The PGA Professional National Championship is a golf tournament for golf club professionals and teachers who are members of the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It has been held by the PGA of America since 1968, when touring professionals split off to found the PGA Tour.
The PGA Professional National Championship was known as the PGA Club Professional Championship until 2006. Since 1997, the tournament has usually been played in late June, six to seven weeks before the PGA Championship in mid-August. Previously, the club pro tournament had been played in the fall, anywhere from late September to December, and its top 25 finishers qualified for the PGA Championship. The number of qualifiers was reduced by five in 2006 to the top 20 finishers.
The PGA Championship was originally the leading championship organized by the whole body of professionals, both club and touring. This contrasts to the other three majors, two of which are organized by bodies controlled by golf's amateur establishment, and the other run by a private club founded by a lifetime amateur. Since 1968, the PGA Championship has been run mainly for the top touring professionals, but unlike the other majors, it continues to reserve places for the club pros.
Sam Snead and Bob Rosburg are the only players to win a major championship and the PGA Professional National Championship. Bruce Fleisher and Larry Gilbert each would go on to win a senior major. Several other winners have had PGA Tour careers, either before or after winning the championship.
Read more about PGA Professional National Championship: Winners
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