When I learned that PGA champion Scottie Scheffler wasn’t recognized attempting to enter the Valhalla golf course to play round two of a recent PGA tournament I was surprised. After-all he had just one the Master’s Tournament his second.

Despite his urgency of getting to the links in preparation for his morning tee-time, a tragic pre-dawn traffic accident had created confusion, chaos and misunderstanding as players arrived for day-two play.

Two-factor authentication is the practice of using two forms of identity to validate that a badge holder is who he says he is. Commonly, it’s the combination of possessing an event badge coupled with a personalized photograph of the event badge holder. Together, it’s easy to validate badge holder “at-a-glance”.

Today’s event issuance software gives event organizers flexibility to add photographs captured using personal mobile phones, and to then securely print, wirelessly, instantly, and on-the-spot.
And integrating badge holder photos with traditional text and graphics offers a tangible method to verify authentication at no additional cost.No additional cost.

Two-factor authentication may have created less misunderstanding for Scottie Scheffler and course officials in a chaotic early-morning environment. The PGA is reviewing best practices on major event badge issuance including personalized of players and course officials alike for 2025.