PGA to Alter Its Process of Club Selection

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. â€”  The PGA of America is expected to announce today that future PGA Championship host clubs must feature open-membership policies and demonstrate that they have minority representation.

The new PGA policy is in marked contrast to the current selection process, which determines potential championship sites on the basis of golf course quality and the ability of the local area to handle the special demands of a major tournament.

According to a PGA source, the organization’s board of directors was expected to approve the new measures Tuesday. Last week, the PGA Tour, a separate organization, implemented similar guidelines for its tournaments.

The Shoal Creek Country Club, host of this year’s PGA Championship, starting Thursday, admitted its first black member last week, averting threatened protests by black civic groups against the club’s previously restrictive membership policy.