Special Moments in
PGA Championship
History
(PGA of America – July 2014)
The Professional Golfers' Association of America
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1916 - A Grand Tradition unfolds
Siwanoy Country Club — Bronxville, New York
The PGA Championship was christened at 9 a.m., October 10, 1916, at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New
York. Tom Kerrigan, Siwanoy’s host professional, stepped to the tee and split the fairway with his drive. Kerrigan’s
opponent in the 36-hole match-play format event was Charles Adams of Santa Barbara, Calif. Even though
Adams was skilled in his long game, he suffered on the greens. Kerrigan triumphed on familiar turf, winning 6 and
4. Kerrigan went on to fall to “Long Jim” Barnes, a native of Cornwall, England, and resident of Philadelphia, 3
and 1, in the quarterfinals. Barnes then met Jock Hutchison Sr., a native of St. Andrews, Scotland, in the finals.
The match went the distance, coming down to a pair of five-foot putts on the par-4, 36th hole. After a
measurement, it was decided Hutchison was away. He missed his putt, and Barnes coolly rapped his home for a
1-up victory, becoming the first to have his name engraved on the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy.
1917-1918 - No Championship played due to World War I
1919 ‘Long Jim’ does it again
Engineers Country Club —Roslyn, Long Island, New York
America’s involvement in World War I postponed the PGA Championship for two years. The Championship
returned in 1919 at the Engineers Country Club in Roslyn, Long Island, New York. The script for the
Championship finale was once again written by a native Englishman and Scot. Jim Barnes, at 6-foot-3, was the
tallest player in the field and opponent Fred McLeod (5-foot-3) the shortest. The 1908 U.S. Open Champion from
Carnoustie, Scotland, McLeod gained a 1-up advantage after nine holes. The advantage went to two holes before
McLeod missed a 1 1/2- foot par putt on the 11th hole. He went on to lose six of the remaining seven holes to end
the first 18 holes five down. From there, nothing seemed to go right for the wee Scotsman. His long putts hung on
the lip of the hole throughout the afternoon, and Barnes closed out the match by knocking home a 40-foot birdie
putt on the 31st hole — a 6 and 5 victory. Barnes reached the Championship finals twice again (1921 and 1924),
losing both times to Walter Hagen. McLeod managed to reach the quarterfinals twice — falling to Barnes in 1921
by an embarrassing 11 and 9, and to Hagen in 1923, 5 and 4.
1920 - From Alternate to Champion
Flossmoor Country Club — Chicago, Illinois
Today’s golf fan remembers John Daly’s improbable tale of being the ninth alternate for a PGA Championship
berth, and going on to victory. Daly isn’t the only late-hour addition to become PGA Champion. Jock Hutchison Sr.
of Glenview, Illinois, got the honor after George Fotheringham — a PGA Charter Member and the first chair of the
PGA Annual Meeting — and Arthur Clarkson were unable to attend. Hutchison, who failed initially in sectional
qualifying, was a terror in the four matches he played before the finals. He defeated Eddie Loos and Laurie Ayton
by identical 5 and 3 scores; Louis Tellier, 6 and 5; and downed Harry Hampton in the semifinals, 4 and 3.
Hutchison then had a battle, escaping Douglas Edgar with a 1-up decision in the 36-hole finale.
1921 - The reign of The Haig begins
Inwood Country Club — Far Rockaway, New York
Miserable weather battered the field in the PGA Championship, but two stars emerged from a soggy week — a
little-known 19-year-old former caddie named Gene Sarazen and a polished veteran, Walter Hagen. It was
Sarazen stealing most of the headlines early in the week, upsetting defending PGA Champion and newly crowned
British Open Champion Jock Hutchison in the second round. Sarazen had Hutchison eight holes down after the
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
morning 18-hole round, firing a 69. Sarazen went on to win, 8 and 6, recording the first of a record 57 match-play
victories in the Championship. Sarazen’s victory celebration was short-lived. He fell to Cyril Walker in the
quarterfinals, 4 and 2. In the semifinals, former champion Jim Barnes was 2-up on Emmett French before a
torrential downpour hit the course. The match was resumed the following day. Hagen offered to postpone his
semifinal duel with Walker, but Walker refused, and Hagen went on to win 5 and 4. Both Barnes and Hagen were
at the peak of their games. Barnes had four sub-70 rounds in his previous four matches, but was unable to
contain Hagen. Hagen grabbed a 1-up advantage after the morning round, and putted spectacularly in the
afternoon to take a 4-up lead. He closed the match on the 34th hole, winning 3 and 2. It was the first of Hagen’s
five PGA Championships.
1922 – ‘The Squire’ comes of age
Oakmont (Pennsylvania) Country Club
Defending champion Walter Hagen skipped the PGA Championship due to a heavy schedule of exhibition
engagements, allowing Gene Sarazen to step into history. The 20-year-old proved he was a player worthy of
acclaim, downing former champion Jock Hutchison Sr. for the second consecutive year. Sarazen trailed the
quarterfinal round most of the morning and early afternoon, before closing out Hutchison on the 35th hole, 3 and
1. Sarazen then downed Bobby Cruickshank 3 and 2, before dispatching Emmett French in the finals 4 and 3.
Sarazen became the youngest winner in PGA Championship history. Sarazen also became the first player to win
the PGA Championship and U.S. Open Championship in the same year. Sarazen won the Open Championship a
month earlier at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Illinois.
1923 - Hagen vs. Sarazen — Golf’s greatest match?
Pelham Golf Club — Pelham Manor, New York
Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen — believed by many the two finest golfers of their era — squared off in the
finals of the PGA Championship. The match lived up to pre-Championship hype, with Sarazen defeating Hagen in
the first extra-hole finale in Championship history. The match was even after 18 holes before Sarazen grabbed a
three-hole lead in the afternoon. Hagen birdied the 29th hole to trim the deficit to two holes, and won the 34th and
35th to square the match. The two players halved the 36th hole with pars. Sarazen almost succumbed on the
37th hole, driving into deep rough, just a couple of feet from the out-of-bounds barrier. With a small crowd
gathered around him, Sarazen was heard telling the audience, “I’ll put this one up so close to the hole that it will
break Walter’s heart.” Sarazen followed with a brilliant recovery shot, with his ball coming to rest two feet from the
flagstick. Hagen dumped his approach into a greenside bunker, but almost holed his bunker approach. Sarazen
closed the drama by sinking his birdie putt. Sarazen and Hagen landed in the PGA record book, ranking 1-2 for
most holes played in one Championship. Sarazen went 194 holes to Hagen’s 188.
1924 - One last chance for Long Jim
French Lick Springs Golf Club — French Lick, Indiana
Jim Barnes, the first PGA Champion, got his chance to avenge a 1921 Championship defeat to Walter Hagen.
However, a balky putter spoiled the plans of the 38-year-old native of Cornwall, England. Barnes three-putted four
greens in the morning round, falling four down before lunch. Barnes rallied to trim Hagen’s lead to one hole in the
afternoon, dropping a birdie putt on the 29th hole. The players each traded wins on the next two holes before
Hagen won the 34th to take a two-hole advantage. Hagen three-putted the 35th, missing a three-footer. Barnes
needed a win on the 36th, but drove poorly and shanked a mashie niblick (today’s 6- or 7-iron) to give the match
to Hagen, 2-up. It was the last time Barnes would reach the PGA Championship finals. He was defeated twice by
Gene Sarazen: in the first round in 1926, 5 and 4; and in the second round in 1928, 3 and 2.
1925 - The Haig continues his dominance
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Olympia Fields (Illinois) Country Club
Walter Hagen not only successfully defended his PGA Championship at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club, but he
battled through 175 holes against five opponents while winning with the flair that was to remain his trademark
throughout his career. Hagen defeated Al Watrous 1-up in 39 holes in the first round, routed Mike Brady, 7 and 6
in the second; and outlasted Leo Diegel 1-up in a 40-hole quarterfinal — the fourth longest match in PGA
Championship history. Hagen needed five holes before he could post a par against Diegel, who built a five-hole
lead after the opening nine holes. Hagen trimmed the deficit to two after 27 holes, and eventually squared the
match on the 36th hole. From there, Hagen used his impeccable putting stroke to win on the fourth extra hole. He
went on to defeat Harry Cooper 3 and 1 in the semifinals, and posted a 67 in the morning 18-hole round on the
way to defeating Bill Mehlhorn in the finals 6 and 5. It was Hagen’s 10th consecutive match victory in the PGA
Championship.
1926 - Three in a row for Hagen
Salisbury Golf Links — Westbury, Long Island, New York
Leo Diegel had played brilliantly throughout the PGA Championship before facing two-time defending champion
Walter Hagen in the finals. Perhaps recalling their 40-hole match the year before, Diegel nervously began the
match two down after six holes. Diegel managed to square the match on the 11th hole, but Hagen regained the
lead with a birdie on the 12th and gained a 2-up lead after a morning round of 69. The deficit soon became three
holes, as Diegel sailed his approach on the 19th hole over the green. The ball came to rest under an automobile.
When the car’s owner moved the car, Diegel found his ball lying in a deep rut. It took him three strokes to get it on
the green only to fall 3-down. Hagen went on to close Diegel out on the 33rd hole, posting a 5 and 3 victory and
his fourth PGA Championship in six years.
1927 – ‘Pick It Up’
Cedar Crest Country Club — Dallas, Texas
Walter Hagen not only played golf at its highest level, but he also mastered the art of gamesmanship. Perhaps the
most vivid example of Hagen’s ability to rattle an opponent was in a semifinal match against Chicagoan Al
Espinosa. On the 36th hole, a 313-yard par-4 at Cedar Crest Country Club, Espinosa landed his approach 25 feet
from the cup, while Hagen sailed his approach over the green. Hagen then chipped to within a foot of the cup and
was conceded the par putt. Throughout the match, Hagen had conceded any putt by his opponent within three
feet. Espinosa, who had taken a 1-up lead on the 35th hole, stroked his birdie attempt three feet short of the cup
and looked to Hagen, who smiled and then turned his back to chat with the gallery. Espinosa then missed the
match-winning putt. The match ended one hole later, when a shaken Espinosa three-putted. Hagen went on to
defeat Joe Turnesa of Elmsford, New York, in the finals, 1-up. Again, Hagen followed his strategy of conceding all
putts within three feet. He stopped conceding short putts at the 30th hole. Turnesa, who had no practice on the
greens throughout the round, missed short putts the final six holes. Turnesa’s short par putt on the 36th hole
rolled up and hung on the lip of the cup. It was Hagen’s fourth consecutive and fifth overall PGA Championship.
1928 - The streak comes to an end
Five Farms Country Club — Baltimore, Maryland
Leo Diegel was determined not to go 0-3 against five-time champion Walter Hagen, who had built a 22-match
victory streak in the PGA Championship. Diegel started strong against Hagen in the quarterfinals, building a fivehole advantage. Hagen battled back, trimming the deficit to two holes after the morning 18-hole round. In the
afternoon, Hagen lost another hole on the outgoing nine and rallied coming home to be one down with two holes
remaining. Both players hit the par-3 green, with Diegel putting first and making a 15-foot birdie putt. Hagen
missed from 12 feet, thus ending the longest reign of any professional in PGA Championship history. The big
victory was all Diegel needed to roll to the Championship. Diegel routed former champion Gene Sarazen, 9 and 8,
in the semifinals. He then built a four-hole advantage on Al Espinosa in the finals after 18 holes and cruised to a 6
and 5 decision. Following Diegel’s victory, PGA of America officials asked Hagen to produce the Rodman
Wanamaker Trophy to present to the new Champion. Hagen, all smiles, apologized that the Trophy was lost.
Hagen said he left it in the care of a taxi driver to return to a hotel following the 1926 Championship. However, in
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1930, workmen were poring through old boxes in a Detroit warehouse and found a sealed leather case with the
Wanamaker Trophy inside. The warehouse was owned by the Walter Hagen Golf Company.
1929 - Some well-placed Stymies
Hillcrest Country Club — Los Angeles, California
Leo Diegel “stymied” Johnny Farrell during a Championship match where neither player was outstanding. Diegel
had what many golf historians call the “weirdest putting stroke” known to major championship golf. He crouched
low with his chin nearly touching the top of the shaft. His elbows jutted out like bony wings as he took a stroke. It
was style that brought chuckles, but it also brought Diegel his share of victories. In his finals match, Diegel
grabbed a four-hole advantage, and then Farrell won the next three. Diegel started the afternoon 18-hole round
by winning the 19th to square the match. On a stretch of eight holes, Diegel was able to frustrate Farrell with a
series of stymies. Under the Rules of Golf in effect at the time, a stymie translated to when a player’s ball blocks
the line of another player’s ball to the hole. The player must attempt to play past, around or over the blocking ball.
On the 27th hole, Diegel missed a short putt, and his ball stopped in a position that partially covered the cup and
blocked Farrell’s five-foot putt. Farrell tried to negotiate the putt around Diegel’s ball, but knocked Diegel’s ball into
the cup to lose the hole. The same scenario took place on the following hole, and Farrell found himself three
down. To compound his problems, Farrell missed a three-foot putt that would have won the 29th hole. Diegel
parred the rest of the way, winning 6 and 4. The stymie continued to be an obstacle for tournament players until it
was abolished in 1951.
1930 - A match fit for Hollywood
Fresh Meadows County Club — Flushing, New York
Tommy Armour and Gene Sarazen, two great players battling for the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy, went down to
their final putts to determine a Champion. Though Sarazen was playing on his home course, he could not grab a
quick advantage. Neither player enjoyed a lead larger than two holes. Sarazen hooked his drive on the 18th hole,
while Armour’s drive found the fairway. Both players then dumped their approaches into a greenside bunker.
