Valhalla Golf Club
Encyclopedia
Valhalla Golf Club, located east of Louisville, Kentucky
, USA, is a private golf club designed by professional golfer Jack Nicklaus
. The course, which sits on a 486 acres (2 km²) property on Shelbyville Road
in the eastern portion of Louisville just outside the Gene Snyder Freeway
, was envisioned by local business leader Dwight Gahm and his three sons in 1981, and opened in 1986. Keith Reese is the PGA professional.
In 1992, Valhalla was named as host of the 1996 PGA Championship
. The following year, the PGA of America
purchased a 25% interest in the club. After the 1996 PGA Championship, the PGA of America raised its stake to 50%, and announced that the event would return to Valhalla in 2000. At the end of the 2000 event, the PGA of America exercised an option to purchase the remaining interest in the club. Later that year, it announced that the 2008
Ryder Cup
would be held at Valhalla.
Valhalla also hosted the 2002 PGA Club Professional Championship and the 2004 Senior PGA Championship
. The 2004 PGA Championship was originally scheduled to be played at Valhalla but the PGA of America switched it to Whistling Straits
.
In 2009, the PGA announced that the Senior PGA Championship and the PGA Championship would return to Valhalla in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
was won in a playoff by Mark Brooks
over Kenny Perry
with a birdie on the first extra hole, which was Mark Brooks' first and only major title. The 2000 PGA Championship
was won also in a playoff by Tiger Woods
over Bob May
in a three hole format. Tiger Woods had a 3-4-5=12 to Bob May's 4-4-5=13. This was Woods' second PGA Championship for his career, and his fifth major overall. The United States defeated Europe in the 2008 Ryder Cup
with a score of 16½ to 11½.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, USA, is a private golf club designed by professional golfer Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...
. The course, which sits on a 486 acres (2 km²) property on Shelbyville Road
U.S. Route 60
U.S. Route 60 is an east–west United States highway, running from the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast in Virginia to western Arizona. Despite the final "0" in its number, indicating a transcontinental designation, the 1926 route formerly ended in Springfield, Missouri, at its intersection...
in the eastern portion of Louisville just outside the Gene Snyder Freeway
Interstate 265
Interstate 265 is an Interstate Highway ringing the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area, which includes southern Indiana, although the Indiana and Kentucky segments remain separate at the present time. In Kentucky it only runs through Jefferson County, from Interstate 71 in northeastern...
, was envisioned by local business leader Dwight Gahm and his three sons in 1981, and opened in 1986. Keith Reese is the PGA professional.
In 1992, Valhalla was named as host of the 1996 PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
. The following year, the PGA of America
Professional Golfers' Association of America
Founded in 1916, the Professional Golfers' Association of America is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and is made up of more than 28,000 men and women golf professional members...
purchased a 25% interest in the club. After the 1996 PGA Championship, the PGA of America raised its stake to 50%, and announced that the event would return to Valhalla in 2000. At the end of the 2000 event, the PGA of America exercised an option to purchase the remaining interest in the club. Later that year, it announced that the 2008
2008 Ryder Cup
The 37th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 19–21, 2008, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Team USA won 16½ - 11½ to end the streak of three successive victories for Team Europe. This was Team USA's largest margin of victory since 1981, and the first time since 1979 the...
Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
would be held at Valhalla.
Valhalla also hosted the 2002 PGA Club Professional Championship and the 2004 Senior PGA Championship
Senior PGA Championship
The Senior PGA Championship is one of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money...
. The 2004 PGA Championship was originally scheduled to be played at Valhalla but the PGA of America switched it to Whistling Straits
Whistling Straits
Whistling Straits is one of two golfing destinations associated with The American Club, a luxury resort located in nearby Kohler, Wisconsin, and owned by a subsidiary of the Kohler Company. The other course is Blackwolf Run. The Whistling Straits complex is located in the unincorporated Sheboygan...
.
In 2009, the PGA announced that the Senior PGA Championship and the PGA Championship would return to Valhalla in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
Major tournaments hosted
The 1996 PGA Championship1996 PGA Championship
The 1996 PGA Championship was the 78th PGA Championship held from August 8-11 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Mark Brooks won his first major championship with a birdie in a sudden death playoff over Kentucky native Kenny Perry.-First round:...
was won in a playoff by Mark Brooks
Mark Brooks (golfer)
Mark David Brooks is an American professional golfer.Brooks was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a three-time All-American as a member of the golf team. He turned professional in 1983.Brooks has seven wins on the PGA Tour, including one major,...
over Kenny Perry
Kenny Perry
James Kenneth Perry is an American professional golfer who currently plays on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, for which he became eligible following his 50th birthday.-Early years:...
with a birdie on the first extra hole, which was Mark Brooks' first and only major title. The 2000 PGA Championship
2000 PGA Championship
The 2000 PGA Championship was the 82nd PGA Championship held from August 17-20 at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Tiger Woods won his second straight PGA Championship and fifth major overall in a three-hole playoff over Bob May...
was won also in a playoff by Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
over Bob May
Bob May (golfer)
Robert Anthony May is an American professional golfer.May was born in Lynwood, California. He attended Oklahoma State University and was a member of the 1991 U.S. Walker Cup team before turning professional later that year....
in a three hole format. Tiger Woods had a 3-4-5=12 to Bob May's 4-4-5=13. This was Woods' second PGA Championship for his career, and his fifth major overall. The United States defeated Europe in the 2008 Ryder Cup
2008 Ryder Cup
The 37th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 19–21, 2008, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Team USA won 16½ - 11½ to end the streak of three successive victories for Team Europe. This was Team USA's largest margin of victory since 1981, and the first time since 1979 the...
with a score of 16½ to 11½.
| Year | Tournament | Winner | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
 Mark BrooksMark Brooks (golfer) Mark David Brooks is an American professional golfer.Brooks was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a three-time All-American as a member of the golf team. He turned professional in 1983.Brooks has seven wins on the PGA Tour, including one major,... |
Kenny Perry Kenny Perry James Kenneth Perry is an American professional golfer who currently plays on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, for which he became eligible following his 50th birthday.-Early years:... |
| 2000 | PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
Tiger Woods Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No... |
Bob May Bob May (golfer) Robert Anthony May is an American professional golfer.May was born in Lynwood, California. He attended Oklahoma State University and was a member of the 1991 U.S. Walker Cup team before turning professional later that year.... |
| 2004 | Senior PGA Championship Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship is one of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money... |
Hale Irwin Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin is an American professional golfer. He is one of the few players in history to have won three U.S. Opens and was one of the world's leading golfers for much of the 1970s and 1980s. He has also developed a career as a golf course architect.Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri, but was... |
Jay Haas Jay Haas Jay Dean Haas is an American professional golfer.Haas was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Belleville, Illinois. He attended Wake Forest University and was a member of the NCAA Championship team of the middle 1970s with Curtis Strange and Bob Byman that Golf World has called "the... |
| 2008 | Ryder Cup Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe... |
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
 EuropeEurope Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
| 2011 | Senior PGA Championship Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship is one of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money... |
Tom Watson Tom Watson (golfer) Thomas Sturges Watson is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and now mostly on the Champions Tour.... |
David Eger David Eger David Benjamin Eger is an American professional golfer on the Champions Tour.Eger was born in Fort Meade, Maryland. He attended the University of North Carolina, and later East Tennessee State University... |
| 2014 | PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |