Buzz building for the 100th PGA Championship in St. Louis

The 99th PGA Championship week begins Monday at Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club. Afterwards, Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis is on the clock.

It was six years ago that St. Louis was awarded not only one of golf’s four major tournaments but its 100th edition.

So while it may seem premature to build regional and national buzz around the the 2018 PGA Championship, it’s actually been a long time coming for tournament director Barry Deach.

“With this year’s PGA championship next week, it’s sort of the quiet before the storm for us,” Deach said in a phone interview. “And when you have the 100th one, from a sports memorabilia perspective, you don’t get opportunities like this very often. You have to make it count.”

A “full week of celebrations” are planned for next summer’s event, scheduled for Aug. 6-12 in St. Louis. Those will be unveiled in the weeks and months to come, and perhaps some will be saved as surprises for tournament week.

For now, Deach is intently focused on promoting the tournament as a regional attraction. He made a stop in Kansas City last week to cement that point.

“The Midwest doesn’t get many of these, and when you think of the historical perspective added to it, it’s a great opportunity for people from Kansas City to come see us,” Deach said.

The ticket pricing was unveiled this week. Single-day grounds tickets for one of the four rounds will be $100 each. A weeklong pass is $325. Each adult with a ticket is allowed to bring up to four fans age 17 and under for free.

Deach said more than 4,000 volunteer positions have been filled, moving at a quicker pace that most other tournament stops.

This story was originally published August 4, 2017 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Buzz building for the 100th PGA Championship in St. Louis."