Sarazen blasted his attempt 10 feet past the hole, and Armour exploded 12 feet from the flagstick. As Armour
attempted to putt, he backed away after being disturbed by the whir of a photographer’s camera. Armour
positioned himself again and made the 12-footer. Sarazen, surprised by Armour’s putt, hurriedly attempted his par
attempt and missed. It was the final match between the two great players in Championship history. Armour
became the third foreign-born player to win the PGA Championship.
1931 - Praise for an unlikely Champion
Wannamoisett Country Club — Rumford, Rhode Island
The 14th PGA Championship had about everything. It had more than its share of upsets in the opening round,
including Peter O’Hara’s 4 and 3 triumph over five-time champion Walter Hagen. The Championship was capped
by 20-year-old Tom Creavy’s gutsy victory over Denny Shute in the finals. Creavy, who defeated Gene Sarazen
— the youngest PGA Champion of all time — in the semifinals, grabbed a 4-up lead over Shute with just six holes
left. But Shute found new life when Creavy bogeyed the 31st hole. Though Shute hit his drive into a water hazard
at the 32nd hole, the duo halved the hole. Shute then birdied the 33rd, and Creavy double-bogeyed the 34th. It
appeared the resident of Albany, N.Y., was folding. But Shute bogeyed the following hole and Creavy’s par closed
the issue, 2 and 1. Creavy, the second youngest PGA Champion, would also be thrilled by some remarks after his
round. The great Bobby Jones, a referee in the match, told the second-youngest PGA Champion, “It was one of
the finest matches I think that was ever played.”
1932 - Profile in Courage
Keller Golf Course — St. Paul, Minnesota
The 15th PGA Championship, played throughout a week of heavy western gusts, featured four overtime match
defeats by four prominent players — Walter Hagen (43 holes), Al Watrous (41), Paul Runyan (38) and Horton
Smith (37). Bobby Cruickshank’s 1-up decision over Watrous was perhaps one of the greatest rallies in
Championship history. Watrous was 9-up on Cruickshank with 13 holes left to play. Watrous conceded a six-foot
downhill putt to Cruickshank on the 24th green. This was the apparent spark Cruickshank needed. He won nine of
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
the next 11 holes, and closed out Watrous on the 41st green. Cruickshank’s bid for a Championship ended in the
quarterfinals, falling to Frank Walsh 8 and 7. Seven months earlier, Walsh suffered a fractured skull in an
automobile accident and was sidelined eight weeks. He went on to a 1-up semifinal victory over defending PGA
Champion Tom Creavy in 38 holes, and was defeated by Olin Dutra in the finals, 4 and 3. Over a six-day, 196hole journey in the Championship, Dutra finished 19-under-par.
1933 - “All washed up?” Who, Me?
Blue Mound Country Club — Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Tommy Armour’s pre-Championship chatter about two-time PGA Champion Gene Sarazen ignited the “Squire”
into a tiger. Armour reportedly said that Sarazen, then a 31-year-old, “was all washed up as a Championship
contender.” Sarazen may have pinned the reported quote to his locker room door, because he spent the week
routing his opponents — the closest decision a 4 and 3 second-round victory over Harry Cooper. In the finals
against Willie Goggin, Sarazen held a slim 1-up lead after a morning 69. Sarazen went to work in the afternoon,
winning three of the first five holes, and heading into the final nine holes 4-up. He birdied the 32nd hole to close
out Goggin 5 and 4. As he was receiving his winner’s check of $1,000 and the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy,
Sarazen grinned and told the audience, “Pretty good for a washed-up golfer.”
1934 - The Teacher vs. the Pupil
Park Club of Buffalo — Williamsville, New York
Not since 1923 had a PGA Championship final been as close or as lengthy as the 17th PGA Championship. Paul
Runyan, the pupil and a wizard with the putter, defeated his former instructor, long-driving Craig Wood, 1-up. The
round was a classic duel. Wood took a 1-up lead in the morning, lost the lead on the front nine in the afternoon,
and regained the lead with an eagle 3 on the 29th hole. Runyan squared the match three holes later with a birdie,
and took a 1-up lead after Wood bogeyed the 33rd hole. The teacher delighted the gallery with a near-eagle on
the 35th hole, squaring the match. Both players missed the final green with their approach shots, and each
chipped within 12 feet. PGA of America President George Jacobus was called to determine who was away.
Runyan stepped up and made his par attempt, and Wood followed to send the match to extra holes. Wood
missed a match-winning eagle putt on the next hole, and Runyan chipped within two feet to force the halve. Both
players missed the 38th green with their approaches, and Wood chipped to within 12 feet and just missed the par
putt. Runyan, eight feet away, pulled out his aluminum-headed putter and made the match-winner.
1935 - Taking a bite out of the chill
Twin Hills Country Club — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
It was destined to be Johnny Revolta’s week. He opened the Championship by defeating medalist and five-time
champion Walter Hagen 1-up. Revolta saved par on the 15th and 16th holes, getting up and down from greenside
bunkers. He bogeyed the 18th hole, but Hagen missed a par putt that would have sent the match into extra holes.
Frigid northern gusts numbed the hands of both finalists in the finals. Revolta, a 24-year-old from Wisconsin, was
accustomed to handling the cold easier than former champion Tommy Armour. Revolta birdied the first hole and
Armour was never able to square the match. Revolta headed to lunch after opening a four-hole lead. Revolta’s
putting was the difference throughout the match, as he didn’t have a three-putt green and one-putted 13 times.
1936 - Hitting it right down the “Shute”
Pinehurst (North Carolina) Resort - No. 2 Course
The only PGA Championship to be played in Pinehurst, North Carolina, resulted in the unveiling of a steady and
soft-spoken champion — Denny Shute. Outdriven by as many as 60 yards on many holes, Shute relied upon his
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
superb iron play and putting to defeat Jimmy Thomson 3 and 2. Both players had survived turnarounds in their
semifinal matches to earn a finals berth. Thomson recovered from a poor start to beat Craig Wood 4 and 3. Shute
edged Bill Mehlhorn, a member of the first U.S. Ryder Cup Team, 1-up. Mehlhorn birdied three holes in
succession in the afternoon round and led 2-up with four holes to play. But the match was square after Mehlhorn
missed four-foot par putts on the 33rd and 34th holes. Shute then missed a short par putt on the following hole
and took advantage of another Mehlhorn bogey at the final hole to close the match. In the finals, Shute closed out
Thomson with a spectacular second shot on the par-5 34th hole. Thomson missed his birdie attempt, and Shute
knocked in the winning eagle putt.
1937 – It’s Shute Again
Pittsburgh Field Club — Aspinwall, Pennsylvania
Defending PGA Champion Denny Shute, having outlasted U.S. Open Champion Tony Manero, 1-up, in the
semifinals, faced Harold “Jug” McSpaden in the finals. The duo battled 37 holes, the third extra-hole final match in
PGA Championship history. Heading into the 36th hole, McSpaden got a break when his tee shot struck a
spectator and bounced into the fairway instead of heavy rough. McSpaden took the cue and hit an approach four
feet from the flagstick. Shute was 50 feet way with his second shot and putted about three feet short of the hole.
As McSpaden took his stance, cameras grinded away. McSpaden stepped back and yelled, “Please give me the
chance I’ve been fighting for all week.” Once quiet was restored, McSpaden missed his putt. On the first extra
hole, which had been Shute’s nemesis all week, McSpaden missed a 10-footer for par. Shute knocked home his
winning four-footer, and became the fifth PGA Champion to win back-to-back Championships. It was a feat that
would endure for 63 years before Tiger Woods’ victory in 2000 in Louisville, Kentucky.
1938 - The most decisive victory
Shawnee Country Club — Shawnee-On-Delaware, Pennsylvania
Sam Snead had just come off one of the most impressive matches in PGA history in the semifinals, when he
faced Paul Runyan for the Championship. Snead finished with four consecutive 3s on his scorecard in the
semifinals to edge Jimmy Hines 1-up. Had the match been decided by stroke play, Hines would have defeated
Snead by a stroke. Hines was eight under par. But Runyan was also in a zone of his own, walloping Snead, 8 and
7, to capture his second PGA Championship in five years. The decisive victory was a product of Runyan’s prolific
short game that produced a 67 in the morning 18-hole round and a 5-up lead. Runyan continued the momentum
in the afternoon, making the turn in 1-under-par 35 and a seven-hole advantage. He won the 28th hole and
halved with Snead at the 29th to close the match. Runyan finished 24-under-par for the 196 holes he played. He
made only one bogey in his final 70 holes. Snead finished 147 holes of match-play 21-under-par.
1939 - A Champion in overtime
Pomonok Country Club — Flushing, New York
A controversy developed before the 22nd PGA Championship involving two-time past Champion Denny Shute,
whose player dues arrived 48 hours past a May 20 deadline. PGA President George Jacobus heard Shute’s
appeal that he had no permanent address and that his mail had not reached him properly. Jacobus granted Shute
an exception and Shute went on to win his first two matches before falling in the third round to Emerick Kocsis 3
and 2. The high drama of the Championship was saved for the finale when Henry Picard defeated Byron Nelson
1-up, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the 37th hole. Nelson grabbed the lead for the first time on the 32nd hole,
making a birdie by jumping his ball over Picard’s perfectly positioned stymie. Picard squared the match on the
36th hole, sinking a four-foot birdie putt. On the first extra hole, Picard’s tee shot added to the drama, colliding
with a motion picture truck and coming to rest underneath. Once the truck was moved, the ball was imbedded.
Picard was allowed a free drop and pitched within 10 feet of the cup. Nelson pitched to within five feet of the pin.
Once the grind of cameras stopped and quiet restored, Picard stepped up and made his putt. Nelson missed his
attempt.
1940 - The Haig’s last victory
Hershey (Pennsylvania) Country Club
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Byron Nelson edged Sam Snead 1-up to win the 23rd PGA Championship, but it was also the competitive farewell
in the Championship for a 48-year-old Walter Hagen, who won his first two matches, defeating Gil Sellers 1-up
and Vic Ghezzi, 2 and 1. The years of the good life were taking their toll on Hagen, who had won his last
tournament in 1935. In his opening match, Hagen played the final five holes in 1-under-par to edge Sellers.
Against Ghezzi, Hagen elected to use his last great stroke of gamesmanship. When Hagen had not arrived at the
tee at the appointed time, Ghezzi went into the clubhouse to find him sipping Scotch at the clubhouse bar. Hagen
looked out the window and saw raindrops. He wasn’t to be hurried. “Why don’t you begin to play?” Hagen asked
Ghezzi, “I’ll join you on the third hole.” But Hagen wasn’t allowed to concede the opening holes, finished his
Scotch and went to the first tee. Ghezzi, visibly upset, won the first two holes. Hagen recovered to win 2 and 1. It
was Hagen’s 40th match victory in 50 outings, including the inaugural PGA Championship in 1916. Hagen bowed
out of the Championship that had been his trademark with a 1-up defeat to Harold “Jug” McSpaden.
1941 - A most bizarre finish
Cherry Hills Country Club — Denver, Colorado
Vic Ghezzi dethroned defending Champion Byron Nelson in an extra-hole match with a bizarre ending. Ghezzi,
three holes down after 27 holes, squared the match by winning the first three holes on the final nine. The lead had
changed hands four times before Ghezzi bogeyed the par-5, 35th hole. Both players missed the green with their
approach shots, and Nelson pitched to within 15 feet. Ghezzi chipped to within four feet. Nelson missed his
attempt and Ghezzi ran his putt four feet past the cup, but made the difficult comeback attempt to square the
match. Ghezzi missed another potential match-winner on the 37th hole from 10 feet. At the par-4, 38th hole, both
players missed the green and each pitched to within three feet of the flagstick. A referee was called to determine
which player would play first. The referee couldn’t decide, and a coin flip was performed. Nelson won the toss and
missed his putt. Ghezzi then barely rolled his ball in the side of the cup for the victory.
1942 - The ‘Recruits’ square off
Seaview Country Club — Atlantic City, New Jersey
Army Corporal Jim Turnesa and U.S. Navy recruit Sam Snead, who was scheduled to report to duty a day later,
met in the finals of the 25th PGA Championship. Turnesa, the underdog, had made a valiant march through the
first four matches, defeating such impressive players as Harold “Jug” McSpaden 1-up, Ben Hogan 2 and 1, and
Byron Nelson 1-up in 37 holes. However, Turnesa went to lunch after the opening 18 holes, 3-up, but Snead
fought back to square the match on the 27th hole. Turnesa appeared nervous, and Snead sensed this. “I saw that
he took more waggles than usual on his drive, and then he hooked it,” Snead said. “I knew he was getting tight,
and then I had more confidence in myself.” Turnesa bogeyed the 28th hole to fall one down, and was two behind
with a bogey at the 30th hole. Snead closed the match by holing a 60-foot chip shot for a birdie, a 2 and 1
decision and his first major championship.
1943 - No Championship played due to World War II
1944 - Call it Destiny
Manito Golf & Country Club — Spokane, Washington
Bob Hamilton began a PGA Championship making the qualifying cut by three strokes and proceeded to write a
remarkable story of success in the first Championship played following a one-year interruption by World War II.
