The 2027 PGA Championship goes to Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, May 20-23. No men's major has been played there, so the usual fantasy shortcut (pull up who finished top 10 here last time) doesn't exist. What does exist: two professional majors on the same course with wildly different results, a clear read on what drives scoring, and a field nobody has course history on. Here's what we know and how we'd draft around it.
The course: Gil Hanse on a Texas floodplain
Fields Ranch East is a par 72 designed by Gil Hanse, built on former farmland about 45 minutes north of downtown Dallas. It's the championship course at PGA Frisco, the PGA of America's headquarters campus. The resort lists it at up to 7,863 yards from the back tees.
- Par: 72
- Max yardage: 7,863 (exact 2027 setup not announced yet)
- Grass: Bermuda throughout, TifEagle on the greens and Northbridge everywhere else
- Water: Panther Creek runs through the property; the opening par 5 carries it off the tee
- Tees: long ribbon tee boxes, some up to 100 yards deep, so the setup crew can move holes a lot day to day
Hanse built wide fairways on purpose. At the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA he described landing areas around 60 yards wide where you really only want to be on 20 or 30 yards of it, and said narrower fairways in this much wind would be too much. One par 4 is at least 100 yards across at its widest. Width off the tee, with a preferred side, is the defining design idea.
What happened in the two majors played there
2023 Senior PGA Championship: Steve Stricker, 18 under
The course's first big event went low. Steve Stricker won at 18 under (270), beating Padraig Harrington in a playoff after Harrington birdied 18 to force extra holes. PGA of America officials later pointed out that week had little wind, and two players shot 64.
2025 KPMG Women's PGA: Minjee Lee, 4 under
Two years later the same course ate the LPGA's best. Minjee Lee won at 4 under, three shots clear of Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen, even after a final-round 74 held together by her scrambling. That week brought wind and Dallas heat, the course played 6,604 yards, and several players publicly criticized the setup after a brutal Friday.
Same course, 14 strokes of difference between the winning scores, with different fields and different tees. The constant both weeks was wind. Course previews for the 2025 event called it the biggest factor in how hard Fields Ranch East plays: when it's calm, the big greens are big targets; when it blows, they aren't.
What it means for your draft
Everything below is our opinion, built from the facts above. Treat it as a starting lens for your cheat sheet, not a promise.
Length is a real edge here
Wide fairways lower the cost of a miss, and a course that can stretch past 7,800 yards rewards carry. We'd move long hitters up a few spots relative to a tight, tree-lined PGA venue. The four par 5s are where separation happens on a calm day.
Wind players over pure putters
If North Texas wind shows up in late May, ball flight control matters more than holing 15-footers. Players who've contended at windy events (the Open, links-style venues, Texas swing stops) get a bump from us. A player who ranks top 20 in SG: Approach and hits it low on command is a better Round 2 pick here than an elite putter with a high ball flight.
Scrambling still pays
Lee won the 2025 Women's PGA with a 74 because she got up and down. Large greens mean long chips and long lag putts when you miss on the wrong side. Around-the-green skill is a decent tiebreaker between two similar players.
Course history is a blank slate
Nobody in the men's field has played a major here. That flattens the board compared with Augusta, where past finishes carry real weight. Recent form (the six or seven starts before May) should carry more of your ranking than usual.
Reading the field for your snake draft
The 156-player field includes 20 PGA club professionals. In a 10-person Foursome league you're picking 30 golfers, all from the top of the board. When you rank, we'd weight:
- Driving distance and SG: Off the Tee higher than at a typical PGA venue
- SG: Approach, especially in windy events
- Recent form over long-term world ranking
- Scrambling as the tiebreaker between similar names
For pick-order tactics, see the snake draft guide.
The Friday cut and the auction
A Foursome pool opens a live auction Friday evening on every undrafted player who made the cut. The wind forecast for Saturday and Sunday is the single best piece of information you can bring to that auction. If the weekend looks calm, chase the long hitters sitting just inside the cut line; they can go low on a soft, still day. If it's going to blow, pay up for the grinders. Details on bidding and drop players are in the auction explainer.
FAQ
Who designed Fields Ranch East?
Gil Hanse. Beau Welling designed the second course at PGA Frisco, Fields Ranch West.
What's the par and yardage for the 2027 PGA Championship?
Par 72. The course can stretch to 7,863 yards; the PGA of America hasn't published the exact 2027 setup yet.
Who has won majors at Fields Ranch East?
Steve Stricker won the 2023 Senior PGA Championship at 18 under, and Minjee Lee won the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at 4 under.
Run your 2027 major pools on Foursome. Free for friend groups.
Set up your PGA Championship pool →For dates, the week-of timeline, and payout examples, see the PGA Championship fantasy pool 2027 guide. In June the majors move to a very different test; read the Pebble Beach preview when you get there.