West Allis, Wis. – The Wisconsin PGA is proud to present its 2024 tournament calendar. The stage is set for another fun and exciting year of golf tournaments. The events will again offer a wide variety of formats and playing opportunities to both Wisconsin PGA professionals and amateurs.
The schedule gets underway with the largest event the Wisconsin PGA runs, the annual WPGA Las Vegas Pro-Am on March 10-14. For more than 30 years it has given WPGA professionals and their amateur partners a reason to getaway to Sin City. The event is presently sold-out with 50 five-player teams, representing over 30 different facilities in Wisconsin. It marks the eighth straight trip with at least 240 participants. This go around however will feature a slight tweak, for the first time the field is broken into two contests and multiple champions will be crowned.
After approximately a one-month break, the in-state events start with the Spring Pro-Pro Scramble on Monday, April 15, on the White Birch course at Brighton Dale Links. In total WPGA professionals will have five opportunities to team up with a fellow WPGA professional in 2024. Other pro-pro sites include West Bend Country Club, Westmoor Country Club (Pro-Assistant), Como Crossings at Hawk’s View GC and the Wisconsin PGA’s first stop at Sand Valley Resort.
As the schedule crosses over into the month of May, the major championship sites and season begins.
The state of Wisconsin is lucky to have nationally recognized major championship venues. The top players in the world have roamed their fairways and fortunately the Wisconsin PGA tournament participants will get the same opportunity in 2024.
First up, the popular WPGA Four-Player Pro-Am Series makes its first-ever stop at Erin Hills. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 8, prior to the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open host site officially opening for the season. It will feature a tee time structure and the field will be capped at 26 teams.
The very next week the WPGA Match Play Championship visits Destination Kohler. The championship will utilize all four courses at the award-winning resort for the third time (2012 and 2015 previously). The Irish Course takes center stage on day one, the Meadow Valleys on day two, the River on day three, and finally the championship match is decided on the Straits.
“For Destination Kohler to give our section professionals this unique opportunity is something special,” Chris Hoel, WPGA assistant executive director said. “Four different world-class courses over four days, what a motivation to keep winning matches.”
The two-week stretch will be hard to top but the rest of the WPGA calendar packs plenty of punch.
Just one-month later the Wisconsin State Open Series starts, and one of the best traditions of the Wisconsin PGA takes place. On, Monday, June 10 the first round of the Sentry Wisconsin State Women’s Open commences at Meadowbrook Country Club in Racine. In addition, the day also features the 53rd playing of the Hornung’s Classic at South Hills G&CC.
The 54-hole Women’s Open runs again from Monday to Wednesday. Tess Hackworthy will be looking to rekindle the Racine magic that she created in 2017, when she won the second of her five Women’s Open championships next door at Racine CC.
After a July 4 breather, the competition heats up again in July. The month is highlighted by two important WPGA Professional Championships and the start of Wisconsin State Open qualifying.
The National Car Rental Wisconsin Assistant PGA Professional Championship and the Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship will head to Reedsburg CC on July 15-16. The assistants finish their 36-hole championship on Monday, while the seniors battle it out again over Monday and Tuesday. Michael Crowley will look to become the first WPGA professional to win both the assistant championship and senior championship at the same venue during their WPGA career. Crowley completed the first part of the feat when he navigated a three-way playoff back in 2001 to claim his assistant championship win at Reedsburg CC.
Wisconsin State Open qualifying begins the very same week at La Crosse CC on Friday, July 19. On the heels of record qualifier signups in 2023, the championship will continue to offer eight qualifying sites over approximately three weeks. The last chance qualifier brings qualifying opportunities to a close on Monday, August 12 at The Oaks GC.
The individuals that are lucky enough to qualify, plus an impressive list of exempt players, will tee it up in the 104th Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley Wisconsin State Open. First-time host Minocqua CC will showcase their Northwoods gem on Monday-Wednesday, August 19-21. Back in 2018 the club hosted an epic Wisconsin State Amateur Championship, when Harrison Ott defeated Thomas Longbella in an eight-hole playoff.
As the fall approaches and the season starts to wind down, several other Wisconsin PGA championships will be decided.
Another first-time host is on the docket for the Wisconsin State Senior Open. After hosting the Wisconsin State Open in 2018, the best seniors with ties to the state will tackle North Shore GC in Menasha on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Labor Day.
One week later the WPGA Professional Championship will stop at the Wisconsin Country Club in Milwaukee. The club last hosted the top championship for WPGA professionals in 2012, when Ryan Helminen navigated some very difficult conditions to claim a two-shot victory.
When completed the Wisconsin PGA will have administered over 40 tournaments and crowned numerous deserving champions.
Things To Know and Changes for 2024 – Formats, Dates, Policies
- Two events on this year’s calendar have sites that will be announced at later dates, the August Pro-Am and the Royal Cup Matches. In addition, the specific course for the Fall Pro-Pro Better Ball at Sand Valley will also be announced at a later date.
- Monday, April 29 will be an open date on the WPGA calendar. The Monday will be held as a backup date in case one of the Spring Pro-Pros is cancelled due to inclement weather. The date also overlaps with the (National) PGA Professional Championship in Texas.
- As previously mentioned, the WPGA Match Play Championship will be played over the course of four days. It will be the first time since 2017 that the championship has been played in its entirety in one week.
- For the first time since 2015, the Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley Wisconsin State Open and its qualifying sites will have a singular registration deadline date. Entries for the regular seven qualifying sites and exempt players must be received by Monday, July 8 at 11:59 PM.
- The Spring Pro-Ladies will feature the traditional five-player team contest (1 Pro, 4 Ams), while the Summer Pro-Ladies will be reduced to a four-player team contest (1 Pro, 3 Ams). The adjustment was made to help pace of play and logistics with the host facility.
- The Wisconsin State Senior Open will feature new registration rules. A set number of players will have guarantee spots in the field if they register by July 1. These individuals will include top finishers from prior State Senior Opens and other top senior players across the Wisconsin golf landscape.
- Amateur pro-am participants competing in a net event will be required to have a minimum of seven posted scores in the past 12 months, otherwise they will only get to use 75% of their handicap index. The adjustment will be made prior to whatever format is in place that day. Additionally, the WPGA handicap reduction policy will continue with slight modifications.
- WPGA Match Plays – New guidelines are being instituted when players are required to schedule their own match. The policy will address when two parties are unable to agree upon a date to play their match.
- The WPGA Las Vegas Pro-Am entry system may see changes once again. The rules for 2025 will be rolled out prior to April 8.
Registration Opening Dates:
March 1 – Spring Pro-Pros, One-Day Classics and Assistant Stroke & Match Play, WPGA Match Play Championship, Senior Match Play, Super-Pro, TaylorMade Pro-Am, Double Dip Pro-Am, Spring Pro-Ladies Event, The Legend Challenge – Scratch Pro-Am, Pro-Assistant and Fall Pro-Pro Scramble
April 1 – Wisconsin State Open Series and Qualifiers, Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley Pro-Am, National Golf Graphics Pro-Am
May 1 – WPGA Professional Championships and Stevens Point Pro-Am
May 10 – Oliphant Golf Management Pro-Am Championship.
June 1 – August Pro-Am, South Hills Pro-Am, Summer Pro-Ladies Event
July 1 – University Club Pro-Am
August 5 – Wisconsin State Open – Last Chance Qualifier
August 23 – Fall Pro-Pro Better Ball
*************************
To see the complete 2024 schedule please visit – https://wisconsin.pga.com/schedule/