The 28-year-old from Evansville, Ind., upset the year’s leading money-winner, Harold “Jug” McSpaden, 6 and 5, in
the quarterfinals. Hamilton was 5-under-par for 35 holes, playing more shots from the woods of Manito Golf &
Country Club than from the fairways. Hamilton then defeated George Schneiter in the semifinals, 1-up, aided by
an eagle-3 on the par-5 33rd hole. In the finals, Hamilton met Byron Nelson, a veteran of three previous
Championship finals. Hamilton birdied the 19th hole to grab a 1-up lead, and held the advantage throughout the
remainder of the match. Hamilton almost chipped in on the par-4 36th hole. Nelson made his birdie attempt from
10 feet, and Hamilton quickly lined up his putt and stroked it home. A dejected Nelson later told reporters, “Four
times in the Championship finals and I’ve won only one, maybe I should give up the game.” Nelson was 30-underpar for the 196 holes he played that week.
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1945 - Lord Byron’s Streak Continues
Moraine Country Club –– Dayton, Ohio
The finals of the 1945 PGA Championship matched Byron Nelson against Sam Byrd, a former New York Yankees
outfielder (1929-34). It was Nelson’s fifth appearance in the finals, and during his historic 11-event victory streak.
The evening before the Championship finals, Nelson confided to his wife, Louise, that the pressure of the entire
season was affecting him. He had won seven consecutive tournaments before the Championship at Moraine
Country Club. The pressure Nelson feared would set in was evident in the opening 18 holes of the 36-hole match.
Byrd wrapped up the round with four straight birdies for a 2-up lead. When Byrd began the afternoon round with
par, par, birdie, Nelson’s chances looked dim. But Nelson recovered from the rugged start, winning the 22nd, 25th
and 26th holes to square the match. He pulled ahead with a birdie on the 29th hole, and won the next three holes.
Nelson sealed a 4 and 3 triumphs on the 33rd hole. Pressure may have been on Nelson’s mind, but he registered
impressive numbers, finishing 37-under-par for the 204 holes he played in the Championship. Byrd who had
played in the 1931 World Series, finished 14-under-par in 197 holes. Neither player would ever again reach a
PGA Championship match-play finals.
1946 - The veterans return home
Portland (Oregon) Golf Club
With World War II ended, the 28th PGA Championship field boasted one of its strongest fields. Favorite Ben
Hogan was a lean, 135-pound U.S. Army veteran from Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the PGA leading moneywinner (1940-42) before his tour of duty. Hogan met Ed “Porky” Oliver, a 220-pounder from Wilmington, Del., in
the finals. Oliver, who had spent 4 1/2 years in the Army, returned to competition the winter before the
Championship. Oliver built a three-hole lead at the end of the morning round, while Hogan soared to a 73. But
Hogan regained his putting touch in the afternoon, canning birdie putts of 17, 12 and 12 feet and posting a 30 on
the front nine. The hot start earned him a 1-up lead. Hogan closed out Oliver, 6 and 4, following a superb iron
approach to within three feet of the pin on the 31st hole. Hogan was 7-under-par, playing the afternoon 14 holes
in 8-under-par.
1947 - A $100 insurance policy
Plum Hollow Country Club — Detroit, Michigan
For the first time in a decade, the Championship finals didn’t have a Hogan, Nelson or Snead on the roster. The
lack of a legend didn’t deter 7,000 spectators from the gate, which presented a problem for Jim Ferrier, a native of
Sydney, Australia. He spent the evening planning his strategy in dealing with the crowd that would follow his
opponent, Michigan’s favorite son Chick Harbert. During this time, galleries weren’t restrained by ropes, and
Ferrier worried that the partisans would aid Harbert. Ferrier put his mind to rest by hiring two policemen for $100,
putting one on each side of the fairway to guard against overzealous fans. In spite of his precautions, Ferrier
didn’t need the security. He defeated Harbert, 2 and 1. Afterward, Ferrier said, “That was the best $100 that I
have ever spent.” The key to Ferrier’s victory was putting not security guards. He needed only 52 strokes on the
greens in the 35-hole match, finishing 6-under-par. He was 27-under-par for the 243 holes he played that week.
He became the fourth foreign-born PGA Champion.
1948 - Hogan’s Last Stand
Norwood Hills Country Club — St. Louis, Missouri
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Mike Turnesa was attempting to become the first from his family of outstanding golfers to win a major
championship. In 1927, his brother Joe lost to Walter Hagen in the finals, and brother Jim was defeated by Sam
Snead in 1942. The problem Mike had was with Ben Hogan, one of the all-time greatest pressure players. Hogan
was attempting a first, too. With a victory, he could become the first player since Gene Sarazen in 1922 to win a
PGA Championship and U.S. Open Championship in the same year. Despite being out driven by Turnesa on
every hole, Hogan used his irons with deadly accuracy in a 7 and 6 rout. Hogan posted a 66 in the morning round
to go 4-up, and won the 28th, 29th and 30th holes to close out Turnesa. Hogan was 35-under-par for the 213
holes he played. After the finale, the weary conqueror said he didn’t think he would ever play in the PGA
Championship again. The grind of 10 rounds in five days was too much. But Hogan reconsidered his decision
after he won the U.S. Open the following month at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. In 1949,
Hogan had little choice in skipping the Championship. A near-fatal automobile accident left his legs battered. He
did return to play in the PGA Championship in 1960, the third year after the switch to a 72-hole stroke-play format.
1949 - Slammin’ Sam adds a big one
Hermitage Country Club — Richmond, Virginia
To have a gallery behind you is one boost for a golfer, but West Virginia native Sam Snead — the reigning
Masters champion — needed to reach deep to win the 31st PGA Championship. Snead escaped Dave Douglas,
1-up, in the third round, and after disposing of Jimmy Demaret, 4 and 3, faced Jim Ferrier in the semifinals. When
Snead’s putt for a halve of the 20th hole stopped short of the cup, Ferrier joked, “Sam, the object of the game is to
get the ball in the hole.” That was all Snead needed to hear, holing out a 60-yard wedge approach on the next
hole, which so unnerved Ferrier that he dumped his tee shot on the subsequent par-3 22nd hole 50 yards short of
the green. Snead squared the match at that point and went on to a 3 and 2 victory. In the finals against Johnny
Palmer, Snead built a 2-up advantage with nine holes remaining. Snead matched Palmer’s birdie on the 28th hole
and added another at the 31st on his way to his second PGA Championship.
1950 - A Classic Comeback and a Sloppy Finale
Scioto Country Club — Columbus, Ohio
Henry Williams Jr. defeated Henry Picard 1-up in a semifinal match that may rank as one of the Championship’s
greatest comebacks. Williams was six holes down with eight holes to play before catching fire. He won the 29 th
hole when Picard bogeyed, and birdied the 30th hole. Williams missed a five-foot birdie putt on the following hole
before trimming the deficit to one with a 20-foot birdie putt at the 32nd hole, a par at the 33rd and another 20-foot
birdie putt at the 34th. Picard bogeyed the 35th to square the match. The twosome birdied the 36th hole to send
the match into overtime. Picard three-putted the 38th hole, missing a par from 20 inches to give the match to
Williams. For Chandler Harper, the other semifinal winner, his 2 and 1 victory over Jimmy Demaret wasn’t as
dramatic. In the finals, neither player had a memorable round. Harper was 3-up on Williams after a morning 75.
Williams hit only one green in regulation and five bunkers in the first 11 holes. Harper closed out Williams at the
33rd hole, 4 and 3.
1951 - A family hex on Sarazen
Oakmont Country Club — Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Few players could boast about having defeated Gene Sarazen during match play in the PGA Championship.
Sarazen is the all-time match-play king of the Championship, having won 57 of 82 matches in 28 years. But the
“Squire” met his match — twice — from members of the same family. Jack Burke Sr. defeated Sarazen 8 and 7 in
the first round in 1925 at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club, when Jack Jr. was two years old. Twenty-six years
later, Jack Jr. was a Championship contender when he faced a 49-year-old Sarazen in the second round at
Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Sarazen warmed up with a 2 and 1 morning victory over Charles Harter, but lost to
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Jack Jr., 5 and 3, in the afternoon. The humbled Sarazen later told reporters, “He’s a fine kid and a great golfer in
my opinion.” Five years later, Burke would win the 1956 PGA Championship. The Sarazen-Burke scenario was
one footnote to a Championship dominated by Sam Snead. He waltzed to his third Championship with a 7 and 6
finals victory over Walter Burkemo. Snead played 202 holes in 21-under-par and was 24-under-par collectively on
the front nine during the Championship. In the next 19 years, until Jack Nicklaus broke the streak in 1971, 19
different winners would be crowned PGA Champion.
1952 - Settling a Family Score
Big Spring Country Club — Louisville, Kentucky
By winning the 34th PGA Championship, Jim Turnesa settled a 26-year family jinx, defeating Chick Harbert 1-up
with a par on the 36th hole. Turnesa, a resident of Blair Cliff, New York, at the time of the Championship, was a
member of a family of seven golfing brothers. Turnesa’s younger brother, Willie, the only brother to remain an
amateur, won the U.S. Amateur (1938, ‘48) and British Amateur (1947). Four brothers in the talented clan had
played bridesmaid in major professional championships. Joe finished runner-up to Bobby Jones in the 1926 U.S.
Open and was second behind Walter Hagen in the 1927 PGA Championship. Brother Jim — then an army
corporal — was ousted by Sam Snead, 2 and 1, in the 1942 PGA Championship finale. Brother Mike was
humbled by Ben Hogan, 7 and 6, in the 1948 PGA Championship. Four years later, Jim bounced back to erase
the family ledger of disappointment with a dramatic duel with Harbert. Turnesa trailed by three holes in the
morning 18-hole round before squaring the match for the first time with a birdie at the 32nd hole. The match
remained deadlocked until Harbert hooked his drive on the 36th hole underneath an evergreen tree. He settled for
a bogey, while Turnesa made a routine par. It was the eighth and final contest in PGA match-play history to be
decided on the 36th green.
1953 - Local favorite turns Champion
Birmingham Country Club — Birmingham, Michigan
The first day of play in the 35th PGA Championship was nicknamed “Black Friday,” with star players falling like
limbs in a hurricane. Among the fallen stars was Sam Snead, a 1-up loser in 19 holes to Dave Douglas in the
afternoon round. With the favorites out of contention, Detroit-born Walter Burkemo drew the adulation of the
galleries throughout the week. Burkemo outlasted Claude Harmon in a dramatic semifinal 1-up. With the match
even heading into the par-5 36th hole, Harmon tried to get home in two, but dumped his second shot into a creek
in front of the green. He almost holed out his fourth shot, while Burkemo pitched his third 15 feet away. Burkemo
had to sink his putt or face a playoff. He sank the putt and a large swarm of fans covered the green to
congratulate their hero. In the finals, 10,000 fans turned out to watch Burkemo, who didn’t disappoint by defeating
Felice Torza for the Championship 2 and 1.
1954 - Chick finds redemption
Keller Golf Club — St. Paul, Minnesota
Chick Harbert, a two-time PGA Championship runner-up (1947, ‘52) from Northville, Mich., found the prescription
to success by toppling defending champion Walter Burkemo in the finals, 4 and 3. To get there, Harbert posted
respective 1-up victories over Jerry Barber and Tommy Bolt in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Harbert held off
Bolt on the 36th hole by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt. Meanwhile, Burkemo halted the challenge of Roberto De
Vicenzo of Argentina, 5 and 4. De Vicenzo was the first international player from other than Great Britain to
advance to the quarterfinals. Burkemo then dispatched Cary Middlecoff, 3 and 1, in the semifinals. In the finals,
Burkemo won three of the first four holes against Harbert, who caught the spark soon after. Harbert played the
next 29 holes 8-under-par, allowing Burkemo to win one hole the rest of the match.
1955 - A Cinderella named Ford
Meadowbrook Country Club — Northville, Michigan
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
All the stars were in place to make it a memorable week for Doug Ford. He qualified for his first PGA
Championship, and won medalist honors. Ford defeated Cary Middlecoff, 4 and 3, in a finale that was tightly
contested through the first 27 holes. Even though Ford had a 66 in the morning round, Middlecoff held a one-hole
advantage. Ford rallied to square the match for the fourth time, knocking home a birdie putt on the 26th hole. He
then added birdies on the 29th, 30th and 32nd holes, and sealed the decision with a par 4 at the 33rd hole. Ford
became the fourth player in PGA match-play history to win the Championship after capturing medalist honors
(135 for 36 holes). The other players to achieve the feat were Walter Hagen (1926), Olin Dutra (1932), and Byron
Nelson (1945). In 1927, Hagen shared medalist honors with Jim Turnesa. Ford’s victory was sweeter for another
reason. The PGA of America eliminated the 36-hole qualifier in 1956, doubling the field to 128 players who
advanced into match play.
1956 - Burke triumphs in a crowd
Blue Hill Golf & Country Club — Canton, Massachusetts
It was the second-to-last PGA Championship under the match-play format, and the first with a 128-player field.
Jack Burke Jr. manufactured a series of outstanding matches to capture the Championship, 3 and 2, over Ted
Kroll. In the semifinals, Burke overcame a five-hole deficit and edged Ed Furgol, 1-up in 37 holes. Kroll,
meanwhile, walloped Bill Johnston, 10 and 8. Johnston posted an 81 in the morning round. It was a
Championship that had a little of everything, including a controversial match involving defending champion Doug
Ford. On the second day of play, Ford held a 1-up lead on Mike Dietz at the 15th hole. Ford drove into the woods
and pitched out, and got his third shot on the green. Dietz called out to spectators near the putting surface before
hitting his second shot, asking, “How far away is he?” Ford then protested, calling on Rule 8-1: “A player shall not
give or ask for advice or take any action which may result in his receiving advice except from his caddie, his
partner or his partner’s caddie.” After the hole, the match referee agreed with Ford and awarded the hole to Ford.
The match continued to the fifth extra hole (the 23rd), where Ford sealed things by holing a 40-yard wedge
approach for a birdie-3.
