ASHEVILLE - On Sept. 18, the Blue Ridge Mountains framed the PGA Tour's Biltmore Championship Asheville, which is in full swing from Sept. 17-20 at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Arden.
Off the green, the audience politely applauded the players in the tournament that began with nearly 130 competitors.
For many, it was their first time seeing a PGA Tour event live.
Griffin Collins, an Atlanta resident, said he had attended PGA Tour events before that and said the Biltmore Championship Asheville stands up to the best of them.
"It's super cool. The course is beautiful," he said.
Collins attended the Biltmore Championship Asheville with friends the day before his wedding in the city. It was a bonus for the golf fan, as the wedding was planned before the PGA
Tour announced.
It's the first PGA Tour event in Asheville in 84 years, hosted on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course at a venue more than 23,000 square feet, which opened in 2005.
"It is a beautiful day to showcase Asheville and Western North Carolina to the entire golfing world," Governor Josh Stein said on the second morning of the tournament. "It's going to show these gorgeous mountains to viewers all over the world, and people are going to say to themselves, 'I want to go there,' and that's what we want to do ― let the world know Western North Carolina is open for business."
Western North Carolina shines for Biltmore Championship Asheville
Without a fog delay, as on the first day of the prestigious tournament, the professional men's golfers began the second day of the inaugural tournament under clear skies and sunshine, playing their way around the course and moving closer to claiming the victory, the custom-made gold-and-silver trophy and a cut of the $5 million purse.
The Biltmore Championship Asheville is the first of eight in the FedEx Fall Series, played after the Tour Championship, which finalizes eligibility for the 2027 PGA Tour Season.
Collins was rooting for the Vanderbilt University alum Gordon Sargent.
"Hopefully he can get back in the league and get back up there," he said.
Before Stein made his rounds of the holes, he paused to comment on the players with local ties.
"It's great that some of the most talented golfers in the world are North Carolinians. We have J.T. Polston and Webb Simpson competing here, and we're cheering hard for them," he said.
Post-Helene economy, recovery boost in WNC
The Biltmore Championship Asheville was secured through a $2.4 million four-year agreement between the PGA Tour and co-sponsors Biltmore, of the famed Biltmore Estate and Biltmore House, and Explore Asheville.
More than 10,000 guests were expected to attend the sold-out four-day event, with more than 2,000 out-of-state visitors, according to Explore Asheville. More than 1,100 volunteers registered to help before and during the tournament.
Anna Catherine, a Hickory resident and staff member at the University of North Carolina Asheville, signed up to volunteer three days over the weekend.
"It's a great way to get out and meet people and give back, which is one of the core pillars of what we do for the community, and I wanted to do my part," she said. "I wanted to be part of what makes it special and bringing people back to Asheville."
The future of Biltmore Championship Asheville, WNC
Stein said the PGA Tour is expected to significantly boost the region's economy, generating millions of dollars over the four-day weekend, accelerating WNC's recovery progress since Hurricane Helene, which arrived as a tropical storm in the fall of 2024.
Collins said he and his fiancée had visited Asheville many times before and after Helene, ultimately choosing an undisclosed venue in the city to exchange vows and celebrate.
"Our venue was under five feet of water but they rebuilt everything, so we felt good with going there since they were back up and running," he said.
During the four-day visit, he, his wedding party, and guests planned to venture outside The Cliffs at Walnut Cove to local businesses, including a welcome party at Hi-Wire Brewing, with food catered by Bear's Smokehouse BBQ, also a PGA Tour food vendor.
Collins said he planned to return for the next years of the Biltmore Championship Asheville.
Stein said the Biltmore Championship Asheville aims to accelerate the region's recovery, adding that there have been "encouraging indicators" of taxable sales in 2026, compared to before the historic storm.
"We see progress being made, but we know there's a lot more work to do," Stein said.
He said employment in Buncombe County hadn't fully rebounded, but that the way to boost employment is to increase local money circulation.
Asheville's unemployment rate was 3.3% in July 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"We want the world to know what we know about Western North Carolina. It's so beautiful; the people are nice, they're friendly, they're kind. The food is great, the beer is good, the crafts are beautiful. There's just so much to enjoy in Western North Carolina; we want more people to come here and spend their money."
Tiana Kennell is thefood and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of USA TODAY Co., covering the food and beverage industry and PGA Tour's Biltmore Championship Asheville. Tips, comments, questions? Email tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram.Sign up for AVL Bites and Brews, our weekly food and drink newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Biltmore Championship Asheville shines on day 2 of golf tournament
