PGA announces new tournament in western North Carolina

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The world’s top golfers will soon get a chance to play in western North Carolina.

The PGA has announced the inaugural Biltmore Championship in Asheville will tee off in September 2026. The tournament comes just two years after Helene devastated the region.

Local businesses, like men’s clothing boutique JW Bell in Biltmore Village, are hopeful this tournament will bring some much-needed tourism back to the area.

William Tepper, the president of JW Bell, is used to welcoming people during this time of year, most of them coming to take in the colorful leaves and celebrate the holidays. 

“The customer and the people we get to see here in the village, they’re great. They’re coming to see something really special, visiting western North Carolina, we really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Tepper said.  

The boutique was flooded during the storm and reopened in July.  

Despite seeing a decrease of customers since Helene, Tepper says he is happy with the traffic the store has had and predicts the Biltmore Championship will help bring even more customers to the store. 

“I just think that the visitor in general, is going to be just great for the business, you know, whether it’s restaurants, retail, hotels, I mean, they tend to come in groups and enjoy the area,” Tepper said.

Explore Asheville, says they expect the tournament to attract thousands of visitors and to generate millions of dollars of direct spending for businesses in the area. 

“The travel and hospitality has always been a part of Asheville in western North Carolina. And sports tourism was a big part of that,” said Vic Isley, the president and CEO of Explore Asheville.

Tepper is excited to see Asheville and the surrounding area take center stage again during such a big sporting event.

“People are going to see it, you know, maybe on TV that don’t get to come to the tournament, but they’ll see it on TV and say, ‘maybe we really need to go visit that area,’” he said.

The inaugural Biltmore Championship tournament is scheduled for Sept. 17–20 at the Cliffs at Walnut Cove golf course. The historic Biltmore Estate and Explore Asheville are co-title sponsors of the event.

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