1957 - The last match-play Champion
Miami Valley Golf Club — Dayton, Ohio
Lionel Hebert became the last match play PGA Champion — and the 25th different name to be inscribed on the
Rodman Wanamaker Trophy, defeating Dow Finsterwald, 3 and 1. To reach the finals, Hebert downed former
champion Walter Burkemo, who had defeated Hebert’s brother, Jay, in the fourth round. Burkemo had grabbed a
2-up advantage on Lionel after Hebert called a penalty stroke against himself. He reported the ball moved on the
19th green as he was about to make his address. In the next eight holes, Hebert out-putted Burkemo and took a
2-up lead at the 27th hole. Hebert closed out Burkemo by rifling a 5-iron to within a foot of the flagstick for a birdie
at the 35th hole. In the finals, Hebert went up by a hole on Finsterwald with a birdie at the 32nd hole. Finsterwald
saw his chances wilt after dumping his approach on the 34th hole into a creek in front of the green. Even though
he was allowed a free drop due to a footbridge ruled as an “artificial obstruction,” Finsterwald couldn’t manage a
par. Hebert closed the match and the Championship with a routine par at the 35th hole.
1958 - Bolt was an angel, Dow was a terror
Llanerch Country Club — Havertown, Pennsylvania
The first PGA Championship played under medal-play (stroke) format featured two players whose personalities
were miles apart — poker-faced Dow Finsterwald and tempestuous Tommy Bolt, the reigning U.S. Open
Champion who was fined $500 for his antics at a tournament on Long Island, and placed on indefinite probation
the day before the Championship. Bolt was allowed to compete, and assured the PGA he would uphold the
standards of the PGA and would apologize to the tournament sponsors. Finsterwald, the runner-up in the 1957
Championship, had also been a bridesmaid in 17 tournaments in his 6 1/2-year career. But he took command in
this Championship, firing a sizzling front nine 31 in the final round to make up four strokes on Casper and thirdround leader Sam Snead. Finsterwald finished with a 67 for a two-stroke victory over Billy Casper. Bolt tied for
fifth place, nine strokes off Finsterwald’s pace and was a model of deportment. Paired with Billy Maxwell the first
two rounds, Bolt became miffed at a wedge approach and flipped his club in the air. He quickly jumped to catch it
one-handed, and wore a big grin after his catch. This drew a loud roar of approval from the gallery.
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1959 - You Got a Line on that one, Rossie?
Minneapolis Golf Club — St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Before he joined television and made an impact as an on-course golf reporter, Bob Rosburg was a standout
player, who battled his way to his only major championship with a brilliant display of putting in the final round of
the 41st PGA Championship. Rosburg made five birdies on the front nine, posting a record-tying 30 to match
third-round leader Jerry Barber. The five birdies matched Rosburg’s total production of the first three rounds. He
opened the final round six strokes behind Jerry Barber, before knocking home birdie putts of 25 feet on the
second hole, 15 feet on the third and 12 feet on the fifth. He added a birdie on the eighth and ninth holes. Barber,
playing three holes behind Rosburg, birdied the 15th green to go one stroke ahead. “Well, here we go again,” said
Rosburg, who heard the gallery roar as he reached the 18th tee. Rosburg parred out and waited an agonizing
hour before Barber bogeyed the final two holes. Rosburg refused to watch Barber’s finish on television, and went
to the locker room where friends gave him reports. After Barber putted out, a misty-eyed Rosburg emerged from
the clubhouse and kissed his eight-year-old son, Bobby Jr., promising him a palomino pony.
1960 - Following a brother’s footsteps
Firestone Country Club — Akron, Ohio
Jay Hebert, a 37-year-old ex-Marine who was wounded at Iwo Jima during World War II, battled his way into
history at the rebuilt Firestone Country Club. Hebert overcame a double bogey at the 10th hole, and birdied two of
the last four holes to defeat Jim Ferrier by one stroke. Hebert joined former champion Lionel Hebert (1957) as the
only brother combination to win a PGA Championship. Lionel, five years younger than Jay, also played at
Firestone. He finished tied for 18th. The 37-year-old Jay posted a 67 in the second round, one of only 13 sub-par
rounds in the Championship on the 7,165-yard course. Hebert’s victory thwarted Arnold Palmer’s bid for winning
three-fourths of professional golf’s Grand Slam. Palmer had won the Masters and U.S. Open, and shot a firstround 67 at Firestone. He finished tied for seventh after subsequent rounds of 74, 75 and 70.
1961 - Wee Jerry was simply marvelous
Olympia Fields Country Club — Olympia Fields, Illinois
The final three holes diminutive (5-foot-3) Jerry Barber played in the 43rd PGA Championship may go down in
history as the greatest exhibition of clutch putting in a major championship. At least, they are the longest known
clutch putts in succession — and they earned the 45-year-old from Los Angeles a berth in an 18-hole playoff with
Don January. The duo had tied at 3-under-par 277 for 72 holes, and Barber edged January by a stroke a day
later, firing a 67. In the press tent following his fourth round, Barber prefaced his description by adding,
“Gentlemen, the next three holes you will not believe.” His improbable journey began on the par-4, 458-yard 16th.
Barber hit a 4-wood approach 20 feet from the cup and knocked it in for a birdie. He followed that by topping a
drive barely 100 yards on the par-4, 428-yard 17th. He hit a 4-wood 90 yards short of the green and his approach
was 40 feet from the cup. He sank the putt for a par. Playing the par-4, 436-yard 18th in near darkness, he hit a 3iron 60 feet to the left of the flagstick, but rapped that putt home for a birdie. Barber, who had nine one-putt
greens during the memorable round, said he had learned to putt as a youngster while practicing under a street
light. Barber’s victory made him the oldest PGA Champion until Julius Boros won in 1968 at age 48.
1962 - Player gets timely advice
Aronimink Golf Club — Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Before Gary Player traveled to the 44th PGA Championship, he sat down with his closest adviser and did some
soul-searching about his game. His counselor was someone who knows Player’s game better than he may know
himself — his wife, Vivienne, an accomplished player in her own right. Player, who had been defeated in two
playoffs earlier in the year, vowed he would quit attempting to mimic Arnold Palmer’s game of power and play
within his own capabilities. He used a 4-wood with more loft than most and used it to tame Aronimink Golf Club
with a 2-under-par 278 total, holding off a late charge by Bob Goalby, who missed a 25-footer on the 72nd hole to
tie. Player, a native South African, became the fifth foreign-born player to win the PGA Championship.
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1963 - The Golden Bear steps forward
Dallas Athletic Club — Dallas, Texas
Jack Nicklaus said he began charting courses in 1961 at the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, California. Nicklaus’
charting a course, along with his distance off the tee and mental ability under pressure, aided his domination of
the field in the 45th PGA Championship. “Using these cards removes all element of doubt for me,” he said. “I know
precisely how many steps I can hit every iron in my bag. If I have 181 steps to the green from a certain spot, all I
do is pull out the club I can hit 181 steps.” Nicklaus pulled out the right clubs to defeat Dave Ragan by two
strokes. Nicklaus arrived at Dallas Athletic Club exhausted from his trip to the British Open, where he finished
third and a stroke out of a playoff. But two things got him in the frame of mind to bid for his first PGA
Championship — getting 10 hours of sleep each night and winning the long drive contest with a 341-yard, 17-inch
effort. During the week, there was only one sign of a Nicklaus power outage. The scorching Texas heat had made
the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy too hot even for the Golden Bear to handle. He needed a towel to grasp the top
prize.
1964 - From near-tragedy to triumph
Columbus Country Club — Columbus, Ohio
Twelve years before he would make history at Columbus (Ohio) Country Club, Bobby Nichols was a 16-year-old
in a car loaded with four other teenagers on a joy ride. Their car went out of control at 100 miles per hour. Nichols
was flung through the windshield and lay unconscious for 13 days with a broken pelvis, twisted back, collapsed
lung and injured kidney. But he recovered; his spirits boosted by a letter from a player who had suffered a similar
accident — Ben Hogan. Nichols watched Hogan during the 46th PGA Championship, and was inspired. Nichols
said a bargain-basement $5 putter he picked up a week earlier in a friend’s golf shop was his key to victory. The
putter proved warmer than the 93-degree temperatures. Nichols set a blistering pace, opening with a 6-under-par
64 that featured 30- and 40-foot putts over elephant mounds. He never looked back while capturing the
Championship with a 9-under-par 271, which remains a Championship record today. The first wire-to-wire winner
in the Championship’s brief medal-play history, Nichols defeated Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus by three
strokes. It was a record-breaking Championship for Palmer, too. He recorded rounds of 68-68-69-69, becoming
the first player to have four rounds in the 60s in a major championship. Nichols’ opening round remained a record
until Raymond Floyd posted a 63 in 1982. Nichols took only 119 putts in 72 holes (a 29.7 average).
1965 - The Great Thinker comes through
Laurel Valley Golf Club — Ligonier, Pennsylvania
In 1965, Herbert Warren Wind wrote of Dave Marr: “It is probably an exaggeration to call Dave Marr, as some
have done, the Adlai Stevenson of golf, but unlike most of the players on the tour, he does show marked egghead
tendencies.” If thinking long and hard make the champion, then Marr had the right stuff when it was needed most
in the 47th PGA Championship. Marr recalled how he blew a three-stroke lead with seven holes to go in the final
round of the Insurance City Open in Hartford, Conn. At Laurel Valley Country Club, he was a study in
concentration in winning the only major championship of his career. The morning of the final round, he found a
note slipped under his motel door from his uncle Jack Burke Jr., the 1956 PGA Champion. The advice was
simple: “Fairways and greens, Cuz.” Marr followed Uncle Jack’s advice, and showed his mettle under pressure by
making a difficult putt for par at the 17th hole. At the 18th, Marr drove into a bunker on the left side of the fairway,
hit a 7-iron near a huge pond and then uncorked what he called “a career shot” — a 9-iron to within three feet of
the pin to win. If there was a pivotal hole for Marr, it was the par-5, 535-yard 11th. Playing with Jack Nicklaus,
Marr birdied and Nicklaus chipped poorly twice to finish with a bogey.
1966 - The ‘Peanut Butter Kid’ strikes gold
14
SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Firestone Country Club — Akron, Ohio
Al Geiberger, a thin and nervous California kid, began the habit of nibbling peanut butter sandwiches between
shots to aid his stamina. In the 48th PGA Championship, Geiberger munched his way to a first-round 68, sharing
the lead with Sam Snead. The 28-year-old trailed Snead after 36 holes, but a third-round 68 gave him a fourstroke lead. He opened the final round with bogeys on three of the first four holes. He again reached in his bag to
munch some more, and birdied the fifth hole. It restored his shaken nerve, and he finished with a 2-over-par 72 for
the only major championship of his career. Geiberger cashed in on the moment, signing a contract for an
exhibition tour — sponsored by a peanut butter company.
1967 - January goes the Distance
Columbine Country Club — Denver, Colorado
Don January used a burst of birdies on the back nine, beginning with a 30-foot downhill putt on the 10th hole of an
18-hole playoff, overcoming fellow Texan Don Massengale for a victory. January became the 10th winner in the
10th edition of the medal-play format of the PGA Championship. Even though he was 0-3 for his career in playoffs,
and lost the 1961 PGA Championship in extra holes to Jerry Barber, January proved steadier than Massengale.
January finished with a 3-under-par 69 to Massengale’s 71. January, pocketing the only major championship in
his career, said not having the lead after three rounds helped his comeback. “When you’re out of it in the last
round, it’s much easier to play,” he said. Four strokes down after 54 holes, January finished the last five holes —
birdie, birdie, par, birdie, par. Massengale had seven birdies for a 66, finishing an hour ahead of the rest of the
contenders.
1968 - The oldest Champion
Pecan Valley Country Club — San Antonio, Texas
Julius Boros survived sweltering Texas heat and a last-hole charge by Arnold Palmer to become the oldest PGA
Champion and oldest major winner at age 48. Palmer, frustrated in never having won a PGA Championship in a
glorious career, was a stroke behind Boros heading into the 18th hole, and hit a poor drive. Despite having 230
yards left over a creek, Palmer took out his 3-wood and hit a brilliant shot to within 12 feet of the flagstick.
However, he failed to make his putt and Boros, who was just off the green in two, pitched to within two feet for the
victory. Some golf fans wondered why Boros wasn’t smiling for photographers after the tournament. Boros later
revealed he chipped a tooth and didn’t want his picture taken with a gap in his smile.
1969 - Floyd wins, Player wins respect
National Cash Register Country Club (South Course) — Dayton, Ohio
It could easily be discarded as a regrettable weekend in golf, but the 51st PGA Championship will be remembered
as a time when a great golfer — South African Gary Player — stood tall in the face of ugly demonstrators in the
gallery; and a moment when another great player — 26-year-old Raymond Floyd — played well enough to win
while surrounded by a suffocating cordon of security guards. Player was the brunt of demonstrations throughout
the week, including spectators rushing him on the 10th green in the third round; a cup of ice in the face, and a golf
ball tossed on the green while he was preparing to play. Floyd built a five-stroke lead after three rounds, but
Player fought back within a stroke. Floyd opened the door with bogeys on the 13th and 15th holes. Floyd
stemmed Player’s rally at the 16th hole, rolling in a 35-foot side hill putt for a birdie, while Player missed his par.
“Honest to God,” said Floyd, “I was just trying to two-putt.” Player refused to concede, making a birdie at the 17th.
Floyd bunkered his approach on the 18th, but Player missed a 40-foot birdie attempt. Floyd got down in two
strokes for the one-stroke victory.
