Some of the early sites are now quite obscure, but in recent years, the event has generally been played at a small group of celebrated courses.

In 1894, with 41 golf courses operating in the United States, two unofficial national championships for amateur golfers were organized.

In addition, and at the same time as the amateur event, Saint Andrew's conducted an Open championship for professional golfers.

None of the championships was officially sanctioned by a governing body for American golf, causing considerable controversy among players and organizers.

One month earlier, the wealthy department store owner Rodman Wanamaker hosted a luncheon with the leading golf professionals of the day at the Wykagyl Country Club in nearby New Rochelle.

Network television broadcasters, preferring a large group of well-known contenders on the final day, pressured the PGA of America to make the format change.

In 1965, the PGA was contested for the first time in August, and returned in 1969, save for a one-year move to late February in 1971, played in Florida.

The 2016 event was moved to late July, two weeks after the Open Championship, to accommodate the 2016 Summer Olympics in August.

The PGA of America cited the addition of golf to the Summer Olympics, as well as cooler weather enabling a wider array of options for host courses, as reasoning for the change.

[13][14][15] The PGA Championship has normally been played in the eastern half of the United States except eleven times, most recently in 2020 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

In 2013, the tagline was dropped in favor of "The Season's Final Major", as suggested by PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem while discussing the allowance of a one-week break in its schedule before the Ryder Cup.

Finchem had argued that the slogan was not appropriate as it weakened the stature of events that occur after it, such as the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs.

[23] The PGA Championship was established for the purpose of providing a high-profile tournament specifically for professional golfers at a time when they were generally not held in high esteem in a sport that was largely run by wealthy amateurs.

It is the only major that does not explicitly invite leading amateurs to compete (it is possible for amateurs to get into the field, although the only viable ways are by winning one of the other major championships, or winning a PGA Tour event while playing on a sponsor's exemption), and the only one that reserves so many places, 20 of 156, for club professionals.