LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club Rochester has concluded, and Louisville is on the clock. Just under a year from now, the PGA Championship will return to Valhalla Golf Club. Hopefully, players won’t have to deal with a frost delay as they did in the PGA Championship that just concluded with a Brooks Koepka victory in upstate New York.

But Louisville can make no other weather guarantees. The PGA returns with its first major spectator event at Valhalla since 2014. The course has undergone significant changes, and so has the PGA Tour. Koepka’s win was the first for a Saudi-backed LIV Tour player in a PGA event.

“With the tremendous success of the 2023 PGA Championship over the weekend in Rochester, we are seeing even more excitement both locally and regionally for the return to Valhalla next year,” Ryan Ogle, championship director for the 106th PGA Championship, said this week.

With Louisville on deck, here are some things to know about next year’s PGA Championship, scheduled for May 13-19.

1). THIS WILL BE THE PGA’S SEVENTH SPECTATOR EVENT AT VALHALLA

With the PGA having sold the 486-acre facility off Shelbyville Road to local investors, the future for PGA events at the east Louisville course is uncertain. But the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, which opened in 1986, has played host to six PGA events, including the 2008 Ryder Cup, two KitchenAid Senior PGA Championships and three PGA Championships. The last PGA Championship at Valhalla was in 2014 when Rory McIlroy won his second Wanamaker Trophy and fourth major title.

2). WHAT IS THE EXPECTED ECONOMIC IMPACT?

Louisville officials expect more than 200,000 spectators and in the neighborhood of a $200 million boost to the local economy.

In Rochester, local officials estimate that the tournament brought $190 million in economic activity, including more than 1,200 jobs.

3). WHAT COURSE CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE?

In anticipation of the championship, Valhalla’s new ownership group has made numerous updates to the course. Included in those are the renovation of the clubhouse, adding a new agronomy center, a waterfall on the 13th hole, and new tee boxes on the first, 12th, 14th and 18th holes.

The entire course has been re-sodded, replacing a cool-season Bentgrass to a warm-season Zyosia grass, which should allow for easier maintenance of the course during the warm season, according to superintendent John Ballard said.

The course will play about 100 yards longer than it did in 201. The first hole is 50 yards longer, and No. 14 can be played as a 250-yard par three.

4). JUSTIN THOMAS COMES HOME

When the PGA was last played here, Louisville native Justin Thomas had already become the third-youngest player ever to make the cut in a PGA Tour event in 2009 and was in the process of finishing fifth in the Web.com Tour for the 2014 season.

Now a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, Thomas gets a rare opportunity to play a major in his own back yard. And he’s excited about it.

“Growing up in Louisville, and as much as this town means to me and the support I get, it’s going to be really, really cool to say the least,” Thomas said last month.

He’s also aware that there will be some challenges with playing a major in his home town.

“I know it’s going to be a busy week. It’s going to be a hectic week,” Thomas said. “I just have to remind myself it’s a golf tournament that I’m trying to perform. So, I’m going to have to be very, very selfish, and understand that the job isn’t to entertain and see people, it’s to go there to try to do a job and that job is to win the golf tournament.

5). HOW DO YOU GET TICKETS?

PGA Championship tickets will be sold exclusively through the PGA Ticket Registry. It is a free, no-obligation registration process. This year, each ticket is food and non-alcoholic beverage inclusive, and includes a generous junior admission policy allowing each ticketed adult to bring two children 15 and under into the grounds at no additional cost.

Registration remains open until June 18. Those interested in purchasing tickets or learning more about the 2024 PGA Championship should visit pgachampionship.com/register.

Registration does not guarantee access to purchase any or all ticket types but is highly recommended and, according to PGA organizers, provides individuals with the best opportunity attend in person. As purchase windows approach, registrants will receive direct communication on how to access and purchase available tickets from Opening Monday to Championship Sunday.

For more general information on the 2024 PGA Championship, visit pgachampionship.com/2024.

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.