Tradition soon to end at East Lake Golf Club
For 23 years, East Lake Golf Club has been one of the epicenters of professional golf by serving as a regular host of the PGA TOUR since 2005. The tradition in its current format is set to come to end as PGA TOUR officials plan to rotate the event among several different courses beginning in 2028 – bringing an end to East Lake’s run as the championship’s only home, they recently announced.
Since first hosting the TOUR Championship in 1998, East Lake Golf Club—located in DeKalb-Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood—has become synonymous with the PGA TOUR’s season finale. The Atlanta course has welcomed some of the biggest names in golf such as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Tiger Woods.
The decision to rotate the event represents a change for both the PGA TOUR and East Lake. While the move will give fans in other parts of the country a chance to experience the TOUR Championship, the announcement brought mixed emotions for Atlanta fans and the DeKalb community.
For Druid Hills High School senior and 2025 PGA TOUR HOPE Tee Shot honoree Aiko Benford, the move of the event is more than a change of venue but possibly the end of a tradition she has grown up experiencing.
“It does make me sad that it possibly is leaving,” said Benford. “Every year since I was eligible, and me being in first tee since I was 8, I would always come out on Saturdays because they’d give free access to kids.”
Benford’s connection to East Lake became even more meaningful when a picture of her was unveiled at the course which commemorated her in the PGA HOPE Tee Shot legacy which PGA officials state recognizes members of First Tee – Metro Atlanta who exemplify the “HOPE” that continues to build in the East Lake community and throughout Atlanta.
“It’s a lot of mixed feelings,” Benford said. “I would like for other courses and other people to experience a TOUR championship because I know what it feels like having to go to other places to experience a major, but, at the same time, I really wish it would stay.”
While the TOUR Championship could move to different courses beginning in 2028, East Lake’s place in professional golf will always be cemented in history and the surrounding DeKalb community. PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp also “made it clear that East Lake is ‘very much in the consideration’ to host the TOUR Championship beyond 2027,” according to PGATOUR.com.
