1953 PGA Championship

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1953 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesJuly 1–7, 1953
LocationBirmingham, Michigan, U.S.
Course(s)Birmingham Country Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatMatch play - 6 rounds
Statistics
Par71
Length6,465 yards (5,912 m)[1]
Field123 players,
64 to match play
Cut148 (+6), playoff[3]
Prize fund$20,700[2]
Winner's share$5,000
Champion
United States Walter Burkemo
def. Felice Torza, 2 & 1
← 1952
1954 →
Birmingham  Country Club is located in the United States
Birmingham  Country Club
Birmingham 
Country Club
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Location in the United States
Birmingham  Country Club is located in Michigan
Birmingham  Country Club
Birmingham 
Country Club
class=notpageimage|
Location in Michigan

The 1953 PGA Championship was the 35th PGA Championship, held July 1–7 at Birmingham Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Local resident Walter Burkemo won the match play championship, 2 & 1 over Felice Torza in the Tuesday final.[4] The winner's share was $5,000 and the runner-up's was $3,000.[1] Burkemo won his only major title in the second of his three finals; he lost to Sam Snead in 1951 and Chick Harbert in 1954.

Johnny Palmer was the medalist of the stroke play qualifier, awarded $250 for his 134 (−8), with a second round at 66.[5][6] He lost in the first round to Jack Grout; also defeated on "Black Friday" were pre-tournament favorites Cary Middlecoff, three-time champion Sam Snead, and defending champion Jim Turnesa.[7] No former past champion advanced past the second round.

Burkemo's win marked the second time that all four major championships were won by Americans in a calendar year.

Format[]

The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1953 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in seven days:[2]

  • Wednesday and Thursday – 36-hole stroke play qualifier, 18 holes per day;
    • defending champion Jim Turnesa and top 63 professionals advanced to match play
  • Friday – first two rounds, 18 holes each
  • Saturday – third round – 36 holes
  • Sunday – quarterfinals – 36 holes
  • Monday – semifinals – 36 holes
  • Tuesday – final – 36 holes

Past champions in the field[]

Player Country Year(s) won Record Advanced to Finish
Jim Ferrier  Australia 1947 1–1 Second round T17
Sam Snead  United States 1942, 1949, 1951 1–1 Second round T17
Jim Turnesa  United States 1952 1–1 Second round T17
Vic Ghezzi  United States 1941 0–1 First round T33
Chandler Harper  United States 1950 0–1 First round T33
Gene Sarazen  United States 1922, 1923, 1933 0–1 First round T33

Final results[]

Tuesday, July 7, 1953

Place Player Country Money ($)
1 Walter Burkemo  United States 5,000
2 Felice Torza  United States 3,000
T3 Claude Harmon  United States 750
 United States
T5 Jimmy Clark  United States 500
Dave Douglas  United States
 United States
Henry Ransom  United States

Final eight bracket[]

Quarter-finals
July 5 		Semi-finals
July 6 		Finals
July 7
         
Walter Burkemo 2up
Dave Douglas
Walter Burkemo 1up
Claude Harmon
Claude Harmon 6&5
Walter Burkemo 2&1
Felice Torza
Felice Torza 1up
Jimmy Clark
Felice Torza 39h
1up
Henry Ransom

Sources:[1][8][9]

Final match scorecards[]

Morning

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 5 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 5
United States Burkemo 5 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 5
United States Torza 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 5 5 3 5 4 4
Leader T1 T1 T1 – – – – – – T1 T1 T1 – B1 B1 B2 B2 B1

Afternoon

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 5 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 5
United States Burkemo 4 3 3 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 3 5 4
United States Torza 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 5 5 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 4
Leader B2 B3 B4 B3 B3 B2 B2 B3 B4 B4 B3 B3 B4 B3 B3 B2 B2

Source:[4]

Conflict with British Open[]

The Open Championship in Carnoustie, Scotland, was held July 8–10. Its mandatory 36-hole qualifier was played the two days before the first round, the same days as the semifinals and final at the PGA Championship in Michigan.[10]

Ben Hogan, the reigning Masters and U.S. Open champion, traveled to Britain for the only time to qualify for the Open. He won the Claret Jug by four strokes and set the course record at Carnoustie during the final round. First prize was a modest £500 ($1,400), less than one-third of the PGA's. Hogan won the PGA Championship in 1946 and 1948, then did not enter for over a decade. After his near-fatal automobile accident in early 1949, his battered legs could not endure the arduous double-round schedule for five consecutive days. He played in three of the events in the 1960s, after the change of format to stroke play.

The concept of the modern grand slam and professional major championships were not firmly established in 1953, as evidenced by the schedule conflict in early July. The PGA Championship moved two weeks later in 1954 to avoid this conflict, but during the 1960s, the two majors were played in consecutive weeks in July on five occasions. The PGA Championship was first played in August in 1965, and moved permanently in 1969, except for 1971 when it was played in Florida in February.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Burkemo wins PGA title, 2–1". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. July 8, 1953. p. 3-part 2.
  2. ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1953 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Retrieved July 14, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "PGA qualifying scores". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. July 3, 1953. p. 9.
  4. ^ a b Cromie, Robert (July 8, 1953). "Burkemo captures P.G.A title". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 4.
  5. ^ "Palmer ties PGA mark". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. July 3, 1953. p. 10.
  6. ^ ""Tornado" Palmer grags PGA medal". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. July 3, 1953. p. 10.
  7. ^ Grimsley, Will (July 4, 1953). "Snead, Middlecoff, defending champion Turnesa beaten in PGA Tourney". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. p. 7.
  8. ^ "Torza, Burkemo, Harmon, Isaacs in U.S.P.G.A. Seni-finals". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 6, 1953. p. 20. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  9. ^ "Burkemo, Torza Win Way Into P.G.A. Final Round". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1953. p. 17. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  10. ^ "Burkemo wins P.G.A. - Locke paces British qualifiers". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 8, 1953. p. 21.

External links[]

Coordinates: 42°31′59″N 83°14′02″W / 42.533°N 83.234°W / 42.533; -83.234

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