PHILADELPHIA, PA — From Thursday, May 8th to Sunday, May 11th, the PGA Tour will return to Philadelphia, with The Truist Championship taking center stage at the renowned Wissahickon Course at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. This prestigious event, which wraps up on Mother’s Day, is one of the Tour’s most anticipated signature tournaments. Located in Flourtown, Montgomery County, the Wissahickon Course will host the PGA Tour for the first time, marking the Tour’s first return to Philadelphia since the 2018 BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square.
“The response has been even better than we thought, and the passion this market has for sports, I think we fit in quite nicely with a signature event,” said Joie Chitwood, Executive Director of the Truist Championship, back in March at the event’s media day. Now, with the event officially here, that response has only intensified.
Founded in 1854, the Philadelphia Cricket Club has long been a cornerstone of golf in the region. According to its website, the club holds the unique distinction of being the only one in the United States with a different golf course constructed in each of the last three centuries. The St. Martins Course, originally a nine-hole layout built in 1895 and expanded to 18 holes in 1897, was followed by the Wissahickon Course in 1922, and the Militia Hill Course completed the club’s distinguished trio when it was added in 2002. The Wissahickon Course, playing to a par-70 at just over 7,100 yards, was designed by A.W. Tillinghast, one of America’s most celebrated golf course architects, responsible for over 250 course designs across the country.
The Truist Championship will feature a field of 72 players and will not include a 36-hole cut, bringing together the PGA Tour’s elite to compete for a $20 million purse. The winner will receive $3.6 million and 700 FedEx Cup points. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, making his first stroke-play start since his Masters victory, will be joined by players ranked Nos. 3 through 11 in the world, including Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley, Viktor Hovland, and Maverick McNealy.
McIlroy, who won the Truist Championship in 2024 at Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club in North Carolina, will be aiming for his fourth victory of the PGA Tour season. Notably absent are world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Jason Day, who withdrew on Tuesday.
While the Truist Championship will feature a star-studded field of top players vying for a substantial purse, the challenge of the event will also lie in its unique course layout. “We play a lot of golf courses that are ‘bomb it and go find it.’ You can’t necessarily do that at Philly Cricket,” said Stewart Moore, PGA Tour vice president of championship management. “You have to compare it a bit to a major. It has a special lore.”
While the course’s layout presents a unique challenge for the players, its historical significance adds even more weight to the event. Chris Kallmeyer, a member of the Heritage Committee at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, emphasized the club’s significant role in golf history, stating, “This is a city of history, right? Philadelphia is a city of history. It’s central to the history of America, but this course and our club is actually central to the history of golf, as well.”
Reflecting further on the event’s importance, Kallmeyer added, “A golf course, built over 100 years ago by Tillinghast, can once again be relevant to host the best players in the world and that we can be part of this incredible, rich fabric of the history of Philadelphia and the history of sports in Philadelphia.”
While the historical significance of the Philadelphia Cricket Club adds depth to the Truist Championship, the event also brings substantial economic benefits to the local community. One of the key benefits of hosting the Truist Championship is its broader economic impact, which includes engaging vendors, encouraging spending by fans, boosting hotel stays, and generating tax revenue for the community. Jake Markezin, Senior VP of Operations at the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, highlighted this, stating, “Total hotel room revenue for the month of May in Montgomery County will be over $30 million.” As reported by the Daily Local News, the overall economic impact of the event in the area is estimated to range between $40 million and $60 million.
Equally significant is the event’s charitable impact, a key focus for Truist Chairman and CEO Bill Rogers, who made this point clear back in March: “We believe when it’s all said and done, we’ll have an estimated $2.5 million charitable impact. That to me will be the legacy of the Truist Championship.”
As the Truist Championship takes center stage from May 8th to 11th, it not only showcases elite golf but also highlights the rich history of Philadelphia and its significant impact on the community. With a unique course layout, substantial economic contributions, and an estimated $2.5 million charitable impact, the event is poised to leave a lasting mark on both the sport and the local area.
In 2026, the event will return to North Carolina.
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