PITTSFORD, N.Y. — The 80th KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford attracted the largest Friday crowd in the history of the golf tournament.
The PGA of America, which stages this golf major for professional golfers age 50 and over, declined to disclose attendance numbers for Friday’s second round.
“…we don’t give out those numbers. But we did want to certainly give Rochester the recognition it deserves to say we’ve done this 80 times, going back to 1937, and for us to have that record set at Oak Hill, I think it means a lot,” says Bryan Karns, championship director.
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The PGA of America and Karns have previously said they expect the 2019 Senior PGA Championship to draw about 50,000 to 60,000 spectators for the six days of the event (four days of competition and two days of open practice rounds), including more than a few Central New Yorkers.
Karns — who has been stationed in the Rochester area since August 2017, working on the massive logistical undertaking that is organizing a championship golf tournament — says he’s been seeing signs since the beginning that the region would embrace the championship.
“…it speaks volumes to what I’ve really been saying for the last two years, every turn, whether it’s the volunteers, whether it’s the corporate support, whether it was the tickets, in general, really every metric that we use to measure success, we’re not just hitting it, we’re blowing by it.”
Saturday figures to be a more challenging day to pack in the crowds as expected thunderstorms caused organizers to move the start of play to the early morning hours to try to get ahead of the bad weather.
After two rounds of the tournament, Esteban Toledo, of Mexico, and defending champion Paul Broadhurst, of England, are co-leaders at 3-under par. A total of 78 players made the cut, at 9-over par, and will get to play the weekend. The event started with 156 players.
Oak Hill last hosted the Senior PGA Championship in 2008, with Jay Haas, of the United States, winning.
Who will get to hoist the Alfred S. Bourne trophy that goes to the winner, along with a $585,000 check, this year? We’ll find out late Sunday afternoon, barring weather conditions changing the schedule.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com
Photos by Adam Rombel/ BJNN
