Christina Kim said earlier this week that Westchester Country Club was threatening Oakmont Country Club, site of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open, as her favorite course she’s ever played. It’s been similar raves throughout the week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship from players.
Based on pedigree, expect similar reviews of the major championship site next year after Saturday’s announcement that the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will visit Sahalee Country Club, site of the 1998 PGA Championship, 2002 NEC World Golf Championship and 2010 U.S. Senior Open.
Set just outside of Seattle in Sammamish, Washington, Sahalee is consistently regarded among America’s greatest courses and was the venue for Vijay Singh’s first major championship victory.
“One of the key pieces of our collaboration with KPMG and the PGA of America was the commitment to bringing this Championship to world-class venues, and Sahalee Country Club will provide a great major championship test for our players,” LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said. “The Pacific Northwest has always been a strong supporter of the LPGA and we are excited to bring the Tour back to Seattle for the first time since 1999.”
More than a historic venue, Sahalee’s selection represents the continued commitment of what the PGA of America, LPGA, and KPMG promised with this collaboration.
“The tremendous success of our inaugural effort at Westchester Country Club further builds on KPMG’s commitment to expanding opportunities for women on and off the golf course,” KPMG Global Chairman John Veihmeyer said. “With the PGA of America and LPGA, we are proud to take the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to Sahalee Country Club – a site that has previously hosted major championships on the men’s tour and that will keep elevating the caliber of courses for the world’s best women golfers. At the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit, which will be held on-site the day before the start of the Championship, we will continue our focus on inspiring new generations of women leaders to advance into the C-suite.”
Sahalee club president Steve Oaks was on hand at Westchester Country Club Saturday to witness the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship first-hand. There is plenty of excitement at Sahalee to play host to a women’s major championship for the first time and add to the already impressive list of marquee golf events that have been contested there.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with KPMG, the PGA and the LPGA to host another major at Sahalee,” said Oaks. “Our eight founders originally designed the course to host championships. It’s part of the club’s culture and mission. The membership gets behind tournaments and there is nothing more exciting for us and our members.”
Sahalee, as it was named in 1968 when it was created, means “high, heavenly ground” in the language of the native Chinook, and that’s exactly what the male professionals found in their trips to the Pacific Northwest, a place Bill Glasson quipped in advance of the 1998 PGA Championship was “a natural wonder, not a manufactured one.”
“It's a lovely course," Colin Montgomerie said before the 1998 PGA Championship. "It's a beautiful place to play and a beautiful test of golf."
Come June 9-12, 2016, 156 of the world’s best women will be challenged with that test - a par-72 layout set to play at 6,692 yards. But that’s not the yardage to worry about with Sahalee Country Club. Rather, the distance to worry about is the narrow landing areas placed between the towering, majestic Cedar and Douglas Firs native to the region – a characteristic of the course that sportswriter Dave Kindred once said “divide Sahalee into 18 theaters of magic.”
Montgomerie perhaps said it best, though, when describing the problems that Sahalee presents to the world’s best: "The trees get in the way too often. That’s the only problem. From above, I'm sure it looks like you can only walk single-file down the fairways."
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