Patrick Cantlay earned $2.7 million for his one-shot win in the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship last August at the Wilmington Country Club.
It turned out that the Delaware economy was a bigger winner.
Delaware’s inaugural PGA event has brought approximately $30 million to the state’s economy, the Delaware Tourism Office said Tuesday during a State Department presentation to the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
“Just a really big achievement,” Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey W. Bullock told government officials after stressing that the First State’s attractions extend far beyond its popular Atlantic beach communities.
The BMW Championship, held at different courses each year, attracted more than 126,000 fans to the events leading up to the tournament and competition from 18th to 21st August. These fans stayed at area hotels and visited local restaurants and other businesses.
“Wilmington did really well. I can’t imagine that they don’t think about coming back. If they don’t consider it again, I’d be amazed,” Paul Bouchard, managing partner at Wilmington’s Tonic Seaford & Steak, told Delawareonline/The News Journal after the tournament.
Another million television viewers likely caught a glimpse of the action and camera views that showcased the scenic, tree-lined Wilmington Country Club course in all its opulent glory.
The BMW Championship once again brought fans from the region closer to the great sport of professional golf. The LPGA Championship drew huge crowds to DuPont Country Club in Rockland from 1994-2004 after the 1987-1993 LPGA McDonald’s Championship was very popular there.
The Bell Atlantic Classic on the Senior (now Champions) PGA Tour was held just across the Delaware border in 1998 and 1999 at Hartefeld National Golf Club in Avondale, Pennsylvania.
The Wilmington Country Club opened in 1901 and moved to its current location north of town in Montchanin in the 1950s. President Joe Biden is among its members. Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed the South Course, which opened in 1959 and stretches 7,534 yards from the championship tees.
It previously hosted the 1913 US Women’s Amateur, 1965 and 1978 US Junior Amateur, 1971 US Amateur, 1978 US Girls Junior, 2003 US Mid-Amateur and 2013 Palmer Cup. It was also the site of a friendly between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in 1966, which Nicklaus won by two shots.
“This is the Cadillac of country clubs,” said Paul Ruggiero, President of NKS Distributors, after playing in a pre-tournament Pro-Am.
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story, or is there an issue that deserves public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at [email protected] and follow @kevintresolini on Twitter. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com
Comments are closed.