CHARLOTTE — Tens of thousands of golf fans are in town for this week’s PGA Championship in south Charlotte and they were out in full force for the first round on Thursday.
Channel 9’s Joe Bruno spoke to fans who are enjoying the world-class golf at Quail Hollow Golf Club.
“Oh, it’s fantastic, all the different cultures, different people; it is wonderful,” fan Nat Gorham said.
Fans are also praising the course’s conditions.
“The course is immaculate. It’s great it drains well. The rain doesn’t really affect it much,” Reece Dorton said. “You can’t ask for a better golf course to play on.”
The large crowds are also bringing in tons of extra cash for local businesses.
Back in 2017, the event brought in 100 million dollars of economic impact, according to the CRVA. Tournament officials are hoping to surpass that as the world descends on Charlotte to watch the top golfers at Quail Hollow.
Charlotte is counting on those out-of-towners to spend big while here.
In 2017, hotel demand was up 50 percent compared to the same period the year before. And AirBnb said at the time, the Friday of the tournament was the biggest night ever in the city for guest arrivals
It’s a hard ticket to get.
Passes will run you a couple of hundred dollars if you don’t already have one.
But at least, unlike the last PGA Championship, all food and non-alcoholic drinks are included.
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The PGA Championship follows the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow in 2022. The 200 thousand attendees that year brought in more than 130 million to our economy. Fans hope the Queen City keeps landing big golf events
“It brings more attention,“ Dorton said. ”I’ve been here all my life and I think this brings great attention and economy to the city."
Nearly half of the attendees of the Presidents Cup stayed at some point overnight, with more than 145-thousand hotel rooms sold during that 6-day event.
Charlotte’s figures for the PGA Championship will be released in a couple of months.
(WATCH BELOW: Fans, golfers take on PGA Championship practice rounds after Monday’s washout)
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