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1970 - Playing like Arnie
Southern Hills Country Club — Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dave Stockton’s ability to overcome intense pressure on the final round of a major championship — and fend off
playing partner Arnold Palmer — stemmed from reading a book on cybernetics that his father, Gail, a former
professional and his son’s only instructor, had given him. Cybernetics is the comparative study of the automatic
control system formed by the nervous system and the brain. Simplified by Stockton, cybernetics “means your
mind corrects your faults.” Stockton compensated for many miscues during a wild final-round 73 that assured him
a two-stroke victory over Palmer, who finished runner-up in the only major championship he’s never won, and Bob
Murphy. Stockton played like the Palmer of old, making an eagle on the seventh hole for a seven-stroke lead;
double bogey on the next hole; and recording a miraculous bogey at the 13th after dumping a shot into a pond on
the 13th hole and lofting a wedge approach within inches of the cup. Stockton canned a 10-foot par at the 17th
after fighting sand and fringe rough, and played the 18th conservatively. “I know Arnie’s Army expected him to
make a hole-in-one there,” said Stockton. “But I just played it for a five. I felt sorry for Arnold about one-millionth of
a second (big grin); because this is the only one he hasn’t won.” It was Palmer’s third runner-up finish in the PGA
Championship.
1971 - A game of bridge lifts the Golden Bear
PGA National Golf Club —Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (presently BallenIsles Country Club)
Playing a game of bridge the Monday before the PGA Championship, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus invited Mr. and
Mrs. Deane Beman to their new home in North Palm Beach, Florida. Beman mentioned during the game that Jack
“never completed a backstroke” while putting in a practice round they had played. After the Bemans had beaten
the Nicklauses in bridge, Jack retired to the family pool deck where he putted on Astroturf. The new putting
stroke, Nicklaus said, put him in a “good frame of mind” to march to a 7-under-par 281 total for 72 holes, a wireto-wire triumph and a two-stroke victory over fast-finishing Billy Casper. It was Nicklaus’s second PGA
Championship and made him the first professional to twice conquer the modern Grand Slam of winning the
Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship.
1972 - The ‘Miracle’ at Oakland Hills
Oakland Hills Country Club — Bloomfield Township, Michigan
Gary Player appeared to be in deep slide in the final round of the 54th PGA Championship, making bogies on the
14th and 15th holes to slip into a tie with Jim Jamieson. When Player sliced his tee shot on the par-4 16th hole
behind a weeping willow, he thought his Championship chances were gone. But Player had driven far enough to
the right that the rough was beaten down by spectators. Despite his lie, Player still had trees in front and a lake
guarding the front and right side of the green. Player couldn’t see the flagstick, but found a chair from a member
of the gallery and stood on it to line up his shot. Pulling out a nine-iron from his bag, Player then hit one of the
most spectacular recovery shots in championship golf. The ball barely cleared the trees and the lake, caught the
front portion of the green and rolled within four feet of the cup. Player sank the birdie putt, while Jamieson was
missing a two-foot par putt on the 18th green. Player pocketed his second PGA Championship with pars on the
final two holes. Jamieson and Tommy Aaron finished two strokes behind. Player joined Jim Barnes as the only
foreign-born players to win two PGA Championships.
1973 - It’s just a Number
Canterbury Golf Club — Cleveland, Ohio
Jack Nicklaus made the 55th PGA Championship memorable for golf historians, capturing his 14th major
championship to eclipse Bobby Jones’ record that had stood for 43 years. Nicklaus opened with a 72 on the
unyielding course, lodged in a share of 22nd place. Then he ran off a pair of 68s to grab the third-round lead. His
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
closing 69 — spoiled only by his lone three-putt of the Championship on the 72nd hole — gave him a 277 total
and a four-stroke victory over Australian Bruce Crampton, who had finished runner-up to Nicklaus in three major
events, including the U.S. Open and Masters. Crampton later said that finishing runner-up to Nicklaus more than
once, “an honor.” He also added, “It took the best in the world to beat me in a major tournament.” Nicklaus said
his “shot of the tournament” was on the 14th hole when he bent a 4-iron around trees and on to the green from
215 yards away. Later, when pressed about edging Jones’ standard, Nicklaus said 14 major championship
victories “is just a number; and I don’t know which is the better feat, Jones’ or mine. It may be better to compare
all records when a person has finished playing . . . and I’m not done.” Jones won five U.S. Amateurs, one British
Amateur, three British Opens and four U.S. Opens, all as an amateur.
1974 - Still a marvel at 62
Tanglewood Golf Club — Clemmons, North Carolina
The 56th PGA Championship at Tanglewood Golf Club, a municipal course, is remembered more for Lee Trevino
using a putter he found in an attic, and slogging his way through a week of steady rain to beat Jack Nicklaus by a
stroke. Despite Trevino’s impressive achievement, the finish of 62-year-old Sam Snead is overlooked. Twentythree years after his last victory in the PGA Championship, Snead made a serious run at the title. He had a finalround 68 to tie for third. “I could have won if I could only putt,” Snead said. Earlier that year, Snead finished
runner-up to Dave Stockton in the Los Angeles Open, and despite finishing fourth in the Quad Cities Open, had
shared the third-round lead. He ended the season by placing second with nephew J.C. Snead in the Walt Disney
team event. Snead capped his PGA Championship career in 1981, 44 years after his first match. In stroke play,
Snead played in 21 Championships and finished third three times. He made the cut 17 times, and had a 72.26
scoring average in 74 rounds.
1975 - Half a Slam isn’t bad
Firestone Country Club — Akron, Ohio
Jack Nicklaus won his fourth PGA Championship, thanks in part to a piece of wizardry on the par-5, 625-yard
“monster” 16th hole at Firestone Country Club. Nicklaus arrived at the tee, finding it had been moved forward 30
yards from where he had practiced. Instead of using a 3-wood and calling back his caddie, Angelo Argea, who
was walking down the side of the fairway, Nicklaus tried to hit a soft tee shot. Nicklaus drove it hard and left into a
hazard, dropped under penalty and hit his third shot through the fairway into rough and trees. He faced a 137yard pitch to the pin, and a 30-foot tree directly in front of him and water just beyond. Nicklaus lofted a 9-iron over
the tree and on to the green, where he holed a 30-foot par putt. Playing partner Bruce Crampton, destined to
finish runner-up to Nicklaus for the fourth time in a major championship, saw a possible two or three-stroke swing
evaporate. Crampton, whose second-round 63 remains a PGA Championship record, ballooned to a 75 during
Nicklaus’ remarkable round of recovery. Crampton later said, “Just call it human inefficiency. I’m not a machine.
Jack’s the closest we have to a machine, and even he makes some mistakes. Not very many though.”
1976 - Rain causes a Championship filibuster
Congressional Country Club — Bethesda, Maryland
For the first time in history, rain pushed the final round of a PGA Championship to Monday. In an effort to avoid a
playoff with Don January and Raymond Floyd, Dave Stockton knocked home a 10-foot par putt on the 72nd hole.
His rounds of 70-72-69-70 — 281 matched the highest winning total in the Championship at the time. It was
Stockton’s second PGA Championship, but came the hard way. He hit only nine greens during the Monday round
— three on the final nine holes — and kept his driver in the bag on the back nine to manage an even-par 70 on
Congressional’s 7,054-yard layout.
1977 - A Bad Luck hole for Littler
Pebble Beach Golf Links — Pebble Beach, California
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Gene Littler, who recovered from cancer surgery in the 1970s, had been out of action for six weeks before the
59th PGA Championship because of a back ailment. But he strung together rounds of 67-69-70, grabbing a fourstroke lead over Jack Nicklaus. He increased the lead to six strokes on Nicklaus and Lanny Wadkins after 63
holes, but his game soon collapsed. He bogeyed the 10th, three-putted at the 12th, and bogeyed the next three
holes. Wadkins birdied the 18th for his only birdie of the day, and a share of the lead. Littler managed to par the
final three holes to force a playoff, while Nicklaus saw his chances end with a bogey on the 17th hole. Littler and
Wadkins went to the first tee for the first sudden-death playoff in major championship history. Wadkins was forced
to make a 20-foot par to halve the hole. “I was stunned he made that one,” Littler said later. “He couldn’t make it
again with 40 balls.” Each player birdied the second hole, and headed to the third tee. Littler had a stroke of bad
luck on the hole, which had cost him in a playoff in the 1949 California State Amateur Championship, missing a
par putt. Twenty-eight years later, the hole bit Littler again. Earlier in the final round, Littler’s second shot bounced
out of bounds. In the playoff, Littler left his iron approach short of the green. He pitched to 12 feet, while Wadkins
faced a six-foot par putt. Littler missed on his attempt, and Wadkins canned his putt and his first major
championship.
1978 – Mahaffey doesn’t Wither this Time
Oakmont Country Club — Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Oakmont Country Club, just outside of Pittsburgh, Pa., is one of only three courses to host the PGA
Championship three times (1922, ‘51, and ‘78). The course also is the site where John Mahaffey set what was
then the best comeback in PGA Championship history. Trailing Tom Watson seven strokes with 14 holes to play,
Mahaffey knocked home birdie putts of 35 feet at the sixth and 12 feet at the eighth hole. Watson, meanwhile,
bogeyed the sixth and seventh. Watson came back in a flourish by sinking a three-foot eagle putt on the ninth
green to give himself a five-stroke edge over Mahaffey and four ahead of Jerry Pate. Watson’s roller coaster
round continued with a double bogey at the 10th hole. The trio was tied after a combination of Mahaffey birdies on
the 10th and 11th holes, a Pate birdie and Watson bogey on the 13th hole. Mahaffey took the lead temporarily
with a birdie on the 14th, lost it on the 16th, and Pate took turns at the top with a birdie at the 17th. Pate missed a
four-foot winning par putt on the 18th green forcing the first three-player playoff in the Championship’s history. All
three players parred the first extra hole. Pate missed his birdie putt by inches. The drama finally ended on the
second hole when Pate missed the green, Watson missed a 30-foot birdie attempt and Mahaffey made his 12-foot
birdie putt for the Championship. Mahaffey’s clutch play spoiled Watson’s hopes of completing a modern Grand
Slam of the four major championships. For Mahaffey, victory meant a comeback of his career and life. He
bounced back from blowing the lead in two U.S. Open Championships and from injuries to his hands in the 1976
PGA Championship. He had won only $9,847 in 1978 prior to the PGA Championship before a plucky overtime
performance erased some bad memories.
1979 - An Extraordinary Day
Oakland Hills Country Club — Bloomfield Township, Michigan
It was one of the most extraordinary days any Tour player ever had. Australian David Graham rode an emotional
roller coaster from elation to despair to glory in a span of four holes. Graham reached the 72nd tee with a twostroke lead, but admitted he began thinking, “PGA Championship.” He pushed his drive wide right and doublebogeyed the 459-yard hole. He limped into a playoff against a player he knew well — Ben Crenshaw. Graham
was a club maker and who fashioned Crenshaw’s irons. But it was Graham’s putter that proved his salvation. He
scrambled for pars on the first two extra holes, making putts of 25 and 10 feet. On the third extra hole, a par-3,
Crenshaw blocked out his tee shot and knocked it into a bunker. Graham’s tee shot was within four feet of the pin,
and he didn’t miss the chance to end the dramatics by sinking the winning putt. Graham became the fifth
internationally born PGA Champion.
1980 – Awakening of a Slumbering Bear
Oak Hill Country Club — Rochester, N.Y.
As Jack Nicklaus approached his third decade of professional golf, many believed the “Golden Bear” had long
past his prime. Nicklaus struggled through the 1979 season, the least productive his worst year since turning
professional in 1961. But Nicklaus answered the same critics with a victory in the U.S. Open in June of 1980, and
capped his remarkable summer by winning the 62nd PGA Championship two months later. Nicklaus was the only
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
player under par, and a third-round 66 vaulted him into command. His seven-stroke winning margin over Andy
Bean was the widest victory margin since the PGA switched from match to stroke play in 1958. Nicklaus’s fifth
Championship victory (1963, ‘71, ‘73, ‘75, and ‘80) tied Walter Hagen’s record. Nicklaus’s double-major victory
performance in 1980 wouldn’t be duplicated again until Nick Faldo claimed the Masters and British Open in 1990.
1981 - Larry puts a ‘Full-Nelson’ on title
Atlanta Athletic Club — Johns Creek, Georgia
Living less than 30 minutes from Atlanta Athletic Club, Larry Nelson was able to sleep each night of the 63rd PGA
Championship in his own bed, taste his wife’s cooking, play soccer with his two sons and return to the course to
register a pair of 66s in the second and third rounds. Those back-to-back performances built a four-stroke on the
way to build a four-stroke lead over Fuzzy Zoeller and left the imposing figures of Jack Nicklaus and Jerry Pate
too far behind. After Nelson’s third round, Zoeller said, “He never loses his cool. If he (Nelson) had a temper, I’d
say we had a chance.” Zoeller played with Nelson the final round and remained four strokes back at the finale.
Nelson never missed a fairway the final round until the 14th hole. He sewed up his first major championship on
the par-3, 215-yard 15th hole over a pond. Zoeller put his tee shot four feet from the pin, and Nelson was long, left
and dry. Nelson pitched within five feet, saved par and ensured a pleasant ride home.
1982 - When Floyd gets ‘that look’
Southern Hills Country Club — Tulsa, Oklahoma
Raymond Floyd was on a tear at Southern Hills Country Club of record proportions. He opened with a recordtying 63, never three-putted in 72 holes and sped to his second PGA Championship and third major title in three
decades. On his way to a wire-to-wire victory, Floyd set a 36-hole scoring record (132), a 54-hole mark (200), and
spoiled an otherwise artistic week by taking a double bogey on the 18th hole. His 8-under-par 272 total was a
stroke higher than Bobby Nichols’ 72-hole record. Floyd averaged 28.5 putts on the slick greens. One example of
his concentration occurred during the final round, when an explosion near the sixth green rocked the ground and
startled the gallery. Floyd, who had pitched to the green, looked over his shoulder. Moments later, he was
informed a large can of Freon, used in air conditioners and freezers had burst in a concession tent. When the
smoke cleared, Floyd almost made his birdie putt.
