Let’s rewind to the summer of 1998. Grunge was still echoing out of Seattle basements, Tiger Woods was just getting warmed up, and the PGA Championship - one of golf’s biggest four - landed right in our backyard at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, WA.

For PNW golf fans, it was a moment of arrival. This wasn’t just a national championship—it was a statement: our courses are just as tough, just as beautiful, and just as worthy of the spotlight as anything in Florida or New York. And if you’ve ever walked the tree-lined corridors of Sahalee, you know they don’t call it “Heavenly Ground” for nothing.

The Course: A Tightrope Through the Trees

Sahalee is no cupcake. Ask any pro who teed it up in '98 and they’ll tell you the same thing: precision > power. Designed by Ted Robinson and later renovated by Rees Jones, Sahalee’s fairways are more like hallways—narrow, winding, and lined with towering evergreens that seem to whisper “don’t miss right.”

The setup for the PGA Championship was brutal, even by major standards. It played at a par-70, stretched to nearly 7,000 yards (long for its time), with thick rough and lightning-fast greens that punished even the slightest miscue. The Pacific Northwest rain made things even tougher early in the week, but come Sunday, the sun broke through and the course was firm, fast, and unforgiving.

The Field: Big Names, Bigger Expectations

The 1998 PGA Championship featured a stacked field. You had Tiger Woods, already a Masters champ at just 22, ready to add another major to his resume. Davis Love III, Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara, and Phil Mickelson were all in the mix.

But as the weekend unfolded, it wasn’t the biggest names who rose to the top—it was Vijay Singh, the smooth-swinging Fijian who played smart, stayed patient, and embraced Sahalee’s demanding layout like a local.

The Rounds: A Survival Test

Scoring at Sahalee was tough all week. No one cracked 70 in the first round, and just staying at even par felt like an accomplishment. The tight fairways and thick PNW rough forced the field to take their medicine early and often.

By Sunday, only a handful of players were truly in contention. Steve Stricker made a charge, and Tiger, in classic Tiger fashion, clawed his way back into the top 10 despite a rough start. But it was Vijay who took control. His final round 68—calm, clinical, unshaken—was enough to finish at 9-under-par (271), three clear of the field.

The Champion: Vijay’s Breakthrough

Vijay Singh wasn’t a household name just yet in 1998. That would change after Sahalee. With his win, he became just the second player from Fiji to ever win a major (just kidding—he was the first, and still the only). His swing was syrupy smooth, his pace unhurried, and his confidence undeniable.

Singh’s victory at Sahalee marked his first of three career majors, but for many PNW fans, it was the start of a long-standing respect for his steady, no-drama approach to the game. He didn’t overpower Sahalee—he outsmarted it.

What It Meant for the PNW

The 1998 PGA Championship was more than just a tournament. It was a coming-of-age moment for Pacific Northwest golf. Sahalee proved that our courses can test the best, and the region proved it could host a world-class event with the perfect mix of challenge, charm, and chilly mornings.

In the years since, Sahalee has hosted the 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational and the 2016 Women’s PGA Championship, but there’s something special about that '98 tournament. It was the first time the whole golf world looked at this corner of the country and thought, “Wow—this place is legit.”

Were You There?

We know some of you were lucky enough to walk the ropes at Sahalee that week. If you were there—or even just watching on TV—drop a comment or DM us your memories. Got a photo? Even better. Let’s celebrate one of the most iconic moments in Northwest golf history, 26 years later.