While the top tier of professional golf is thriving at the moment, there are still a few tournaments that haven’t quite carved out a clear identity. The PGA Championship is one of those events.
It’s not exactly a hot take to rank it at the bottom of the major hierarchy in terms of prestige.
The Masters is played at Augusta National every year, giving it a familiar feel, while the US Open and The Open Championship test players in very distinct ways.
The PGA Championship, on the other hand, often feels closer to a regular PGA Tour stop – especially when held at venues like Quail Hollow, as it was in 2025.
Former golfers don’t always land well in high-level administrative roles. However, Seth Waugh has plenty of experience both on and off the course and recently spoke with Chris Solomon about what changes could help give the event more character.
Why a matchplay return could change how we view the PGA Championship
The event has seen its fair share of adjustments over time. The move from August to May in 2019, for example, condensed the major championship calendar into just four months.
But there’s another change the PGA of America might want to consider revisiting.
Appearing on The Rough Cut Golf Podcast, Peter Finch raised the point that a format change could help differentiate the event.
“There’s definitely room for matchplay. It will never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever happen, and I get it, and it’s fine,” he said. “But if the PGA Championship went back to being matchplay, as it was originally back in the day, that would be incredible.”
Why the PGA Championship moved away from matchplay
The PGA Championship started out as a matchplay event before switching to stroke play in 1958, following more than 40 years of the original format.
According to Golf Monthly, the change was driven by pressure from television networks who were frustrated with top players being eliminated early on.
That’s always been one of the main drawbacks of matchplay formats. The closest the WGC Match Play came to a high-profile final was in 2004 when Tiger Woods faced Davis Love III.
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Woods was ranked number one at the time, while Love was number three heading into that week. Only one finalist in the last five editions of that event was even seeded inside the top 10.
It’s not that matchplay can’t deliver excitement, but it would be a major shift for PGA of America to overhaul their only major championship in such a way.
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