His office is already just yards away from the first fairway at Harbor Shores and he’s clearly one of the architects of the design that resulted in the Jack Nicklaus Golf Course in Benton Harbor essentially becoming the de facto home of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, so it’s perfectly fitting that Jeff Fettig has been named today as General Chair of that esteemed championship’s 81st edition returning to Benton Harbor in 2020.
The PGA of America announced today that the retired CEO and still Chairman of the Board of Whirlpool Corporation, Jeff Fettig, will be the General Chair for the 81st KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, to be played May 19-24, 2020, at Harbor Shores.
The General Chair acts as an ambassador for senior golf’s most historic and prestigious major championship, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, and leads an executive committee dedicated to providing a world-class experience for all those involved including the entire community of Michigan’s Great Southwest. In this role, Fettig will also lead the process to establish the framework to engage and support the 1,600 volunteers who help make the Championship the success that it has become.
Fettig says, “It is an honor and pleasure to work with the professional staff of the PGA of America and the dedicated and talented volunteers as we plan for the next KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores.” He adds, “We have set the bar very high with our 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 events, and we are committed to making the 2020 event the best ever for the players, the spectators, volunteers and for the community. ”
Fettig was the CEO of Whirlpool Corporation from 2004 until 2017, the parent company for the Championship’s title sponsor, KitchenAid. He is well-versed in nearly every sector of Whirlpool’s business, having spent time in operations, marketing, sales, planning, and product development, as well as leading its Europe and Asia operations.
Originally from Tipton, Indiana, Fettig serves as Chairman of the Board of Whirlpool, the non-employee Executive Chair of DowDuPont and as a member of the board of directors of the Kohler Company. He also serves as a board member of the Indiana University Foundation, the board of governors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and as a Trustee for PGA REACH, the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America.
2020 will mark the fifth playing of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores. Roger Chapman (2012), Colin Montgomerie (2014), Rocco Mediate (2016) and Paul Broadhurst (2018) won the first four. Harbor Shores will also host the 83rd (2022) and 85th (2024) editions.
Meanwhile, the 2019 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will be staged May 21-26 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
For more information about the PGA of America, visit PGA.org, follow @PGA on Twitter and find them on Facebook.
For more information about KitchenAid, visit KitchenAid.com, Facebook, or Twitter.
