Last year, the PGA of America canceled the Grand Slam of Golf because it was to be played on a course owned by Donald Trump. Last week, the PGA announced it was canceling the event altogether “after carefully evaluating …and studying how this event fits with today’s golf landscape and the PGA of America’s long term strategic plan,” according to the official statement. Thus ends a nearly 40-year run for the made-for-TV tournament that matched the winners of the year’s four major championships.
The statement went on: “When the PGA Grand Slam of Golf was launched in 1979, the golf world was much different than it is today. The PGA Tour’s wrap-around schedule, the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, plus other important international events, make the fall schedule very busy and hectic for the top players in the world. It had also become challenging to attract fans, television viewership and media interest. While we have enjoyed staging the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, given those many factors, the timing is right to discontinue the event.”
Some quick history of the event: Tiger Woods has the record for most appearances (8) as well as the most victories (7) and the widest victory margin (14 strokes); Greg Norman is second in appearances (5) and victories (3). And for those with a really long memory, the first Grand Slam, played at Rochester’s Oak Hill Country Club, featured Gary Player and Andy North (who tied at 73; it was a one-round event until 1991) along with Jack Nicklaus and John Mahaffey.
