1987 PGA Championship

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1987 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 6–9, 1987
LocationPalm Beach Gardens, Florida
Course(s)PGA National Golf Club
Champion Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,002 yards (6,403 m)
Field150 players, 74 after cut[1]
Cut151 (+7)
Prize fund$900,000
Winner's share$150,000
Champion
United States Larry Nelson
287 (−1), playoff
← 1986
1988 →
PGA National is located in the United States
PGA National
PGA National
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Location in the United States
PGA National is located in Florida
PGA National
PGA National
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Location in Florida

The 1987 PGA Championship was the 69th PGA Championship, held August 6–9 at the Champion Course of PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In hot and windy conditions, Larry Nelson won his second PGA Championship in a sudden-death playoff over 1977 champion Lanny Wadkins.[2][3][4] It was Nelson's third and final major title.

D.A. Weibring, a 54-hole co-leader,[5] shot 76 (+4) and finished a stroke back at even-par 288. The other co-leader, Mark McCumber, posted 77 and finished in a tie for fifth. Two major champions in contention shot high scores and fell back: Seve Ballesteros (78) and Raymond Floyd (80).

In the August heat of Florida, the attendance was low.[4][6] A record high temperature for the day of 97 °F (36 °C) was recorded on Sunday.[7] It was the second major played in Florida, following the PGA Championship in 1971, played in February at the old PGA National. Through 2021, this is the last major played in the state. The purse was the last under $1 million at the PGA Championship.

With the win, Nelson gained an automatic bid to the Ryder Cup team in 1987, his third, bumping Don Pooley.[8] Nelson's record in that competition in late September was 0–3–1, as the U.S. lost the Cup for the first time on home soil. He lost all three pairs matches and halved his singles match.

The Champion Course hosted the Ryder Cup in 1983 and the Senior PGA Championship for 19 years (1982–2000). Since 2007, it has been the venue of The Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, played in March.

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Thursday, August 6, 1987

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Bobby Wadkins  United States 68 −4
T2 David Edwards  United States 69 −3
Fred Funk  United States
T4 Raymond Floyd  United States 70 −2
Bernhard Langer  West Germany
Larry Nelson  United States
Curtis Strange  United States
Lanny Wadkins  United States
T9 Bobby Clampett  United States 71 −1
Bobby Cole  South Africa
Ray Freeman  United States
Dan Pohl  United States
Mike Reid  United States
Tim Simpson  United States

Source:[9]

Second round[]

Saturday, August 7, 1987

Place Player Country Score To par
T1 Raymond Floyd  United States 70-70=140 −4
Lanny Wadkins  United States 70-70=140
T3 Tim Simpson  United States 71-70=141 −3
Jeff Sluman  United States 72-69=141
T5 Seve Ballesteros  Spain 72-70=142 −2
Ben Crenshaw  United States 72-70=142
Larry Nelson  United States 70-72=142
Bobby Wadkins  United States 68-74=142
T9 Bobby Clampett  United States 71-72=143 −1
Mark McCumber  United States 74-69=143

Source:[10]

Third round[]

Saturday, August 8, 1987

Place Player Country Score To par
T1 Mark McCumber  United States 74-69-69=212 −4
D. A. Weibring  United States 73-72-67=212
T3 Raymond Floyd  United States 70-70-73=213 −3
Bobby Wadkins  United States 68-74-71=213
T5 Seve Ballesteros  Spain 72-70-72=214 −2
Lanny Wadkins  United States 70-70-74=214
7 Larry Nelson  United States 70-72-73=215 −1
T8 Ben Crenshaw  United States 72-70-74=216 E
David Frost  South Africa 75-70-71=216
T10 Curt Byrum  United States 74-75-68=217 +1
Don Pooley  United States 73-71-73=217
Nick Price  Zimbabwe 76-71-70=217
Curtis Strange  United States 70-76-71=217

Source:[5]

Final round[]

Sunday, August 9, 1987

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
T1 Larry Nelson  United States 70-72-73-72=287 −1 Playoff
Lanny Wadkins  United States 70-70-74-73=287
T3 Scott Hoch  United States 74-74-71-69=288 E 58,750
D. A. Weibring  United States 73-72-67-76=288
T5 Mark McCumber  United States 74-69-69-77=289 +1 37,500
Don Pooley  United States 73-71-73-72=289
T7 Ben Crenshaw  United States 72-70-74-74=290 +2 27,500
Bobby Wadkins  United States 68-74-71-77=290
9 Curtis Strange  United States 70-76-71-74=291 +3 22,500
T10 Seve Ballesteros  Spain 72-70-72-78=292 +4 17,000
David Frost  South Africa 75-70-71-76=292
Tom Kite  United States 72-77-71-72=292
Nick Price  Zimbabwe 76-71-70-75=292

Source:[1][11]

Scorecard[]

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Final round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 5 3 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 3 4 3 5
United States Nelson −1 E −1 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −1 −1 E −1 −1
United States Wadkins −3 −1 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −2 −1 −1 −2 E E E −1 −1 −1 −1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[2]

Playoff[]

The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 10th hole, where both missed the green. Nelson chipped to six feet (1.8 m) and Wadkins to four. First to putt, Nelson saved par but Wadkins missed his attempt to extend the playoff.[2]

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
1 Larry Nelson  United States 4 E 150,000
2 Lanny Wadkins  United States x +1 90,000

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1987 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Wadkins' poor putt gives Nelson victory". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. August 10, 1987. p. 1-part 2.
  3. ^ Boswell, Thomas (August 10, 1987). "Nelson beats heat, pressure, Wadkins". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1B.
  4. ^ a b Diaz, Jaime (August 17, 1987). "Cool customer in a hot PGA". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
  5. ^ a b Boswell, Thomas (August 9, 1987). "McCumber, Weibring tied for PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1C.
  6. ^ Boswell, Thomas (August 9, 1987). "The heat isn't as bad as PGA's profit motive". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 7C.
  7. ^ Hackenberg, Dave (August 10, 1987). "Steady Nelson survives". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 24.
  8. ^ "Nelson joins U.S. Ryder Cup team". Toledo Blade. Ohio. August 10, 1987. p. 26.
  9. ^ Glick, Shav (August 7, 1987). "A rough first day at the PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1C.
  10. ^ Glick, Shav (August 8, 1987). "A Wadkins shares lead with Floyd". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1C.
  11. ^ "1987 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 19, 2013.

External links[]

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Coordinates: 26°49′44″N 80°08′28″W / 26.829°N 80.141°W / 26.829; -80.141

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