1978 PGA Championship

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1978 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 3–6, 1978
LocationOakmont, Pennsylvania
40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827Coordinates: 40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827
Course(s)Oakmont Country Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length6,989 yards (6,391 m)[1][2]
Field149 players, 70 after cut[2]
Cut148 (+6)
Prize fund$300,240
Winner's share$50,000
Champion
United States John Mahaffey
276 (−8), playoff
Location Map
Oakmont is located in the United States
Oakmont
Oakmont
Location in the United States
← 1977
1979 →

The 1978 PGA Championship was the 60th PGA Championship, played August 3–6 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. John Mahaffey won his only major championship in a sudden-death playoff over Jerry Pate and Tom Watson.[3][4]

Watson led the tournament each day and held a five-shot lead after 54 holes, but he faltered on Sunday with a 73 (+2) in his best opportunity for a PGA Championship, the only major he has never won. Pate had a four-foot (1.3 m) putt for a par and the victory on the 72nd hole, but it lipped out. After opening with a four-over 75 on Thursday, Mahaffey rebounded to go 12-under for the next three rounds, including a five-under 66 in the final round to gain the seven strokes on Watson. He had a history of hard luck in majors: at the U.S. Open, he lost the 18-hole playoff in 1975 and was the 54-hole leader in 1976, won by tour rookie Pate. Mahaffey broke that streak when he birdied the second extra hole to win the playoff at Oakmont.[5] It was the second of three consecutive playoffs at the PGA Championship.

Like Arnold Palmer, Watson won numerous majors but never the PGA Championship, the only leg missing for a career grand slam. At this time he had won three of his eight majors; his next best finish at the PGA Championship came fifteen years later in 1993, placing fifth at Inverness. Pate finished in the top five for the third straight year (and would again the next year) but never won another major.

Jack Nicklaus, age 38, shot a 79 in the first round[6][7] and missed the cut by five strokes in one of his worst performances in a major. Four-time champion Nicklaus was a pre-tournament favorite: in his previous majors at Oakmont (two U.S. Opens), he won in 1962, his first major and first win as a professional, and tied for fourth in the 1973. At the previous year's PGA Championship at Pebble Beach, he finished third, one stroke out of the playoff.

This was the eighth major held at Oakmont and its third PGA Championship; the previous two in 1922 and 1951 were match play events.

Course layout[]

Main article: Oakmont Country Club
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 469 343 425 561 379 201 434 255 480 3,547 462 371 603 185 360 453 230 322 456 3,442 6,989
Par 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 3 5 36 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 35 71

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

  • 6,981 yards (6,383 m), par 72 - 1935 U.S. Open
  • 6,965 yards (6,369 m), par 72 - 1927 U.S. Open
  • 6,707 yards (6,133 m), par 74 - 1922 PGA Championship

Before 1962, the 1st hole was played as a par 5.

Past champions in the field[]

Made the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Lee Trevino  United States 1974 69 73 70 72 284 E T7
Don January  United States 1967 73 72 75 69 289 +5 T19
Bobby Nichols  United States 1964 75 67 73 74 289 +5 T19
Dave Stockton  United States 1970, 1976 68 75 74 72 289 +5 T19
Gary Player  South Africa 1962, 1972 76 72 71 71 290 +6 T26
Lanny Wadkins  United States 1977 70 73 72 76 291 +7 T34
Raymond Floyd  United States 1969 76 72 73 73 294 +10 T50

Missed the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 Total To par
Julius Boros  United States 1968 78 71 149 +7
Doug Ford  United States 1955 74 75 149 +7
Al Geiberger  United States 1966 76 75 151 +9
Dow Finsterwald  United States 1958 77 74 151 +9
Jack Nicklaus  United States 1963, 1971,
1973, 1975		 79 74 153 +11

Source:[1][8][3]

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Thursday, August 3, 1978

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Tom Watson  United States 67 −4
2 Dave Stockton  United States 68 −3
T3 Dave Hill  United States 69 −2
Ben Crenshaw  United States
Johnny Miller  United States
Lee Trevino  United States
T7 Grier Jones  United States 70 −1
Phil Hancock  United States
Lanny Wadkins  United States
Mike Sullivan  United States
Mike Morley  United States
Billy Kratzert  United States
Jerry McGee  United States
Rod Funseth  United States
Craig Stadler  United States

Second round[]

Friday, August 4, 1978

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Tom Watson  United States 67-69=136 −6
T2 Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-67=140 −2
Joe Inman  United States 72-68=140
Ben Crenshaw  United States 69-71=140
5 Johnny Miller  United States 69-72=141 −1
T6 John Mahaffey  United States 75-67=142 E
Bobby Nichols  United States 75-67=142
Bob Zender  United States 73-69=142
Jerry Pate  United States 72-70=142
Tom Purtzer  United States 72-70=142
Hubert Green  United States 71-71=142
Lee Trevino  United States 69-73=142

Source:[1]

Third round[]

Saturday, August 5, 1978

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Tom Watson  United States 67-69-67=203 −10
2 Jerry Pate  United States 72-70-66=208 −5
T3 Joe Inman  United States 72-68-69=209 −4
Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-67-69=209
5 John Mahaffey  United States 75-67-68=210 −3
6 Craig Stadler  United States 70-74-67=211 −2
7 Lee Trevino  United States 69-73-70=212 −1
T8 Gil Morgan  United States 76-71-66=213 E
Kermit Zarley  United States 75-71-67=213
Phil Hancock  United States 70-73-70=213
Johnny Miller  United States 69-72-72=213

Source:[9]

Final round[]

Sunday, August 6, 1978

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
T1 John Mahaffey  United States 75-67-68-66=276 −8 Playoff
Jerry Pate  United States 72-70-66-68=276
Tom Watson  United States 67-69-67-73=276
T4 Gil Morgan  United States 76-71-66-67=280 −4 14,500
Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-67-69-71=280
6 Craig Stadler  United States 70-74-67-71=282 -2 10,000
T7 Andy Bean  United States 72-72-70-70=284 E 8,000
Graham Marsh  Australia 72-74-68-70=284
Lee Trevino  United States 69-73-70-72=284
10 Fuzzy Zoeller  United States 75-69-73-68=285 +1 6,500

Source:[8][3]

Playoff[]

The sudden death playoff began on the front nine at hole #1, a par-4 which all three parred.
After Watson and Pate could not birdie hole #2, Mahaffey sunk a 12-foot (3.7 m) birdie putt to win the title.[4]

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
1 John Mahaffey  United States 4-3 −1 50,000
T2 Jerry Pate  United States 4-x E 25,000
Tom Watson  United States 4-x

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Watson leads a PGA without Jack by four". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 5, 1978. p. 1B.
  2. ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1978 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Mahaffey healthy, wealthy and alive again". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 7, 1978. p. B1.
  4. ^ a b Parascenzo, Marino (August 7, 1978). "Mahaffey wins PGA in 3-way playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
  5. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 14, 1978). "Jumping for joy". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  6. ^ "Nicklaus scuffles around in 79 in the PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 4, 1978. p. 1D.
  7. ^ Axelrod, Phil (August 4, 1978). "Dame Oakmont plays Jack". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
  8. ^ a b "1978 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  9. ^ "Watson has all but wrapped up the PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 6, 1978. p. B1.

External links[]

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