1983 - A sophomore steps to the head of the class
Riviera Country Club — Pacific Palisades, California
In just his second year on the PGA Tour, Hal Sutton was trying to bounce back from a final-round collapse two
weeks earlier in the Anheuser-Busch Classic, where he wasted a six-stroke lead with a 77. In an all-out effort to
regroup, Sutton called his instructor, Jimmy Ballard of Birmingham, Ala., and had him flown to Sutton’s home in
Shreveport, La. for three days of assistance. Ballard gave Sutton the advice he needed to release his body on the
forward part of the swing. Sutton took the advice to Riviera Country Club, and stood on the 12th tee five strokes
ahead of Jack Nicklaus. Sutton said he let up at that point, and bogeyed three consecutive holes. When he
reached the 15th tee, he said, “I’m not going to let this happen to me again.” He sealed his first major
championship by hitting a superb 5-iron to within 14 feet of the pin on the uphill, side hill 18th green to close with
an even-par 71. Sutton was able to hold off Nicklaus, whose final-round 66 left him with his fourth runner-up finish
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
in the PGA Championship. Sutton closed out the year as the tour’s leading money-winner and the PGA Player of
the Year.
1984 - Trevino’s last regular Tour Surge
Shoal Creek Country Club — Birmingham, Alabama
Three “rejuvenated” warriors — Lee Trevino, Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins — waged one of the most exciting
Championships in PGA history. Trevino emerged from the fray thanks to some advice from his wife, who told him,
“Even though you are 44, your clubs don’t know your age.” That, along with a new putter he purchased on a trip to
Holland, carried Trevino to his second PGA Championship. His 15-under-par performance earned him a fourstroke victory over Player and Wadkins. Trevino capped his big week by making an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd
hole, becoming the first PGA Champion to win with four rounds in the 60s (69-68-67-69). Trevino accomplished
the same feat in the 1968 U.S. Open. “To me, the 1984 PGA Championship was probably my favorite
championship,” Trevino said. For the 48-year-old Player, one year and nine weeks shy of qualifying for the Senior
PGA Tour, it was the last regular tour event he was in contention to win. Though Trevino would be in contention
again, the PGA Championship was his 27th and last victory before joining the Senior PGA Tour.
1985 - Another Rejuvenated Warrior
Cherry Hills Country Club — Denver, Colorado
Lee Trevino’s bid to become the first back-to-back PGA Champion in 50 years was thwarted by Hubert Green.
After taking just 55 putts in 36 holes, Trevino had a one-stroke lead. Trevino skied to a 75 during a windy third
round, while Green found confidence and a three-stroke advantage with a 70. In the final round, Trevino
temporarily grabbed a one-stroke lead by sinking a 15-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole. He then three-putted the
sixth to create a deadlock. The two-man duel continued throughout the front nine. After both players birdied the
ninth hole, Green pointed at his opponent and laughed, “Let’s run away and make it a two-man race.” The lead
exchanged hands twice before the 14th hole when Trevino three-putted the 15th green, his fourth three-putt of the
round. Green held the lead for good. Trevino missed a five-foot par on the 17th, and Green enjoyed a two-stroke
lead. Green bunkered his approach on the 18th, but with a storm moving into the area, quickly stepped into the
bunker and blasted out to within tap-in range to win his second major championship.
1986 - Out of a bunker and into history
Inverness Club — Toledo, Ohio
A one-day rain delay made this a Monday to remember for all time at a major championship. Bob Tway of
Edmond, Okla., will forever be known for how tall he stood in a greenside bunker in the 68th PGA Championship.
He stripped playing partner Greg Norman’s four-stroke lead on the previous eight holes before driving into heavy
rough on the par-4, 354-yard 18th hole. Tway’s 9-iron approach from a downhill lie caught the right-front
greenside bunker. Norman, meanwhile, lofted a 123-yard wedge approach to the fringe of the green, 25 feet from
the cup. The green sloped away from Tway, who stepped into the bunker, swung and floated the ball about a foot
on to the putting surface. The ball didn’t stop rolling until it fell into the cup. Tway leaped up and down in the sand
like a schoolboy, pumping his fists. Norman, trying to regain his composure, chipped 10 feet past the hole in his
attempt at birdie and a tie. He finished two strokes behind after a round of 76. Tway became the first player in
modern history to win the PGA Championship with a birdie on the 72nd hole. His 8-under-par 276 also made him
the first to post a sub-par 72-hole total in a major championship at Inverness Club. Tway went on to be named the
PGA Player of the Year, finishing the season with four victories. For Norman, the British Open Champion that
year, it was a script too much for words. He was the only golfer in history to lead four modern Grand Slam events
after three rounds in the same year.
1987 - The Survivor
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
PGA National Golf Club — Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Larry Nelson knows best how to play in the often-sultry southeastern part of the country. All but two of the Fort
Payne, Alabama native’s victories were in the Southeast. So, when PGA National Golf Club turned into a sauna,
Nelson was around to towel off the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy. Nelson’s final-round 72 produced the highest
winning 72-hole score (1-under-par 287) in PGA Championship history. Nelson became the 15th multiple winner
of the Championship, and pocketed his third major championship. Nelson defeated friend and former Ryder Cup
teammate Lanny Wadkins, in a playoff by making a 6 1/2-foot par putt on the 409-yard 10th hole as Wadkins
missed his five-footer coming back.
1988 - Tiny ‘Slu’ Slays Mighty Oak Tree
Oak Tree Golf Club — Edmond, Oklahoma
Playing one of the country’s most difficult courses, 5-foot-7, 140-pound Jeff Sluman was a giant at the 70th PGA
Championship. Sluman entered the final round three strokes behind Paul Azinger, who was on a tournament roll
with a third-round hole-in-one. Sluman caught fire with a final-round 65 that featured a pair of birdies and an eagle
after holing a 115-yard sand wedge on the par-5, 590-yard fifth hole. He then added three birdies coming in.
Sluman became the first player to win in his debut on the PGA Tour since Jerry Pate won the 1976 U.S. Open.
Pate was at Oak Tree, but walking the course as a television commentator. The concern by players earlier in the
week that Oak Tree would produce the highest scores for a PGA Championship were quickly dispelled. The field
averaged 73.02 strokes, the fifth lowest scoring
total in Championship history.
1989 - The King Roars Again
Kemper Lakes Golf Club — Hawthorn Woods, Illinois
The 71st PGA Championship will be remembered for Payne Stewart’s come-from-behind victory over the final five
holes — four birdies that were enough to edge Mike Reid, Curtis Strange and Andy Bean. Reid led until the final
three holes, suffering a bogey at the 16th, a double bogey at 17, and missing a birdie putt on the 18th green.
Another story of this Championship was written in the first round by Arnold Palmer, a month shy of his 60th
birthday. Palmer birdied five straight holes on the front nine, posting a 31, and causing thunderous roars to shake
the serenity of the course. Palmer made his 34th attempt to win the major championship that has eluded his
grasp. As the putts kept falling, the gallery kept motivating the “king.” After a birdie at the 15th hole, Palmer was in
the lead. But a missed 12-foot birdie putt at the 16th hole stemmed the celebration. He bogeyed the 17th and 18th
holes, finished with a 68 and his stroll down nostalgia lane ended. Palmer finished the Championship with rounds
of 74, 81 and 70, tying for 63rd. His march up the 18th fairway in the final round resulted in a tumultuous ovation.
Not to disappoint his followers, Palmer sank a 25-foot birdie putt, prompting an even greater roar of approval from
an army of adoring fans.
1990 - A Historic Precedent
Shoal Creek Country Club — Birmingham, Alabama
A week before Australian Wayne Grady became the seventh internationally born PGA Champion. The PGA of
America instituted a site-selection criteria that required host sites to have demonstrably open policies ensuring
membership access for women and minorities. This new policy was subsequently followed by the other major golf
organizations throughout the country. Once the competition began, Grady won a grueling test over rock-hard
greens and penal rough with six consecutive pars in the final round. Of six players within range of challenging for
the lead, only Grady was able to play 72 holes without a double bogey, or worse, during the week. At the awards
ceremony, an exhausted Grady said, “If I don’t seem too excited, believe me I am. It was just such a grind. This
was the longest day of my life.”
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1991 – The Tale of Long John Daly
Crooked Stick Golf Club — Carmel, Indiana
John Daly’s prodigious driving ability resulted in a larger-than-life birth of a legend in the 73rd PGA Championship.
The ninth alternate in the field, Daly got a telephone call in Memphis, Tennessee, at 5 p.m. Wednesday from PGA
Tournament Administrator Ken Anderson. Daly was informed he had moved up to first alternate. Daly packed his
bags, drove 7 ½ hours to Indianapolis, and got the good news on a message light at his hotel: Nick Price, whose
wife was expecting, had withdrawn. From there, Daly put on golf’s most memorable exhibition by any rookie
player in a major championship. He averaged 303 yards per drive on the 7,295-yard Crooked Stick layout, but
proved his length wasn’t the only weapon in his arsenal. He also played solidly on the speedy greens and, without
the benefit of a practice round, posted an opening-round 69 to tie for eighth place. Daly seized the lead for good
by stringing together rounds of 67 and 69 on the second and third day, attracting mammoth galleries to his side.
His final-round 71 was almost like his late-night trip from Memphis — he was on cruise control. “I can’t remember
when I’ve hit my driver this straight,” Daly said. “All four days, I didn’t think. I just hit it. Squeaky (Medlen, his
caddie) just said, `Kill,’ and I killed it. I just hit it so good this week; I had no fear out there.”
1992 – This Price was right
Bellerive Country Club — St. Louis, Missouri
.
Nick Price, a 35-year-old native South African and resident of Orlando, Florida, had come within three strokes of
winning two major championships in his 15-year professional career. But near misses never satisfy. Many
followers of professional golf wondered if Price, given another chance at glory, would let a victory slip by. Price
had given up his spot in the 1991 PGA Championship in order that he might attend the birth of his son. His
caddie, Jeff “Squeaky” Medlen, was “loaned” to eventual winner John Daly. Medlen was with Price at Bellerive
Country Club, and the good fortune of the bag-toter continued with Price. Price made his move when Gene
Sauers lost the wheels on a strong tournament performance. Sauers led for 59 holes before falling off, and
challenger Jeff Maggert temporarily took charge through 11 holes of the final round before playing the final seven
holes 5-over-par. Price grabbed the lead for good with a birdie on the 222-yard 16th, drilling a 3-iron 25 feet from
the flagstick. After John Cook chipped in from the fringe, Price made his putt for a two-stroke edge. He then
salvaged par on the final two holes for a three-stroke victory over Cook, Sauers, Nick Faldo, Cook, and Jim
Gallagher Jr. Price became the eighth internationally born PGA Champion.
1993 - A-Zinger of a finish
Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio
Historic Inverness Club housed a leader board that became a “who’s who?” of golf in the final two rounds of the
75th PGA Championship. While some players, particularly long-driving 1991 PGA Champion John Daly
complained of tight fairways and tiny greens, Paul Azinger paid attention to former PGA Champion Byron
Nelson’s advice earlier in the week — play for the middle of the greens. Azinger strung together four birdies in a
row in the final round and landed in a tie with Australian Greg Norman, a hard-luck runner-up at Inverness in
1986. Norman had a chance to break the 12-under-par 272 tie in the regulation 72 holes, but his 20-foot birdie
attempt grazed the hole. The 12th playoff in Championship history began on Inverness’s signature 357-yard par-4
18th hole, and again Norman missed a birdie attempt. This time, the ball spun around and off the cup. The
players moved to the par-4 10th hole, with Norman firing a wedge 20 feet above the cup and Azinger pitching to
within eight feet. Norman left his birdie attempt four feet above the cup and Azinger missed his grazed the cup
with his putt before tapping in for par. Norman carefully studied his par putt, but again the ball grazed the cup and
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
spun out. The Australian-born Norman became the second player in history to lose playoffs in all four major
championships. For Azinger, it was his first major championship.
1994 - Price sets a New Standard
Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma
A month before he would arrive at Southern Hills Country Club, Nick Price needed a rally on the final nine holes to
win the British Open championship. Price didn’t need a spark at Southern Hills; he had all the fireworks stored in
his bag in dominating the year’s strongest field. Leading wire-to-wire, Price recorded a memorable final-round 67
for a PGA Championship record 12-under-par 269 and a six-stroke triumph over Corey Pavin. Price shattered
Bobby Nichols’ 1964 Championship record of 271 and was the lowest 72-hole total in any U.S. major
championship. Price became the first golf since Tom Watson in 1982 to win back-to-back major championships. It
was Price’s 15th victory since winning the 1992 PGA Championship. With his victory, Price officially earned the
world’s No. 1 ranking. The 76th PGA Championship involved a record 37 international players, the top 40 players
in the World Golf Rankings and 75 of the top 100.
1995 - Elkington's record run humbles Riviera
Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California
Australian Steve Elkington etched his name in major championship golf history at legendary Riviera Country Club,
rallying from a six-stroke deficit with what he called "the round of his life" to win the 77th PGA Championship.
