While the United States of America encompasses a number of world-class golf courses, not many are surrounded by lavish structures around. The Wynn Golf Club stands out as such, with its pristine course in the famed Las Vegas strip captivating players and audiences alike.

However, despite its rich history, the present layout doesn’t resemble the par-70 course one bit. What compelled the plush changes to the club, and how has the picturesque golf course evolved over the years?

A dive into the history of the Wynn Golf Club

The storied golf course carried a distinct name back in the day. Opening in 1952, the Las Vegas Club was named after the adjacent Desert Inn Hotel and Casino. Interestingly, the land inside the area was completely flat and near-unrecognizable from the present day.

Although the course has never hosted a major PGA TOUR event, some of the greatest ever have plied their trade at the club. The Desert Inn Golf Course, as it was called before, hosted the PGA TOUR Tournament of Champions (now called the Sentry Tournament of Champions) from 1953 to 1966.

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A few golfers to have won the exclusive event here include legends such as Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. While the ‘King’ won the Tournament of Champions thrice, the ‘Golden Bear’ lifted the trophy four times on the Las Vegas turf.

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In the latter half of the century, the golf course was sparingly used as a rotation for PGA TOUR events. Yet, a significant moment occurred in 1996, when the club hosted the year’s Las Vegas Invitational.

While it was supposed to be another mainstream affair, the tournament weekend saw a talented golfer named Tiger Woods take home his first PGA TOUR victory. While his potential was apparent, little did the golf world realize about the other eighty-four wins waiting in store.

However, merely four years after Woods’ success, the very existence of the golf course was thrown into doubt.

The remake of the Wynn Golf Club

At the start of the millennium, the Desert Inn closed its shop, leaving its course’s fate hanging in balance. But the strip soon found a buyer deeply attached to Las Vegas.

By the time real estate mogul Steve Wynn bought the entire Desert Inn property for $270 million, he was already a renowned developer in the city. Indeed, he had built some of the most famous casinos in Las Vegas, including the Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, and the Wynn Las Vegas.

However, the luxury casino creator sold the Desert Inn later that year. Yet, he retained the old golf course, with an eye on reconstruction. Soon enough, Wynn brought in experienced course architect Tom Fazio, who made decisive changes, starting from the land itself.

“Not one piece, the entire land was regraded,” Fazio said about his work in the aughts. “The Desert Inn was dead flat. It was built in the ‘50s. Back in that era and that time, you didn’t move… earth, you didn’t create elevation change, you just built it right on the ground. So it was a very flat desert golf course.”

The result was a heavenly abode for Vegas golf enthusiasts. Surrounded by luxurious casinos, the rebranded Wynn Golf Club opened in 2005 to the world. It has since undergone another refurbish after Fazio returned with his son to accommodate space after the Wynn Convention Centre’s emergence around the 17th hole.

The lavish golf course has hosted key events in the past, but its biggest takeaway has been Capital One’s The Match.

Capital One’s The Match and History at the Wynn Golf Club

The first of Capital One’s, The Match, which features a series of exhibition golf challenge matches, was played in Las Vegas between golf icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The games caught steam, which eventually turned into an annual affair.

The Wynn Golf Club hosted its first Capital One match in 2021 when then-nemesis Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau settled their conflicts with a hugely-viewed matchup. The golf club will also host 2023’s edition of ‘The Match’, which will pitt ‘The Splash Brothers’, NBA superstars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, against Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

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