When he assumed the mantle of leadership as Championship Director of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores just over five-and-a-half years ago, Ryan Ogle was one of the youngest directors of a PGA major championship ever. His career was on a rapid rise, having advanced in just three years from an entry-level internship with the PGA of America to head of one of the oldest and most prestigious championships in all of golf.
Now, his rise is proving absolutely meteoric, taking the reins of one of the four top majors in all of professional golf, but it also means he and his remarkable wife Rachael will be bidding farewell to Michigan’s Great Southwest, moving on for his recent promotion to Championship Director of the PGA Championship from 2021 through 2024. The 2021 event is slated for Kiawah Island, The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
Advancing from the Champions Tour to one of the most prestigious majors on the regular PGA Tour could very well prove to be a stepping stone to one of his dream jobs identified when he was an inaugural winner of the Moody on the Market 40 Under 40 young professionals in our region. He said at that time that before he achieves age 40 he’s like to be the director of a Ryder Cup championship.
Ogle has been with the PGA of America since June of 2012, when he was a corporate hospitality assistant for the 2012 Ryder Cup. He moved to Benton Harbor in February of 2013 to serve as Volunteer Operations Manager for the 2014 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid at Harbor Shores.
For the 2015 championship he was Manager of Volunteer Operations & Finance in French Lick, Indiana, before returning to take the helm as outright Championship Director for the event at Harbor Shores in 2016 and beyond, promoted in February of 2015.
Now, Ryan will be the Championship Director for the PGA Championship, one of four majors in men’s professional golf joining The Masters, the U.S. Open, and The Open in Britain.
Since its inception in 1916, the PGA Championship has evolved into one of the world’s premier sporting events. The PGA Championship has featured the most players in the Top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings and has perennially boasted the strongest field in all of golf.
A native of Norman, Oklahoma, Ogle earned his degree in Business Administration and Sports Management from Oklahoma State University, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
He has built a strong reputation as a leader in our region beyond his role with the PGA of America, having graduated from the Leadership Accelerator Program, serving as President Elect of the Board of Directors of The Avenue Family Network, Inc., on the Board of Directors of St. Joseph Today, and has been a member of the Lake Michigan College Winners Circle Auction Executive Committee for two years now, and even won the “Judges Award” at the 2017 Dancing with the Symphony Stars for the SW Michigan Symphony Orchestra.
His skill base with the PGA has led to his rise through the ranks, as he has exhibited strategic planning, development and execution of all aspects of his championship events, while developing, analyzing, and managing the events’ budgets each year. He brings talent in team development, HR planning, staff recruitment, media relations, government relations and far beyond.
Ogle’s replacement locally has not been named as yet. The 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will be played at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from May 25-30, and return to the Harbor Shores Resort in Benton Harbor in May of 2022. The 2020 version was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The PGA Championship this year was postponed from May to earlier this month at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco from August 6th to the 9th, but was played with no spectators present.
Ryan told key operating committees and sub-committees of the local event by saying, “On one hand, I am immensely grateful and excited for the opportunity (at the PGA Championship), yet on the other hand, sad that I will be leaving such a great team, host site, and community.”
When he took over for his predecessor Jeff Hintz who moved on to helm The Ryder Cup, Ryan Ogle worried about his ability to live up to the bar Hintz had set. Reality is that he moved that bar even higher, and whoever comes next has some sizable shoes to fill going forward. The Ogles have achieved greatness in this community and they will both be missed by many, who will watch in awe from the sidelines as their stars continue to rise.