Elkington turned in a final-round Championship record 7-under-par 64 before making a 25-foot birdie putt on the
first extra hole to win the 77th PGA Championship. Montgomerie's ensuing birdie putt attempt to tie rolled to the
right of the cup. Elkington and Montgomerie shared the 72-hole PGA Championship record of 17-under-par 267,
which shattered Nick Price's year-old mark by three strokes and were the lowest scores ever posted in a U.S.
major championship. Elkington dominated a field, which featured a record 79 of the top 100 players, according to
the World Golf Rankings. The field humbled Riviera Country Club, producing the lowest course average in PGA
Championship history (71.09) and the second-most Championship sub-park rounds (194).
1996 - Brooks steers away from Valhalla’s bluegrass
Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky
Mark Brooks, whose unflappable demeanor shields a fierce competitor within, steadily played out the final stages
of the 78th PGA Championship that caused an elite field to become unhinged and find refuge in the ever-present
Kentucky bluegrass that envelops challenging Valhalla Golf Club. Brooks recorded his third triumph of the year by
making birdie putts nearly 20 minutes apart on the 18th hole. First, he sank a five-footer after getting up and down
from the front greenside bunker. That stroke enabled him to tie Kentuckian Kenny Perry for a playoff berth. Perry,
who bogeyed the 72nd hole, spent nearly 30 minutes in a television tower watching the challengers and not
warming up for a possible playoff. Among the challengers missing a playoff was defending PGA Champion Steve
Elkington, whose short birdie putt slid by the 18th hole. Once Brooks and Perry met at the first playoff hole, the
par-5, 540-yard 18th, only Brooks found the fairway with his tee shot. Perry hooked his drive into the rough and
was unable to reach the green until his fourth approach shot crept on the putting surface. Brooks was safely on
the green after a smooth 229-yard 3 ft. wood approach. He two-putted, sinking a four-foot birdie putt for his first
major championship. The 78th PGA Championship, the second-ever major championship contested in Kentucky,
featured 81 of the top 100 players in the Golf World Rankings — the most ever to compete in a major
championship since the ratings were established in 1986.
1997 - Love finds Major Redemption
Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York
Davis Love III looked his caddie, brother Mark, directly in the eye before walking up to the 18th green during the
final round of the 79th PGA Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club. “Just get me through about the last five or
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
10 minutes.” Mark Love, sharing his brother’s emotion but withholding his own feelings of the moment replied,
“You hit a great shot. Just go enjoy it.” Love then strode to the green, asking playing partner and reigning British
Open champion Justin Leonard to walk beside him. Leonard pushed Love forward to accept the applause.
Nobody in a PGA Championship record field of 83 of the world’s top 100 ranked players could match Love’s
impressive weeklong performance at difficult Winged Foot. His final-round 66, capped by a 12-foot birdie putt,
gave him a 72-hole total of 11-under-par 269. It was the lowest winning score of the five major championships
conducted in 74 years on the famed layout. Leonard, the only other player under par all week, had a third-round
competitive course-record 65. But Leonard couldn’t keep pace with Love after three front-nine bogeys, and ended
with a 71 for runner-up honors at 274. Love, one of the world’s finest players for several years, ended a 38-major
winless drought. As his putt rolled into the cup, he pulled off his visor and made a sweeping tip to an appreciative
gallery. Only then did Love look up to the sky to see a brilliant rainbow. “I didn’t want to look earlier,” said Love,
remembering his late father, Davis Love Jr., a PGA Professional who died in a plane crash in 1988. Love joined
the late Dave Marr as the only sons of PGA Professionals to win a PGA Championship.
1998 - Vijay means victory
Sahalee Country Club, Redmond, Washington
The hours Fiji’s Vijay Singh’s has spent on a practice range dwarf anyone in the game. Only the legendary Ben
Hogan may come as close to Singh’s work ethic. Regardless, Singh was a man overdue in his bid to erase a
major championship void. What he failed to complete by finishing fourth in 1993 at Inverness Club in Toledo,
Ohio, Singh proved at treelined Sahalee Country Club he could close a major championship with confidence. He
opened his bid against the strongest field in major championship golf (85 of the world’s top 100 ranked players)
with a modest first-round 70. Singh grabbed the lead with a 66, the second-lowest second-round effort in PGA
Championship history, and then held on when Steve Stricker tied him after 54 holes. In the final round, Singh was
the recipient of a fortunate carom off a maple tree on the par-5 11th. His ball came to rest 25 feet from the hole.
Behind the scenes, Singh had taken the advice of his wife, Ardena, and switched to a cross-handed putting style
two months earlier at the Western Open. Suddenly, a player who was ranked 129th in putting before The PGA
developed more confidence on the greens and finished tied for fifth in putting. Singh closed his tour of Sahalee
with a 68, a round that featured a clutch birdie at the 15th and an 18-foot par putt at the 17th. He posted a twostroke victory margin over Stricker, who closed with a 70. Singh’s 9-under-par 271 total for 72 holes, just four
strokes from the all-time PGA Championship record. “I never expected it to happen like this,” said Singh, whose
last name means “Victory” in Hindi. “I’ve practiced so hard for this. It’s a dream come true.”
1999 - A Tiger tale to remember
Medinah (Illinois) Country Club
Just 23, and with the game of a veteran, Tiger Woods captured the 81st PGA Championship at Medinah (Ill.)
Country Club, and may have found his biggest rival as golf heads into the next century. Woods nearly squandered
a five-stroke lead before salvaging an even-par 72 for a winning total of 11-under-par 277. His two-putt for par on
the 72nd hole was one stroke better than 19-year-old Sergio Garcia of Spain. But, the real drama in the woods of
Medinah evolved on the back nine of the final round. Garcia, who took the first-round lead, was the youngest
player to compete in the PGA Championship since Gene Sarazen in 1921. Woods, who won the 1997 Masters
title, was competing in his third PGA Championship. He became the fifth youngest PGA Champion and the
youngest since Jack Nicklaus in 1963. Woods triumphed over the strongest field in the history of golf. A record 92
of the world’s top 100 players, featuring 43 international players from 19 countries, competed for the Wanamaker
Trophy. Garcia bogeyed the second hole after hitting his ball into the water, but later birdied the 13th hole from 18
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
feet and then looked back to the tee at Woods. Garcia nearly endangered himself and perhaps those in the
gallery before hitting perhaps the greatest recovery shot in major championship golf. On the par-4, 452-yard 16th,
Garcia pushed a 3-wood and the ball landed 189 yards from the green in the exposed roots behind a large tree.
Garcia elected to hit the ball, not chip safely to the fairway. He opened the face of a 6-iron and as he swung,
closed his eyes at impact. The ball rocketed into a high left-to-right trajectory, landing on the green some 60 feet
from the hole. Garcia sprinted up the fairway and did a scissors kick leap to see the green. Once he settled down,
he went on to two-putt for par. Woods bogeyed the 16th, trimming his lead to a stroke over Garcia. Woods then
hit his tee shot on the par-3 17th to the left-hand rough to face his championship moment of truth. Woods chipped
from a poor lie to within eight feet of the hole, but rolled in the putt. Garcia missed his birdie putt on the 18th hole
and later watched as Woods rolled a downhill 15-footer to within tap-in range to clinch the title. Woods and Garcia
met and embraced on the edge of the green.
2000 - A Duel for the Ages
Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky
Though they lived only 20 minutes apart as youths while competing in the California junior ranks, Tiger Woods
and Bob May had never faced each other before on a golf course. They saved their first close encounter for a
world stage in the 82nd PGA Championship. And, the twosome dueled 21 pulsating holes in the final round in one
of the most dramatic major championships. Woods salvaged his final round 67 by making a key 15-foot par putt
on the 15th hole of regulation, before May missed a six-foot birdie attempt. They reached the 18th hole tied, with
May sinking an 18-foot birdie putt and Woods rapping home a six-footer. Woods then birdied the first hole of the
three-hole playoff, the par-4 16th, and finished by matching May with classic par saves on the final two holes.
Woods and May finished with 31s on the back nine and tied for the lowest 72-hole score in relation to par (18under-par 270) in PGA Championship history. In the process, Woods became the first player since Ben Hogan in
1953 to win three major championships in one year. He also erased a PGA “jinx” of capturing back-to-back
Championships. Woods is the first to do so since Denny Shute (1936-’37), and is the first to repeat in the stroke
(medal) play era of the championship that began in 1958. "The fireworks started on the back nine," Woods said. “I
think it’s got to go down as one of the best duels in the game, in major championships. Granted there have been
some great ones, but I think this one goes up there. Both of us shoot 31 on the back nine on Sunday afternoon
with no bogeys. I played the last 12 holes 7-under. That is not too bad. Hats off to Bob. He played his heart out."
2001 – Major Toms’ Lay-up to Remember
Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia
David Toms pulled a 5-wood from his bag and eyed the par-3 15th hole at Atlanta Athletic Club. In the waning
stages of a humid Georgia afternoon and the third round of the83rd PGA Championship, the Shreveport, La.,
native appeared cooler than most. He struck his tee shot, sent it 243 yards, with the ball coming settling on the
green and rolling like a putt into the hole. The roar of the gallery followed Toms all the way to the green, where he
plucked the ball out of the hole and went on to hold the lead for his first major championship. Toms’ hole-in-one
was believed to be the longest ever recorded by a major champion, and it proved to be the margin needed for
victory. A day later, Toms watched as playing partner Phil Mickelson chipped in from 35 feet for a birdie on the
15th hole to forge a tie. Toms collected himself, while Mickelson unraveled with a three-putt bogey on the 16th
green, swinging the lead back to Toms. As both players approached the treacherous, par-4, 490-yard 18th tee,
Toms used a driver and slightly pushed his drive into the first cut of rough, 209 yards from the green and on a
side hill lie. Mickelson was in the fairway with his drive and hit a 6-iron 25 feet above the hole. Toms elected to lay
up to within 88 yards and short of the water. From there, he hit a lob wedge to 12 feet. Mickelson’s birdie putt two
rolls short of the hole. Toms then lined up his par putt, stroked it home. With a steady, closing 1-under-par 69,
Toms shattered the PGA and major championship 72-hole scoring records. His 15-under-par 265 broke the 1993
British Open aggregate total of 267 by Greg Norman and the PGA Championship standards set in 1995 by Steve
Elkington and Colin Montgomerie. “I said all week that I wouldn’t be afraid to lay up at 18 if I didn’t have what I
thought was a good shot,” said Toms. “A side hill, downhill lie — that translates into a low hook with no spin on it,
and that’s not what I needed. There was nothing good that could happen. It was all I had. There was no possible
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
way I could stop that ball on the green.” Toms played the percentages like a veteran gambler and walked off with
the top prize.
2002 – Rich was on high Beem at Hazeltine
Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota
Rich Beem, the son of a PGA Professional, answered every challenge on his way to winning the 84 th PGA
Championship, withstanding a furious charge by Tiger Woods to cart off the Wanamaker Trophy at Hazeltine
National Golf Club. Beem accomplished his feat in a Championship that set a record for having the most worldranked players (98 of top 100) begin play. Beem’s final-round 4-under-par 68 included an eagle on the 11th hole to
build a three-stroke lead, and then capped his day with a birdie on the 16th to hold off Woods, who came home in
67, a stroke off the pace. Beem became the 12th champion of the past 15 PGA Championships to claim his first
major title. He is the fourth son of a PGA Professional to capture the Season’s Final Major, joining a group that
includes Jack Burke Jr. (1956), Dave Marr (1965) and Davis Love III (1997). Beem’s father, Larry, a PGA Life
Member and former New Mexico State University golf coach, was a standout player at New Mexico State in the
1960s. Larry was not at Hazeltine National Golf Club to witness his son’s victory, but later said that he “wore out
the carpet” in front of his television from his home in Las Cruces, N.M., and “smoked enough cigarettes to last a
lifetime.”
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
2003 – Micheel hits ‘Glory’s Last Shot’
Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York
The year’s strongest field, 96 of the top 100 world-ranked players, were befuddled by the hefty rough of the East
Course at Oak Hill Country Club. When the dust had settled on Sunday, only two unlikely, but talented warriors –
Chad Campbell and Shaun Micheel - were left dueling for the Wanamaker Trophy. On a layout where legends
Hagen, Hogan, Nelson, Trevino and Nicklaus have roamed, Campbell and Micheel each had their chance to write
history and win their first major championship. It was Micheel’s hour. Leading by a stroke, Micheel hit second off
the tee and watched as his drive headed to the left fairway rough, but then bounced right and came to rest into a
lie in the first cut 175 yards from the hole. Micheel then reached for a 7-iron and launched his approach. As the
ball flew, Micheel’s caddie yelled, “Be right!” The ball hit on the front portion of the green, bounced once and then
tracked toward the flagstick. It stopped two inches from rolling in the cup as the gallery roared its approval.
Campbell gathered himself and hit his approach some 10 feet beyond the hole. Micheel walked triumphantly to
the elevated green, still unsure of how far he had for his birdie putt. When he saw the ball, he let out a smile,
doffed his cap and then patted his heart before marking his ball. Micheel’s shot will be remembered as “Glory’s
Last Shot at Oak Hill,” and one of the great final-hole performances in major championship history. They don’t
plant oak trees at Oak Hill Country Club unless a player does something exceptional. Perhaps Micheel’s shot will
earn an oak, if not a plaque somewhere near the rough on the 18th hole. “I would like to thank the Oak Hill
members for being so hospitable to me and my wife this week,” said Micheel with a big grin. “I would like to take
you up on the invitation to return. But, I’ll come back only if you promise to cut the rough.”
