Sand traps and the irrigation system have been redesigned, two par 5s have been converted to par 4s, and the club has been surrounded by a chain-link fence. Members will be particularly impressed when they come back after the tournament and picture themselves where the pros were. There will be a premium on shot-making over distance off the tee, he says, and the course offers exceptionally fast greens. Pike figures the edge will go to players such as Justin Leonard, David Duval, and Ernie Els, while those such as John Daly and Tiger Woods will be at a disadvantage, he says. And planners spent a lot of time trying to work out tournament traffic flow in this bedroom community of about 14,000 people that serves as home to Microsoft.
Officials hope to get spectators to park a few miles from the course and use shuttle buses.
Sahalee also gets 50 percent of the event's gross revenues, with the balance going to the PGA to cover tournament costs. These figures include club revenues and hotel, retail and restaurant spending. Back to GOLFonline's PGA Championship page Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.