and 55 international contestants representing 16 countries who will compete Aug. 9-12, at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C. The 156-member field will be set Monday, July 30.
The PGA Championship perennially features the strongest and deepest international field of any major. Last year’s Championship included 98 of the top 100 members of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Defending Champion Keegan Bradley, who in 2011 became just the third player in nearly a century to win a major in his first attempt, heads a stellar list that converge for the first major golf championship in South Carolina history. The roster includes the first two major winners of this year – Masters Champion Bubba Watson and U.S. Open Champion Webb Simpson. Among the field are 1993 PGA Champion Paul Azinger, along with two-time Masters Champion and current European Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain. They competed against each other in the 1991 Ryder Cup at The Ocean Course.
The major champions entered in the field include: Azinger; Rich Beem, Bradley, Mark Brooks, Angel Cabrera, Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, Ben Curtis, John Daly, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Lucas Glover, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Paul Lawrie, Davis Love III, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Shaun Micheel, Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Olazabal, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Webb Simpson, Vijay Singh, David Toms, Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods and Y.E. Yang.
“We are less than 30 days from the start of the first major championship coming to South Carolina, and we are excited to be welcoming the world’s greatest players competing on what has been called ‘America’s Toughest Course’ for the Wanamaker Trophy,” said PGA Championship General Chairman Roger Warren. “We anticipate one of the greatest PGA Championships and a special experience for golf fans visiting from around the world.”
Limited tickets to the 94th PGA Championship remain for both practice and competition days. For more information, visit www.PGA2012.com.
The PGA Championship perennially features the most ranked players among any major championship and has brought together the most international competitors in any U.S. major. Golf’s best professionals have been competing for more than 90 years for the Championship’s coveted Wanamaker Trophy. Past Champions span both the legendary and recent stars of the game: Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, and Padraig Harrington.