The course at Annandale Golf Club has been a PGA Tour stop ever since 1994, when the Magnolia State Classic – as it was originally called – was relocated from Hattiesburg Country Club.
The tournament sponsor has changed several times since its first staging in 1968 but Hattiesburg and Annandale are the only two venues to have hosted what’s officially titled “an alternative event” for the professionals, one played opposite a Major or limited field tournament.
The first Nicklaus Design course in Mississippi when it opened in 1981, Annandale was one of the Golden Bear’s earliest design efforts and it’s one that’s he’s rightly proud of.
Early Nicklaus design traits are in evidence in the form of an island green at the 209-yard 8th and a huge waste area on the right side of the 408-yard 16th. More conventionally, the 4th and 14th holes are two very long, tough par fours; the second of which plays to a creek-protected two-tiered green.
Nicklaus Design returned to Annandale in 2009 to address drainage issues and install some new tee boxes, adding extra length to the layout.
