IVINS, Utah — The first PGA tour stop in Utah since 1963 has arrived in Ivins, just outside St. George. Local residents and businesses are just starting to see the impact.
Peggy Cole has lived in southern Utah her whole life. She was born in Hurricane and now lives in Santa Clara with a view of the Black Desert course from her home. Growth is nothing new for St. George, but this is still a first for everyone here.
“We were a teeny, teeny community, and then all of a sudden we've become a destination for people,” Cole said.
The PGA tour has arrived. The Black Desert Championship tees off Thursday and the people here are mixed as far as what’s coming.
“There's a lot of people that are very excited about it. There's a lot of people that say, 'Why here?'" Cole said. “I love it. It's kind of exciting.”
Chris Connors runs the Farmstead bakery downtown. He and other small businesses are optimistic about the golf crowd.
"For us, we're increasing our ordering and things like that and our staffing by 20% this weekend,” Connors said. “So Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we expect probably about 50 to 100 more transactions on our side for our business.”
As St. George enters the national golf spotlight this weekend, he expects it to have a lasting impact.
“It’s going to put St. George on the map as far as the PGA and things like that. This is a huge deal for us in the city. It brings a ton of people," Connors said.
And he wants to be sure he wins over all those people.
“I want them to return. I want them to make this an annual trip,” Connors said. “So that's our goal is to kill it with hospitality and give them a taste, no pun intended, give them a taste of our food and hopefully they come back for years to come.”
People like Cole will enjoy the excitement but are thankful it's just for the weekend.
”I like the diversity that it brings into town. I like the excitement of the whole thing, but I also love when it's all over to have your town back to yourself," she said.
