- November 9, 2025
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The Florida golf community has waited 37-plus years since the last time a Major championship was played within its borders.
In the self-titled “golf capital of the world,” that might come as a surprise, but it’s a reality nonetheless. Every club wants a Major. Few are awarded one.
A drought began when Lanny Wadkins missed a four-foot putt for par on the first playoff hole at the 1987 PGA Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, clinching the win for Larry Nelson.
The Concession Golf Club, though, seems poised to bring major golf back to the Sunshine State.
The Concession was selected in May as the site of the Senior PGA Championship for 2026, 2027 and 2028. Those senior Majors might set up The Concession for a future PGA Championship.
A senior Major hasn’t been staged in Florida since 2000, so that is a major step forward. Next April 16-19, The Concession will draw the attention of the entire golf world.
“I truly feel in my heart this golf course is a championship golf course," said Brian Weimann, The Concession's general manager. "We’re a championship golf course pretty much all year. We proved that back in 2021 when we hosted the World Golf Championships, which had the 70 best players in the world, on a 45-day notice.”
The Lakewood Ranch-area based club boasts a convincing resume. After hosting the 2015 men’s and women’s NCAA Division I championships, it welcomed the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship and the World Champions Cup in 2023.
Just under six months before some of the PGA Tour’s most distinguished alumni hit the links, there were even more signs last week that The Concession continues to move up the ladder in attracting attention.
The Billy Horschel Invitational of the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour was played on its grounds from Oct. 20-22. Serving as a professional pathway for minority golfers, the developmental tour made one of its 16 stops this year at The Concession, and its third in Florida.
Horschel is an eight-time PGA Tour winner, and as of Oct. 25, is ranked No. 40 in the world. The University of Florida alumnus serves on the APGA board, but also played The Concession himself at the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship, finishing in a second-place tie with Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka behind winner Collin Morikawa.
He never forgot what it was like to play the course. Before heading off to Ivins, Utah to compete in the Bank of Utah Championship, he was on site Oct. 20 for the pro-am.
He said The Concession checks all the boxes with regard to what he looks for in a premier destination.
“One thing I wanted to do when I got involved with APGA Tour, and knew we were going to host an event, is make sure that they were playing quality, high-level golf courses,” Horschel said. “That’s what needs to happen, because that gives them a better blueprint of what they need to focus on going forward to get to the next level.”
Everett Whiten Jr. wound up as the victor with a 2 under score as the only golfer in the 18-deep field to finish under par — a fitting case study of the challenges The Concession poses.
The 24-year-old former Howard University golfer spent three days on the course, formally competing during the latter two days in the tournament and in the first day in the pro-am. He carded a 69 in round one and a 73 in round two of the tourney.
Earlier this year, Whiten Jr. also made the final round of qualifying for the U.S. Open, just missing out on the opportunity to play alongside the best golfers in the world. But the Concession became a memorable site for his first APGA win of the season.
That’s something he won’t soon forget.
“I loved the golf course," Whiten Jr. said. "You’ve got to give yourself looks, try to hit the greens, which are really good here. And if you just roll on your line, I think you can make some putts.”
There’s no specific set of requirements the PGA of America enforces in its process of selecting hosts for the PGA Championship or the Senior PGA Championship, but there are several ways in which clubs can boost their chances when it comes time to submit bids.
At the top of the priorities' list, naturally, is a championship-level course. The layout should be nothing less than gorgeous, and playing it needs to be difficult for elite golfers, including fast greens, long yardage and tricky hazards.
Plenty of space for large crowds and tournament infrastructure is also crucial. The Concession is unique from other local private clubs since it’s not built into a neighborhood — something the PGA of America looks favorably upon.
Prestige only helps, and though Florida has courses capable of offering all of the above, it’s the stifling summer heat which has historically hurt its candidacy. The PGA Championship is now held in May, moving from its previous spot in August in 2019.
Along with president Bruce Cassidy Sr., Weimann has his sights firmly on hosting a PGA Championship in the future, and potentially as early as 2035.
“We're building a 14-acre tournament event entrance for that reason," Weimann said. "Some things we've done on the golf course this summer (were) in preparation for that, not just for '26, but for the future,” Weimann said. “So 100%, that's what we're thinking, and that's what we're planning for.”
