Firestone seeks 2022 PGA Championship, report says
Asked: By the owner of Firestone Country Club, that the club in Akron, Ohio, serve as host of the 2022 PGA Championship, according to a report by the Akron Beacon Journal. David Pillsbury, CEO of Firestone owner ClubCorp, told the Beacon Journal’s Maria Ridenour that Firestone has approached the PGA of America about hosting the event. The PGA of America pulled its 2022 tournament from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey five days after supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 while Congress was certifying the election victory of Joe Biden. “We would bend over backwards as a club and an organization to make it an amazing championship,” Pillsbury told the Beacon Journal. Firestone has a long association with the PGA Tour and the PGA of America. Professional golf at the club dates to the 1954 Rubber City Open, and the club played host to a World Golf Championships event from 1999 to 2018. Firestone was the site of three PGA Championships: 1960 (won by Jay Hebert), 1966 (Al Geiberger) and 1975 (Jack Nicklaus). Tiger Woods won eight of his record-tying 82 PGA Tour titles on the club’s famed South Course. One potential snag for Firestone: It has a four-year deal with the Senior Players Championship to host the Champions Tour major championship, running through 2022. In 1966, the Beacon Journal noted, Firestone played host to three professional golf tournaments: PGA Championship, CBS Golf Classic and the World Series of Golf.
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