LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Valhalla Golf Club has hosted six PGA tournaments in it’s history, beginning back in 1996 with the PGA Championship. This year, the course is set to host it’s seventh as the 2024 PGA Championship comes to Louisville.
For Tonya Fowler and Jason Newman, it will be their seventh PGA tournament, as well.
The two have each worked at Valhalla for more than 30 years. Tonya is the office manager and Jason is the head mechanic. They say the job is demanding but rewarding all the same.
“With a caliber course, like we have here, expectations are high. So, we have to meet those demands, and we try to as best we can,” Newman said.
As head mechanic, Newman is responsible for making sure all of the machines at Valhalla are working correctly. The fleet of mowers, trimmers and lawn equipment are one of his biggest responsibilities.
“We have probably well over 100 pieces of equipment from small little trimmers, blowers, to big excavators, to any type of mower you can think of,” Newman said.
“Every blade of grass we have out here, every different height of cut we have out here has a different machine for it. From fairways to tees to greens, there is a different machine for each one of those areas,” he continued.
Fowler works in house. Her job title has changed over the years moving in an out of accounts payable to working with new members and eventually leading her to her office manager position. She says when she first arrived at Valhalla, the magnitude of what the next 30 years would bring never occurred to her.
“Honestly, when I came to apply for the job I didn’t even know what Valhalla was. But I quickly learned and I was like, ‘Wow this is something big! How did I become a part of this,’” Fowler said.
Both Newman and Fowler have fond memories of some of the major tournaments that have gone over Valhalla’s grounds. The 1996 tournament stands out to both of them because of how new they were, and it being the first major championship played at the course.
Another tournament that hold a special place is 2000. The tournament ended in a playoff between Bob May and Tiger Woods, who was looking to win his second PGA Championship. Fowler says she had one of the best seats in the house.
“I actually got to go up on the 18th hole and sit right up on the TV towers and watch the playoff. So that was pretty memorable for me,” Fowler said.
Newman had another view of a moment that is etched in golf history.
“I don’t know if you remember, there’s a -- I think it was 16 green where Tiger was. He hit a putt and he was pointing as he was walking, he was actually pointing at me because I was right across the green,” Newman joked. “No, no, anyway, I was actually right there watching that whole moment and that was pretty memorable for me.”
At the end of the day, the duo feel a sense of pride thinking back on the more than 30 years they’ve each had at Valhalla.
“Say I’m having a cocktail at any bar or restaurant and I strike up a conversation with whoever and then I tell them what I do for a living and where I work and then they light up. I mean I just work at a golf course, but people are so proud of this golf course in this city, that it makes me proud,” Newman said.
Fowler was much more succinct in what Valhalla means to her.
“I love this place,” she said.
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