PGA Tour Comes to Philly
In early May, the Philadelphia golf community was treated to seeing some of the world’s best male golfers when the Philadelphia Cricket Club played host to the Truist Championship. Truist is one of eight signature events on the PGA Tour this season. The tournament showcased the top 72 players on the tour, including reigning Masters champion and last year’s Truist winner, Rory McIlroy.
With a $20 million prize purse and 700 FedEx Cup points on the line for the winner, this limited-field event provided an ideal opportunity for the top players to compete at the highest level. Unlike traditional tournaments, there was no cut at the Truist Championship. That allowed fans to see many of their favorite golfers play the esteemed A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon course for four consecutive days.
The tri-state area does not regularly host such an event. Therefore, the enthusiasm for all the festivities surrounding the tournament was overflowing. The Truist Championship has an annual home at Quail Hollow Golf Club in North Carolina. But this year, that club was hosting the PGA Championship. The PGA Tour made a call to Philly Cricket, asking them to host the 2025 tournament before it returns to Quail Hollow in 2026.
Kelce Hits the Course
The week kicked off with a pro-am outing. The golfer drawing the biggest crowd was former Philadelphia Eagle Jason Kelce. Leading up to the event, Kelce took to social media asking for golf tips from anyone and everyone, knowing the course conditions would be the toughest he had ever faced.
“The course is in great shape,” Kelce said. “It is gorgeous. All the guys we played with were great. Shane Lowry and I have the same ethos.
“This was right up there with the hardest courses I have ever played. I don’t usually play courses in tournament conditions. If you were in the rough today, it was ridiculous. I have played a couple of courses where they let the rough grow out, maybe on purpose, but this rough was tough. And then the greens were speedy, especially as the day went on. The grounds crew gave me a good education on the bent grass, which is different than other grass.”
Kelce was always a fan favorite as an Eagle, and despite his golf game not quite matching his football skills, fans wanted to be within earshot the entire round.
“I think Philly is an unbelievable golf hub,” Kelce said. “There’s a lot of fans of the game. There are many incredible courses. There’s a ton of history. The players seem fired up about it (Truist Championship), and the fans seem fired up about the tournament as well. We have Aronimink next year and the U.S. Open a few years after that.”
Big Events on the Horizon
Major Championship golf returns to the Philadelphia region for the 108th playing of the PGA Championship in May 2026 at Aronimink Golf Club. The U.S. Open will also return to historic Merion Golf Club, where the championship will commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bob Jones completing the Grand Slam with his victory in the 1930 U.S. Amateur.
Kelce is right—there is a wealth of golf history in the Philadelphia region. Fans who walked the Wissahickon course during the pro-am were respectful, but that didn’t stop them from enthusiastically showing their support.
“There were more Go Birds chants than E-A-G-L-E-S,” Kelce said. “Go Birds is definitely what I hear most now. It’s more of a call-and-response. For E-A-G-L-E-S, someone has to get it going, and then you join halfway through. Go Birds is easier.”
When Kelce’s round was over, he spent another 45 minutes signing autographs, taking pictures, and chatting with fans. One aspiring 13-year-old broadcaster asked about Kelce’s popular podcast, New Heights, and whether he gets nervous doing shows with his brother Travis.
New Heights & New Media
“I was nervous doing the podcast when I was still playing,” Kelce shared, “because when you don’t perform well, and you go in front of a mic, fans don’t want to hear you make up a bunch of excuses. That can be a little daunting and a bit of a distraction.
It is an incredible landscape now, thanks to social media and YouTube. The ability for players to connect directly with fans has never been greater. It also allows players to voice their opinions on things, which is great.”
By the end of last NFL season, New Heights had more than 2.5 million subscribers. With that in mind, Kelce now plans to launch a YouTube series documenting the progress of his golf game—using only online videos as his instructional tool.
Stay tuned!
