Wyndham Championship Tournament Director Mark Brazil has served at the helm of the event for 16 years, where he has overseen both a title sponsor change and a venue change. We caught up with Mark as final preparations were made for the 2017 Wyndham event.
JOHN MAGINNES: The Wyndham Championship’s 2012 winner is now a Masters Champion. How did that hit you?
Mark Brazil: I have been friends with Sergio for a long time. Like so many, I’ve been pulling for him to break through. As good a ball striker as he is, I felt he could win any major. But for him to do it at the Masters, where there is such a premium on putting, is incredible. So to have another one of our champions win a major just adds to the historical significance of our event.
JM: This is especially true, considering that talk about your defending champion Si Woo Kim and his Players Championship.
MB: Well, you look at what he did here last year. He won in such a dominating fashion with hardly any hiccups that it wasn’t as surprising to us. He has one of the best swings in golf. What was surprising about that win was that he has had back and wrist injuries, so we didn’t know that he was going to be a factor in the event at all. I loved what he said at the awards ceremony, where he referenced how he felt down the stretch at the Wyndham. Remember, this kid turned 22 this summer. We could be looking at a Hall of Fame career.
JM: It’s been nearly a decade since the Wyndham returned to Sedgefield. What do the players tell you now about the golf course?
MB: When we first came, they loved the design. The PGA Tour doesn’t see too many Donald Ross courses, so we had a hit with the course. But what has happened since then has kept them coming back. The condition of Sedgefield, the greens and the fairways are pristine year in and year out. The players know what to expect, and Sedgefield keeps delivering. The house is always in order.
JM: Tell us about the fan experience at the tournament this year.
MB: We are going to have a little differ ent experience this year. Margaritaville is not coming back, but we are going to have something different and exciting in that popular space. We are excited about unveiling it, although I can’t at this time. You’ll just have to check it out. We are creating a new location for the Polo merchandise tent. That is an area we are trying to improve. We love seeing Wyndham Championship shirts at golf courses all year long. And, of course, they are Polo.
JM: Anything else different that we might notice?
MB: There is going to be a different look
and feel. Still with a vacation theme, but a different spin. In a lot of ways, we leave the theme of the event up to Wyndham. We want them to feel true ownership of the event and the best way to do that is to give them authorship of the look and feel. And from that, we do our best to
create the best fan experience we can at the tournament. It doesn’t matter if you bought a $10 practice round ticket or a hospitality ticket — we want you to walk away feeling like you got great value and had a great time.
JM: For the second year in a row, the Wyndham Championship was named the most fan friendly event on the PGA Tour. How does that feel?
MB: The recognition is always nice. We continue to try to grow the event but maintain the principles that make the Wyndham Championship a unique experience on the PGA Tour.