Wichita’s premier golf event is getting a makeover, bringing better views for thousands of fans. The Wichita Open kicks off June 13 and continues through June 16, and this year the tournament is modifying the grandstands around the 17th hole, known as the “party hole,” to give fans what tournament director Dusty Buell calls the best view on the course. 

More than 50 thousand fans watch the Wichita Open each year. The tournament is part of the Korn Ferry Tour, a developmental tour for the PGA Tour. According to the Wichita Open, the tournament has an estimated economic impact of $7.5 million on Wichita and the surrounding area each year. 

“We want to continue to raise the bar for ourselves, and let people know we’re going to make this the best tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour,” Buell said. 

The changes to the grandstands include converting grandstand A from a double decker to two single levels and expanding those seats around the green and along the fairway. Grandstand B will also become a longer double-decker area, and the Wichita Open Chalet will move next to the Ambassador Suite on hole 17. These changes move fans closer to the action. 

“What we are trying to do is create a semi-private experience for the businesses who are buying chalets in grandstand A,” Buell said. “Those people who are buying single-day tickets will have one of, if not the best, view on the golf course.” 

The Wichita Open has been a staple in the Wichita community for more than three decades. Along with changes to the grandstands around hole 17, the tournament is making other changes, including new beer, beverage and energy drink suppliers and sponsors, a new caterer and a new Pro-Am sponsor. 

“There are a lot of things that will function the same, but they will have some differences,” Buell said. “We don’t make changes just to change, we change to be better, we change to add value.”

Alternatively, golf aficionados can expect a lot of the same things they love about the Wichita Open: The tournament will again be played at Crestview Country Club; the tickets are all-inclusive; fans will enjoy competitive golf and the opportunity for up-close interactions with the golfers. 

“We’re the only tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour giving players the fan experience they’ll have at the next level,” Buell said. “Having that opportunity to see these guys and watch them on the next level, there’s nothing like it.”

“If you do something and you do it right, people are going to support you, and the significance of the Wichita Open goes beyond the fiscal impact,” Buell said. “At the end of the day, we do this tournament because we want to showcase our city to the world. We also do it because any funds that are raised go back into the community.”

Each year, the Wichita Open raises money for local charities. In 2023, the Wichita Open donated more than $300,000 to charities in the Wichita community. 

“To do really good things for this community and families who need help in their most critical times, we make sure the dollars raised go to connecting them with the services they need,” said Buell. 

Much of the tournament’s success is thanks to the hundreds of community sponsors. The Wichita Open has 225 sponsors, with the next closest tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour having 110 sponsors. The title sponsor for the tournament is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, and about 50 sponsors are part of the Ambassador Program, something Buell calls the backbone of the Wichita Open. He said the program includes a small group of devoted local sponsors who are passionate about the tournament and have kept the tournament alive through difficult times.

“They’re not only the greatest group of people on the Korn Ferry Tour, but it has become the best networking opportunity for the people in that room. It doesn’t get any better than the opportunity every month to sit with our leaders,” Buell said. “The Ambassador Program includes people in this community who want to see this tournament in this community and never want it to leave.”

The grandstands will start going up at Crestview from mid-April to early May, taking about six weeks to build. In the meantime, Crestview officials work closely with the PGA to perfect the course, meeting the PGA’s requirements for grass conditions, how high to mow the rough, how the greens should roll, weather procedures and more. 

“[The PGA] has pretty rigid standards to hand off to Crestview, and Crestview delivers,” Buell said. 

For fans anticipating some of the changes this year, Buell said one thing you can always count on with the Wichita Open: a first-class experience.

“Fans can expect that they’re going to be taken care of, that they’re going to have a great time and those who are there to watch golf are going to see some pretty incredible golf,” Buell said. “My team and I will continue to make this a passion project for this community and for this golf course.”

Tickets for the tournament are available now at wichitaopen.com.