USA TODAY International Edition
10 great moments from PGA’s 100-year history
The PGA Championship has seen its share of epic moments over the past century, both at match play (until 1957) and stroke play.
The 100th PGA Championship begins Thursday at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. Tiger Woods will aim to win his 15th overall major and his fifth Wanamaker Trophy.
Here are our top 10 PGA Championship tournaments of the first 99, including a couple featuring, you guessed it, Woods himself.
1923 — Walter Hagen vs. Gene Sarazen at Pelham Golf Club
The two giants of golf at the time squared off in the match-play final. Sarazen and Hagen were tied through 36 holes after Hagen won three of the last seven holes to square the match. In sudden death, Sarazen nearly drove out of bounds on the second extra hole. Before his approach shot from the rough, he reportedly told spectators, “I’ll put this one up so close to the hole that it will break Walter’s heart.” Two feet, to be exact. Hagen then hit into a bunker, and Sarazen made birdie to win.
1931 — “One of the finest matches that was ever played” at Wannamoisett
Tom Creavy became the secondyoungest PGA champion at 20, beating Sarazen in the semifinals and winning 2 and 1 in the final against Denny Shute. How good was the match? Bobby Jones, who was serving as a referee: “It was one of the finest matches I think that was ever played.”
1945 — Byron Nelson’s streak continues at Moraine CC
In his epic 11-tournament winning season, Nelson met former Yankees outfielder Sam Byrd in the finals. Nelson seemed like a shoo-in, given he reached the finals of the PGA Championship for the fifth time. Byrd closed the morning session 2 up and continued strong play early before Nelson squared the match on the 26th hole. A 4-and-3 win was overshadowed by Nelson’s streak and astounding play at Moraine: He was 37 under par over 204 holes played.
1963 — Jack Nicklaus dominates at Dallas Athletic Club
After a third-place finish in the British Open the previous week, Nicklaus was battling jet lag and the searing heat that made lifting the Wanamaker Trophy too hot to handle. So he used a towel after a two-stroke win over Dave Ragan that began an incredible career of five PGA Championship titles and four second-place finishes.
1984 — Lee Trevino outlasts Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins at Shoal
Creek
At 44 and seemingly out of the major championship picture, Trevino put a new putter in the bag to win by four shots over Player, then 48, and 1977 PGA champion Wadkins. The tournament was closer than it looked thanks to a strong finish from Trevino. He posted four rounds in the 60s, the first player to do so in the PGA. It was Trevino’s final victory until his senior tour years.
1986 — Bob Tway holes out at Inverness
After leading by four shots with eight holes to go, Greg Norman struggled to bring it home. The Aussie and Tway were tied when Tway’s 9-iron to the short par-4 18th finished in a greenside bunker. Norman was looking at a 25foot chip when Tway lofted his shot over a steep bunker face and into the hole, prompting a memorable leap and what became a two-stroke victory after Norman failed to get up and down.
1991 — John Daly’s Cinderella win at Crooked Stick
If you pitched this story to Hollywood, it would be laughed off as impossible to believe. Daly, the ninth alternate, drives through the night to play after Nick Price withdraws to be with his expecting wife. Daly proceeds to hit 300-yard drives without fear of Crooked Stick’s hazards, taking the lead with a third-round 69 and cruising to victory while downing Diet Cokes and sporting an epic mullet. Caddie Jeff “Squeaky” Medlin, who was Price’s regular bagman, helps guide Daly to the win.
1997 — Davis Love wins at Winged Foot
The ingredients were all there for a cinematic gem. The son of a legendary PGA pro, a career of missed major opportunities, brother on the bag and, wait, a rainbow at the end? That’s Love’s 11-under win in a nutshell, capped off with a final-round 66 and last-hole birdie framed by a rainbow. Love had been 0-for-38 in majors.
1999 — Tiger Woods vs. Sergio Garcia at Medinah
With a five-stroke lead, Woods, then 23, was leaking oil and faced an unforgettable run by 19-year-old Garcia. Who could forget Garcia’s recovery shot at the 452-yard 16th from 189 yards? Even with a root showing and the possibility of a career-ending injury, he valiantly swung with eyes closed and chased after the ball, leaping to see the final result. Garcia missed a birdie putt at 18 to tie Woods.
2000 — Tiger vs. Bob May at Valhalla Two SoCal junior golf stars squared off, though Woods was already on his way to all-time-great status while May mostly toiled after a successful college career. For one incredible round and three playoff holes, May matched Woods and seemingly had the best of him multiple times. But Woods made several signature putts. The duo tied the PGA Championship record for lowest score to par and shot back-nine 31s on Sunday. The win capped a three-major season for Woods, who would win the 2001 Masters and hold all four major trophies. “I think it’s got to go down as one of the best duels in the game, in major championships,” Woods said.
2014 — Rory McIlroy holds on to beat Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler at Valhalla
Another thriller in Louisville saw McIlroy survive a wild final day to follow up his British Open win a few weeks earlier. McIlroy had fallen three behind heading into the back nine but caught up and enjoyed a two-stroke lead at 18. Darkness meant he might have to play the hole Monday. But McIlroy was called up to play by Fowler and Mickelson in the fairway, though historians will note Mickelson never seemed particularly happy about having to wait to hit his second shot. The call-up scenario repeated itself at the green, and Mickelson then nearly holed an eagle chip and closed in 66. Fowler also had a shot at eagle that missed. McIlroy joined Woods, Nicklaus, Bobby Jones and Young Tom Morris as the only players to win four majors by the age of 25.