Veterans from around the country grabbed the first tee times of PGA Championship week on Monday morning, turning Chester Valley Golf Club in Malvern into a nine-hole stage for the PGA HOPE Secretary's Cup. The compact event pairs PGA HOPE graduates with PGA professionals and leans as heavily on camaraderie and wellness as it does on score. Those opening swings at Chester Valley set a very different mood for a week usually reserved for golf's most high-pressure competition.
Short Course, Big Mission
As reported by CBS News Philadelphia, the nine-hole Secretary's Cup teed off Monday as an annual salute to veterans and the PGA HOPE program. The station's video shows veterans teamed up with PGA pros, volunteers lining the range and a laid-back, celebratory vibe that defines this event. Their cameras captured the opening shots, the applause that followed each hole and the sense that this is more reunion than scoreboard drama.
National Field, Local Fairways
The PGA of America REACH Foundation calls the Secretary's Cup its "heroes' major" and notes that the tenth edition brings section teams from across the country to Chester Valley. According to PGA REACH, the tournament is presented by American Airlines and features squads made up of PGA HOPE graduates. Many players told organizers that PGA HOPE has helped them rebuild social ties and manage both physical and mental health well after their military service ended.
Teed Up With Championship Week
The Secretary's Cup is staged alongside the 108th PGA Championship, which the PGA of America lists for May 11–17 at Aronimink Golf Club in nearby Newtown Square. Per the PGA Championship site, tying the veterans' showcase to the major helps expand the audience for PGA HOPE while the region gears up for visiting fans, television crews and a packed slate of golf programming. Organizers say that overlap injects an extra layer of community into a week that normally revolves around leaderboards and pressure-packed putts.
A Different Kind Of Major
What started as a modest one-off in 2016 has grown into a signature stop that organizers and players now call a "major" in its own right, according to PGA.com. That backstory is a reminder to staff and volunteers that the real goal is accessibility and healing, not bragging rights. On Monday, that mission was visible on every tee and in every clubhouse handshake. For many veterans, the Secretary's Cup is less about what gets written on the scorecard and more about the long conversations and connections that follow the final putt.
