The Par 3 Contest at the Masters is popular for allowing golfers to bring in family members as caddies. They also get a chance to take putts at the Augusta National. However, the Masters is not the only event where families come closer. The PNC Championship, which started in 1995, enables fathers/mothers and sons/daughters to play together in a 36-hole format.

Previously called the Father/Son Challenge, the 2025 PNC Championship is set to bring golf’s most celebrated family duos back to Orlando, Florida, on December 20-21. Previously, the event has seen many stars, including Tiger Woods, John Daly, Bernhard Langer, and others, play with their children. Nestled within the lush Grande Lakes Orlando resort, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club will once again host the 36-hole scramble. Many Major champions will team up with family members in a unique test of skill, strategy, and camaraderie. Notably, the field is extremely strong. There are past legends, rising stars, and memorable debuts on the roster.

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PNC Championship 2025 venue: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club will host the 2025 PNC Championship. It has been the host of the event since it returned in 2012 after a three-year hiatus. Notably, the PGA Tour didn’t organize it from 2009 to 2011 because of economic and sponsorship challenges.

The venue features an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed championship course measuring 7,106 yards with a par of 72. It is nestled within the 500-acre Grande Lakes Orlando resort. Both golfers and fans enjoy the lush surroundings at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades. There’s also a spa, pools, farm-to-table dining, and activities like kayaking and eco-tours. All-in-all, the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club offers something for everyone to enjoy.

Norman and his team have put special emphasis on maintaining the ecosystem of the course and the surrounding area. In fact, the venue also enjoys an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program offers certification to courses that ensure the preservation and enhancement of wildlife habitat and natural resources.

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes, combines stunning natural beauty with a challenging layout. It features wide fairways, strategic hazards, and contoured greens amid ponds, wetlands, live oaks, and cypress heads.

While the entire course is challenging, Hole 9 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club stands out. Its blend of dogleg, trees, and marsh makes it a difficult hole that punishes even the smallest of mistakes.

A competitive field will play against each other to get their hands on the Willie Park Trophy at the 2025 PNC Championship. The trophy was named after the legendary father-son duo, Willie Park Sr. and Willie Park Jr. Notably, they both won the Open Championship on multiple occasions. The field features eight former world No. 1s, six past champions, and over 40 major titles among pros.

Venue changes over the years

The PNC Championship started in 1995, and as mentioned earlier, it was called the Father/Son Challenge back then. However, the venue was not the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club from the beginning.

For the first three editions (1995-1998), the venue was the Windsor Club in Vero Beach. Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed the course, which opened for the public in 1991. The event was then shifted to the TwinEagles Golf & Country Club in 1999. The organizers then moved to the Ocean Club at Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas. From 2000 to 2002, it remained the venue for the family event.

For a long stretch of five years, from 2003 to 2008, the ChampionsGate Golf Club, Orlando, hosted the event. The designer of this course was also Greg Norman. Then there was a three-year hiatus before the event returned as the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in 2012. The event has stayed there ever since.