PGA Championship is the second of the four annual men’s golf tournaments called the majors. The other majors, in the order they are held, are the Masters Tournament, the United States Open, and the British Open.
The PGA Championship is sponsored by the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA). The tournament is held in the United States and is restricted to professional golfers. The course on which it is played varies from year to year. Other countries have their own PGA championship tournaments, so outside North America, the American tournament is sometimes called the United States PGA Championship.
The first PGA Championship was held in 1916. Until 1958, the tournament was conducted in match play, in which a golfer competes against another golfer. Winners played until a single undefeated golfer remained. In 1958, the tournament switched to stroke play. In this form of competition, the golfer who takes the fewest number of strokes over 72 holes wins the championship.
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is one of the five majors for women golfers. It was originally known as the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Championship and was first held in 1955.
For lists of PGA and LPGA winners, see Golf (table: U.S. PGA Championship winners) (table: KMPG Women’s PGA Championship winners) .