KitchenAid increases role with Senior PGA

The Senior PGA Championship is getting a title sponsor.

KitchenAid and the PGA of America announced Wednesday an eight-year deal in which the appliance manufacturer, a division of nearby Whirlpool Corp., is elevating its involvement from presenting sponsor to title sponsor, starting in 2017 and extending through 2024.

The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will be played on even years here at Golf Club at Harbor Shores. Next year’s event is scheduled to be played at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.

“The KitchenAid brand is truly a great American premium brand,” Jeff Fettig, Whirlpool’s chairman and chief executive, said Wednesday before the announcement. “High-quality. Ageless. When you think about it, in a way the PGA Tour Champions is the same way.”

Starting in 1937, the Senior PGA Championship has has crowned such notable champions as Jock Hutchison, Gene Sarazen, Paul Runyan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Tom Watson and Colin Montgomerie, the defending two-time winner Colin Montgomerie.

“Working with the PGA, we are going to provide more resources for the players. Obviously the purse is important,” Fettig said, noting the $2.8 million at stake this week, “and that will be elevated with the sponsorship. And we think it – if it’s not already – will be the premier championship on the PGA Tour Champions.”