90th PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AT OAKLAND HILLS - DAILY NOTES FROM WEDNESDAY AUGUST 6

Jay Haas earned his way into the PGA Championship field this week by winning the 69th Senior PGA Championship in May at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. Haas also won the 2006 Senior PGA Championship and later that year made the cut in the PGA Championship at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club.

The purse for the 90th PGA Championship is $7.5 million, up from $7 million last year at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. The Champion will receive $1.35 million.

The PGA of America announced today that Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., will play host to the 98th PGA Championship in 2016, the Centennial year of The PGA.

There have been seven U.S. Opens, the 2005 PGA Championship (won by Phil Mickelson on Baltusrol's Lower Course) and two U.S. Women's Opens conducted at Baltusrol since 1903. The list of championships and champions held at Baltusrol:

Willie Anderson 1903 U.S. Open (Old Course)
Jerome D. Travers 1915 U.S. Open (Old Course)
Tony Manero 1936 U.S. Open (Upper Course)
Ed Furgol 1954 U.S. Open (Lower Course)
Mickey Wright 1961 U.S. Women's Open (Lower Course)
Jack Nicklaus 1967 U.S. Open (Lower Course)
Jack Nicklaus 1980 U.S. Open (Lower Course)
Kathy Baker 1985 U.S. Women's Open (Upper Course)
Lee Janzen 1996 U.S. Open (Lower Course)
Phil Mickelson 2005 PGA Championship (Lower Course)

Every standing U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain since Jack Nicklaus in 1983 has competed in the PGA Championship the same year he led his team into the biennial matches. Nicklaus (second in the 1983 PGA Championship) and Lee Trevino (second in the 1985 PGA Championship) have the best finishes among U.S. Ryder Cup Captains over that time.

Current U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain Paul Azinger begins play in Thursdays opening round at 1:30 p.m. on No. 10.

The first eight members of the 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup Team will be determined after the PGA Championship concludes on Sunday. Steve Stricker is currently 8th on the Points List determined by The PGA of America, followed by Woody Austin and Hunter Mahan.

U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain Paul Azinger will discuss the first eight players to make the Team at a media conference on Monday, Aug. 11, at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

On Sept. 2 in New York City, Azinger will select the remaining four players for the U.S. Team that will play a 12-man European contingent from Sept. 19-21 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., in the 37th Ryder Cup.

PGA Champions are featured in three pairings during Thursday and Fridays rounds:

Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, Rich Beem
8:45 a.m. Thursday on No. 10; 1:55 p.m. Friday on No. 1

David Toms, Vijay Singh, John Daly
1:35 p.m. Thursday on No. 1; 8:25 a.m. Friday on No. 10

Steve Elkington, Mark Brooks, Bob Tway
1:50 p.m. Thursday on No. 10; 8:40 a.m. Friday on No. 1

Reigning PGA Champion Tiger Woods was unable to attend the traditional Champions Dinner held Tuesday night (Aug. 5) at Oakland Hills Country Club because of his season-ending knee surgery, but he and wife Elin still provided a taste of her native Sweden to the assembled Past Champions and PGA of America officials. The traditional Swedish meal was highlighted by choices that included Poached Shrimp; Dill-Marinated Herring; Scallops; Salmon; Pike; Swedish Meatballs and Seared Swedish Sausages; Duck Breast; and Crusted Elk Medallions.

Oakland Hills Country Club was founded in the same year (1916) as The PGA of America.