2004 – Vijay goes the Distance at The Straits
Whistling Straits, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
On Championship Sunday, with the golf world tuned in and some 44,000 fans charged to a new level, hardworking Vijay Singh earned a PGA Championship on a course that was then the longest (7,514 yards) in major
championship history. Singh won his third major championship, and first PGA Championship since 1998, the hard
way. His closing 4-over-par 76 was the third highest final round by a major championship winner, and good for a
72-hole total of 8-under-par 280. He made his lone birdie of the final round, but a timely one, sinking a five-foot
putt on the first hole of a three-hole cumulative score playoff. He added two additional pars to defeat Chris
DiMarco and Justin Leonard. “It was sad to see someone win it the way I did,” said Singh. “The putter kind of fell
asleep. I got new life when (Leonard) missed the putt on the last hole. I knew the line I had on 10, and I was
happy to see I had the same line in the playoff. The wind came from a different direction and the holes played
longer today.” Singh became the fourth oldest to win a PGA Championship at 41 years, five months and 23 days.
His closing 76 was the highest score by a major championship winner since Reg Whitcombe’s 78 at Royal St.
George’s in the 1938 British Open.
2005 – Phil taps on Jack for luck, Delivers a Winning ‘flop’
Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, New Jersey
Phil Mickelson made superlative use of two weeks of preparations for the 87th PGA Championship, making a
pilgrimage to Baltusrol Golf Club and later executing his game plan to perfection. Forced to return for a fifth day of
competition due to a late Sunday thunderstorm, Mickelson was one of 12 players who provided 56 minutes of
excitement to close out the round. Tied for the lead stepping to the tee on the par-5 18th hole, Mickelson hit a
drive into the fairway, then tapped a stone plaque dedicated to Jack Nicklaus’s 1967 closing 1-iron approach in
the U.S. Open. Mickelson, using a 3-wood, hit his approach just right of the hole into rough ringing the green.
From there, he hit a shop that he had practiced in his backyard as a youngster – a flop wedge from some 50 feet
from the hole for a two-foot tap-in birdie. He finished with a 2-over-par-72, a 4-under-par 276 total and a onestroke victory over 1995 PGA Champion Steve Elkington and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn. “I tried to remember
some of the shots I hit as a kid in my backyard,” said Mickelson. “I hit it aggressively, and the ball popped up
nicely, and it rolled smoothly.” Mickelson’s second major championship came on a Monday after 12 players were
unable to finish a day earlier due to a passing thunderstorm.
2006 – Tiger cruises, with ‘Pops’ in his ear
Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Illinois
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Tiger Woods has learned much about what it takes to close a major championship. He credited his late father,
who died in May due to cancer, with much of his fundamental preparation. Woods recalled Pops’ first putting
lesson. "I kept saying all day, 'Just putt to the picture.' That's how I first learned how to putt," Woods said. "He
actually knew what he was talking about.” During his first visit to Medinah Country Club in 1999, Woods needed a
par save on the 71st hole to hold off Sergio Garcia for his first PGA Championship. Returning to Medinah and
now seeking a 12th career major, Woods shared the 54-hole lead with England’s Luke Donald. This time, Woods
didn’t wait to strike. He birdied the first hole from 10 feet, on his way to a 4-under-par 68, and never looked back
while cruising on the longest course in major championship history (7,561 yards). Woods’ five-stroke triumph
made him the first player in history to go consecutive years winning at least two majors. He added 40-foot
“bombs” for birdies on the sixth and eighth holes punctuate his round. Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Champion,
finished runner-up after a 69. Donald, bidding to become the first European-born PGA Champion since Tommy
Armour in 1930, slumped to a 74 and tied for third with Australian Adam Scott and Garcia. “I wish my Dad was
here, to be honest with you,” said Woods. “It’s another chapter in my life but I think about Pops all the time.
Today, I definitely think Pops was in my ear.”
2007 – King of the Hills
Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Faced with the fact that he had let two other major championships slip his grasp on the final round earlier in the
year and playing under the most brutal heat in major championship history, Tiger Woods did the next best thing.
He put his game into high-octane gear, nearly carded a 62 in the second round and punched a steady, no slip 1under-par 69 in the final round to earn his 13th major title and fourth PGA Championship. It was the fourth PGA
Championship to be contested at Southern Hills, with temperatures averaging above 100 degrees throughout the
week. Woods’ fitness regimen paid dividends as he withstood back-nine charges by unheralded Woody Austin
and three-time major champion Ernie Els to win by two strokes. After a three-putt bogey at the 14th holes, Woods
bounced back with a birdie at the 15th and closed with three pars for the victory. The Champion continued his
remarkable streak of never losing a major after either sharing or holding the 54-hole lead alone.
2008 – It was Paddy’s Day at Oakland Hills
Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Township, Michigan
On a “monster” of a golf course that bared a new set of teeth, Padraig Harrington flashed his own pearly whites
while carving his way into history at the 90th PGA Championship. Ireland’s favorite son rallied at Oakland Hills
Country Club on a Sunday where few have been able to rally before, capturing his third major championship and
second in a span of three weeks. In the process, he snatched the Championship from Sergio Garcia’s grasp in
the final few holes. Harrington, 36, also wrote a unique chapter in major championship golf. He became the first
European in the modern era to win the British Open and PGA Championship in succession, and the first to win
the PGA Championship since Scotland’s Tommy Armour in 1930. Harrington, the winner of three of the past six
majors, prevailed by back-to-back rounds of 4-under-par 66, and completing 27 holes on the final day after a third
round was suspended by rain in mid-afternoon. Harrington’s winning 72-hole total of 3-under-par 277 was good
for a two-stroke margin over Spain’s Garcia and America’s Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion whose
chances faded with bogeys on two of his final four holes.
2009 – Yes, it’s Yang!
Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota
Hazeltine National Golf Club’s tradition for producing some of the most unexpected champions in major
championship history held in the 91st PGA Championship, and also became the scene for a landmark moment in
global golf. South Korea’s 37-year-old Yong-Eun (Y.E.) Yang became the first male Asian player to win one of
golf’s four major championships and the first to defeat Tiger Woods when he had shared or owned a lead in the
final round. Trailing Woods by nine strokes after the fifth hole of his second round, Yang’s record PGA comeback
wasn’t complete until he drilled a 210-yard 3-hybrid approach at 18 that soared up and over a tree, cleared a
greenside bunker and came to rest 10 feet from the flagstick. Yang made that birdie putt for a 2-under-par 70,
added a fist pump amidst the roar of a massive gallery, and posted an 8-under-par 280 total. That was good for a
three-stroke triumph over Woods, whose closing 75 bore no resemblance to the same player who had taken a
perfect 14-for-14 slate after sharing or holding alone the lead into the final round of a major. Hazeltine National
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
hosted its fourth major and second PGA Championship, serving up the longest course in major championship
history at 7,674 yards. The field featured a PGA Championship-record 69 internationals representing 21
countries, and 97 of the top 100 world-ranked players – just one ranked player shy of the mark set in the 2002
Championship at Hazeltine. "This may be my last win,” said Yang before a packed clubhouse of well-wishers
poised for a champagne toast, “but this is by far the best day of my life.”
2010 – Drama Rules at The Straits
Whistling Straits (Straits Course), Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Straits, so many that not even the maintenance staff has officially counted them all. Perhaps it was fitting that
only one – a wispy patch of sand trampled by spectators through a tumultuous Sunday – played a pivotal role in
determining a bittersweet and historic chapter in the 92nd PGA Championship. Germany’s Martin Kaymer
(pronounced “KY-mer”) emerged victorious from a three-hole playoff with Bubba Watson, posting a winning
even-par total in the overtime drama to become his country’s first PGA Champion and second ever to win one
of golf’s four majors. The drama, however, was more compelling prior to the playoff when Dustin Johnson –
clinging to a one-stroke on the 18th tee – saw his chances for glory erased due to a penalty. Johnson had
placed his 4-iron behind the ball, unaware that it was part of a bunker. He went on to make a brilliant pitch shot
to seven feet of the hole, just missing a par putt that was to have been a Championship-winning stroke.
Kaymer, 25, won the ensuring three-hole playoff over Watson with a par-birdie-bogey finish. They each finished
regulation play at 11-under-par 277. Watson birdied the first playoff hole and Kaymer the second. The moment
of truth came when Watson went for the green out of thick rough from 206 yards at the 18th, the third playoff
hole, and put his ball into Seven Mile Creek, 40 yards short of the green. Kaymer chipped back to the fairway
before hitting a 7-iron third shot 15 feet from the hole and two-putting for victory. He earned his first major
triumph came amidst a field featuring 97 of the top 100 world-ranked player and a PGA Championship-record
73 players representing 22 countries.
2011 – Keegan Bradley completes “Glory’s First Shot”
Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia
Keegan Bradley watched his chip from the rough speed across the 15th green at Atlanta Athletic Club and into
the water. Before he left the green and posted a triple bogey-6, Bradley gave himself a mental scolding, “Don’t
let that hole define this whole tournament.” It proved to be just the right motivation while trailing Jason Dufner by
five strokes with three holes to play. Bradley went on to birdie the 16 th and 17th holes, including a 35-footer at
17, to spark his rally and force a three-hole playoff. He finished regulation play with a 68 to Dufner’s 69, forcing
a deadlock at 8-under-par 272. Opening the playoff at the 16th hole, Bradley knocked home a five-foot birdie
putt and Dufner missed his birdie attempt. Bradley added two closing pars to claim the Wanamaker Trophy,
joining Francis Ouimet (1913) and Ben Curtis (2003) as the third player in nearly a century to win a major
championship in his first try. Bradley, the nephew of World Golf Hall of Famer Pat Bradley, became the sixth
son of a PGA Professional to capture the Championship. “It seems like a dream, and I hope it’s real,” said
Bradley at the champagne toast in the clubhouse. “This was the best conditioned golf course that I’ve seen in
my life. If I could make one suggestion, you might cut the rough down back of the 15th hole!”
2012 – All Glory for Rory
The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Rory McIlroy had all the tools at his command in the 94th PGA Championship, registering a performance that
will rank among legends who marched generations ahead. McIlroy validated his record-setting U.S. Open
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SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Championship over a year earlier by blowing away the field at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. He closed
in the style befitting golf's royalty by sinking a birdie putt from 25 feet on the 18th hole for a 6-under-par 66, a
13-under-par 275 total. His eight-stroke victory broke the PGA Championship record for victory margin that
Jack Nicklaus set in 1980. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland, who jumped back to No. 1 in the world
rankings, is the first from his homeland to win a PGA Championship and a U.S. Open. McIlroy also won the
U.S. Open by eight strokes. He said that he had a premonition of positives upon his arrival on Kiawah Island. "I
turned up here on Monday afternoon, I went up to my locker," said McIlroy. "My locker was right by the window
overlooking the putting green, the beach and the ocean. I was thinking to myself, ‘I just have a good feeling
about this week.' And I said it to JP (Fitzgerald, his caddie), and I said it to my Dad and I said it to my whole
team; something about this just feels right." McIlroy became the youngest player since Seve Ballesteros to win
two majors. Tiger Woods was about four months older than McIlroy when he won his second major. McIlroy
became the fourth youngest PGA Champion.
2013 – Dufnering was in vogue at Oak Hill
Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York
One of the congratulatory phone calls Jason Dufner received following his march to winning the 95th PGA
Championship came from Lee Trevino. The ballstriking specialists who were generations apart, the twosome
each own a special chapter of PGA Championship lore. They delivered the goods when playing rugged Oak Hill
Country Club. Trevino captured his first Tour title, a major, with the 1968 U.S. Open, at Oak Hill. He also spent the
week at the home of the late Paul Kircher of Pittsford. In 1998, Dufner stayed at the home of Kircher’s son, John,
while competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship at Oak Hill.
Dufner officially closed any debate that he had not recovered from a back-nine PGA Championship collapse in
2011. He had surrendered a five-stroke lead with four holes to play, losing a playoff to Keegan Bradley at Atlanta
Athletic Club.
Dufner’s closing 2-under-par 68 was good for a 10-under-par 270 and a two-stroke victory over Jim Furyk, who
could not close the gap, nor could any other challengers, in the final round. At age 36, playing in all four majors for
just the second time, Dufner made the most of his opportunities, producing a near-flawless, second-round 7under-par 63, which was the 26th round of 63 in a major. Dufner took the 36-hole lead, and ultimately became the
sixth player in history to win a major after posting a 63. The final 36 holes was proof how far Dufner has come in
his development. He struggled to a 71 on Saturday, and trailed Furyk by one stroke to open Sunday’s finale. He
made a knee-knocking three-foot par putt on No. 1, saved par on 2, then made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4
and 5 to tie and go ahead for good. He reached 12-under par through 16 holes, before closing with a pair of
bogeys, plenty of cushion for his first major triumph.
2014 – OK, Kentucky, Are you Ready for another Thriller?
Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky
From the 1996 PGA Championship, just the second men’s major conducted in Kentucky history, Valhalla Golf
Club steadily crafted a reputation as the home to dramatic championship golf. Expect a dose of the same storyline
when the strongest field in golf assembles in August for the 96th PGA Championship on the Jack Nicklausdesigned course. The list of thrilling finales began in 1996, when Mark Brooks triumphed in a one-hole playoff to
defeat Kentuckian Kenny Perry. Four years later, Tiger Woods outlasted Bob May in the first three-hole aggregate
score playoff in major championship history. In 2008, the United States Ryder Cup Team grabbed control of the
final-day singles to defeat Europe at Valhalla; and in 2011, Tom Watson captured his second Senior PGA
Championship presented by KitchenAid, edging David Eger in a one-hole playoff. Valhalla is one of five venues in
the U.S. to have hosted three of the PGA of America’s premier spectator events – the Senior PGA Championship
presented by KitchenAid, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. The exclusive “club” of championship
venues includes Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.; The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C.; Laurel
Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa.; and PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Valhalla also was the
site of the 2002 PGA Professional National Championship.
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