Marking a return to its nearly century-old roots in New York, The PGA of America plans to open a satellite office this fall in Elmsford.
Officials at PGA headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., said the office will be at 49 Knollwood Road within the “Golf Central” site of the headquarters of both the Metropolitan PGA Section and the Metropolitan Golf Association.
The satellite office will be headed by Kevin Ring, The PGA of America”™s chief marketing officer, who will relocate to the area for the planned fall opening. The space will be used by PGA officials and staff as the world”™s largest sports organization prepares for its Centennial Celebration in 2016 and 98th PGA Championship that year at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.
PGA officials said the office also will be used as a footprint in the region from which to foster deeper marketing, broadcasting, public relations and communications relationships in the world”™s largest media capital.
The PGA of America was founded in Manhattan at the Hotel Martinique, now the Radisson Martinique, on April 10, 1916, after an exploratory meeting at a nearby club called by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker ”“ who donated the namesake Wanamaker Trophy that is annually awarded to the PGA champion. The inaugural PGA Championship was played that year in Bronxville.
“We are very excited about establishing a foothold in the New York metropolitan area, near the birthplace of The PGA of America,” PGA CEO Pete Bevacqua said in the announcement. “New York holds a key to our future and a special link to our storied past. As we drive forward towards our centennial in 2016, the region will play a major role in telling the story of the first 100 years of The PGA and what the next 100 have in store for our association.”
Bevacqua noted the Elmsford office will more closely link the association to many of its key corporate partners in the metropolitan area and deepen its ties to its domestic broadcast partners here, including CBS, NBC and Turner Broadcasting System.
“Of course, Palm Beach Gardens is our home, but a New York presence is an essential move as we head toward our very promising future,” Bevacqua said.
