As American golfers such as Francis Ouimet, Walter Hagen and John McDermott enjoyed increasing success against the Scots in the US Open, golf began to boom in America.
On January 17, 1916, Rodman Wanamaker, a department store magnate who foresaw the commercial potential for golf, invited a group of 35 professional golfers (including Hagen), well-known amateurs, course architects and representatives from the golf industry to a lunch in New York. The result was the founding of the PGA of America and the PGA Championship, sponsored by Wanamaker.