SPRINGFIELD, N.J. _ The PGA of America says it strongly opposes North Carolina's controversial bathroom bill but still plans to hold next year's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte.
Echoing a written statement made after the NBA decided to pull its 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte, PGA of America Chief Executive Officer Pete Bevacqua said Wednesday, "We have been very vocal in our opposition to HB2 on several occasions. We're trying to do everything we can, as part of our strategic plan for our organization in golf, to make the game as inclusive as possible ... .
"We're trying to do the things to make the game more inclusive, and we thought it was important that we voiced our opposition."
North Carolina passed in March a bill, known as HB2, that requires transgender individuals to use the bathroom of their birth sex, rather than the gender with which they identify. The act also prohibits state municipalities from enacting anti-discrimination policies in the workplace.
The 2017 PGA Championship will be the first major at Quail Hollow, which has hosted a yearly PGA Tour event since 2003.
"It's a private facility," Bevacqua said. "So we intend to do everything we can within our power to make it a welcoming environment and an inclusive environment. We have every intention of having our restroom policy be like it is every year, where you can use the restroom you identify with."
