Okta to secure PGA of America identity & AI rollout

Okta has expanded its relationship with the PGA of America in a deal focused on identity management for staff, golf professionals and fans, as sports bodies face growing cyber risk across digital ticketing, membership and engagement platforms.

The agreement covers two areas. First, the PGA of America is using the Okta Platform for internal access management and workflow automation. Second, it is using Okta's Auth0 product for fan-facing services to manage logins and unify identities across its digital properties.

Sports organisations have become frequent targets for cyber criminals because modern events generate large volumes of personal data, payment information and broadcast-related systems. The PGA of America oversees more than 30,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals across the US, alongside employees and a wider community of fans and partners who use its digital services.

Identity systems have become a focal point for security teams as attackers use credential theft, password spraying and social engineering to access internal tools and consumer accounts. For sports bodies, these risks extend beyond corporate systems to customer-facing applications that handle ticketing, merchandise, memberships and event updates.

Two identity tracks

The internal part of the arrangement covers employees and the PGA's network of golf professionals. Okta said the focus is on streamlining access, automating workflows and blocking malicious activity. This typically involves single sign-on, lifecycle management and policy enforcement to reduce manual provisioning by IT teams.

On the fan side, the PGA of America is using Auth0 for authentication across its digital services. Identity unification typically means consolidating accounts across separate applications, such as membership systems and content platforms, and applying consistent security controls such as multi-factor authentication and anomaly detection.

Okta also linked the expansion to increased use of AI in digital experiences, saying the organisations will explore ways to secure what it called the PGA's AI foundation. Okta has positioned its products around securing not only human users but also automated agents and machine identities that connect to applications and data.

AI security focus

Okta framed the extended relationship as part of a shift toward "AI-powered digital experiences" in sport, as more interactions move to apps and online services. This can include personalised content, customer service tools and operational systems that rely on automated decision-making and integration with multiple data sources.

Security teams have raised concerns that AI adoption can increase attack surface by adding new integrations and workflows. Identity controls can sit at the centre of that architecture by determining which users and services can access sensitive systems and datasets.

Shannon Duffy, Okta's chief marketing officer, linked the partnership to the company's broader positioning around AI and identity security.

"Okta is proud to fuel the digital evolution of the PGA of America, helping ensure the future of the game is as secure as it is innovative," said Shannon Duffy, Chief Marketing Officer, Okta.

"Okta secures AI, and through this expanded relationship, we will enable the PGA to safely deploy next-generation AI experiences - deepening engagement across the game while protecting their members. With Okta Platform as the unified identity layer and Auth0 Platform to defend the login against emerging risks, we help ensure that every AI agent interaction remains verified and grounded in trust," Duffy added.

Kevin J. Scott, the PGA of America's chief technology officer, said the organisation is expanding its work with Okta as it increases its use of AI.

"PGA of America is excited to expand our relationship with Okta as we embrace AI to power the next era of golf," Scott said.

"By unifying identity management, we are able to protect our global community against the risks of a shifting digital landscape. Okta's foundation is what allows us to move faster with AI and deliver the secure, seamless experiences our members expect - ensuring we stay focused on growing the game and serving PGA of America Golf Professionals," he added.

The expanded relationship comes as identity vendors compete for large organisations running both workforce and customer identity systems. Okta sells tools for employee access and governance, while Auth0 is often used by application teams building consumer login journeys. Using a single supplier can simplify policy management and auditing, but it also increases reliance on one platform provider.

Okta said the PGA of America has consolidated identity management with Okta and is continuing to develop an identity-first security model across its operations and digital properties, with further work planned around AI-related use cases.