PGA Professional National Championship headed to Turning Stone courses in 2016

VERONA — The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America has picked Turning Stone Resort to host the 49th PGA Professional National Championship in 2016, 10 years after it first put on the event. The PGA Professional National Championship is a tournament for golf-club professionals and golf teachers who are members of the PGA of America. […]

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VERONA — The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America has picked Turning Stone Resort to host the 49th PGA Professional National Championship in 2016, 10 years after it first put on the event.

The PGA Professional National Championship is a tournament for golf-club professionals and golf teachers who are members of the PGA of America.

The 312-player championship, previously hosted by Turning Stone Resort in 2006, will be played June 26-29, 2016, according to a PGA news release. Atunyote Golf Club and the Shenendoah Golf Club are the two courses that will be used for the tournament.

Atunyote, which will host the final 36 holes of the PGA Professional National Championship, was the site of the former Turning Stone Resort Championship, a PGA Tour event from 2007 to 2010. Both Atunyote and Shenendoah have hosted former PGA regional professional and section championships.

“Turning Stone has built a tradition of hosting premier championships and we anticipate in 2016, our centennial year, we will have another memorable chapter written by our best playing PGA Professionals,” PGA of America President Ted Bishop said in the news release.

Atunyote Golf Club, a Tom Fazio-design course that opened for play in 2004, was named after the Oneida word for “eagle.” The longest of Turning Stone Resort’s three championship courses, at 7,315 yards, Atunyote also is the site of the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge event.

“We look forward to showcasing our world-class destination resort and challenging courses for the PGA Professionals who will compete here for the 2016 Championship,” Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative and Nation Enterprises CEO, said in the release. 

The top 20 finishers in the PGA Professional National Championship qualify for the PGA Championship, where they get to tee it up against the world’s best golfers from the PGA Tour, European Tour, and other professional tours. In 2016, the PGA Championship will be held in late July at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield Township, N.J. So the top 20 golfers emerging from Turning Stone will head there.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

Adam Rombel: