PGA TOUR returning to Asheville for 1st time in 86 years

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The PGA Tour is returning to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina for the first time in 86 years, announcing Monday a FedEx Cup Fall event starting next September to be sponsored by the Biltmore Estate and Explore Asheville.

The Biltmore Championship in Asheville is scheduled for Sept. 17-20, 2026, the second new fall event the tour has announced in the last month. It will be held at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, a Jack Nicklaus signature design.

North Carolina already has the Truist Championship in Charlotte (May) and Wyndham Championship in Greensboro (August).

The PGA Tour was last in Asheville in 1942, a four-year run of a tournament called Land of the Sky Open. Ben Hogan won his first individual tour title in 1940, the start of winning three in a row at Asheville.

It was held a week before the Masters from 1940 through 1942. Now it will be the third week in September at a time most players are simply trying to retain their PGA Tour cards.

The LPGA Tour played in Asheville from 1957 through 1960.

The announcement of the four-year deal with Asheville adds to a growing Fall 2026 schedule. The Good Good Championship in Austin, Texas, will be Nov. 12-15. Other Fall Series events for 2026 include stops in Utah, Japan, Mexico, Bermuda and the southeast Georgia coast.