1978 PGA Championship

1978 PGA Championship
Tournament information
Dates August 3–6, 1978
Location Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s) Oakmont Country Club
Organized by PGA of America
Tour(s) PGA Tour
Statistics
Par 71
Length 6,989 yards (6,391 m)[1][2]
Field 149 players, 70 after cut[2]
Cut 148 (+6)
Prize fund $300,240
Winner's share $50,000
Champion
United States John Mahaffey
276 (−8), playoff
Oakmont 
Location in the United States
 Oakmont
Location in Pennsylvania

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

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4693434255613962014342304803,5494623716031853604532283224563,4406,989
Par444543435364453443443571

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

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

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Lee Trevino United States197469737072284ET7
Don January United States196773727569289+5T19
Bobby Nichols United States196475677374289+5T19
Dave Stockton United States1970, 197668757472289+5T19
Gary Player South Africa1962, 197276727171290+6T26
Lanny Wadkins United States197770737276291+7T34
Raymond Floyd United States196976727373294+10T50

Missed the cut

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2TotalTo par
Julius Boros United States19687871149+7
Doug Ford United States19557475149+7
Al Geiberger United States19667675151+9
Dow Finsterwald United States19587774151+9
Jack Nicklaus United States1963, 1971,
1973, 1975		7974153+11

Source:[1][8][3]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 3, 1978

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Tom Watson United States67–4
2Dave Stockton United States68–3
T3Dave Hill United States69–2
Ben Crenshaw United States
Johnny Miller United States
Lee Trevino United States
T7Grier Jones United States70–1
Phil Hancock United States
Lanny Wadkins United States
Mike Sullivan United States
Mike Morley United States
Bill Kratzert United States
Jerry McGee United States
Rod Funseth United States
Craig Stadler United States

Second round

Friday, August 4, 1978

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Tom Watson United States67-69=136–6
T2Tom Weiskopf United States73-67=140–2
Joe Inman United States72-68=140
Ben Crenshaw United States69-71=140
5Johnny Miller United States69-72=141–1
T6John Mahaffey United States75-67=142E
Bobby Nichols United States75-67=142
Bob Zender United States73-69=142
Jerry Pate United States72-70=142
Tom Purtzer United States72-70=142
Hubert Green United States71-71=142
Lee Trevino United States69-73=142

Source:[1]

Third round

Saturday, August 5, 1978

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Tom Watson United States67-69-67=203–10
2Jerry Pate United States72-70-66=208–5
T3Joe Inman United States72-68-69=209–4
Tom Weiskopf United States73-67-69=209
5John Mahaffey United States75-67-68=210–3
6Craig Stadler United States70-74-67=211-2
7Lee Trevino United States69-73-70=212–1
T8Gil Morgan United States76-71-66=213E
Kermit Zarley United States75-71-67=213
Phil Hancock United States70-73-70=213
Johnny Miller United States69-72-72=213

Source:[9]

Final round

Sunday, August 6, 1978

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
T1John Mahaffey United States75-67-68-66=276–8Playoff
Jerry Pate United States72-70-66-68=276
Tom Watson United States67-69-67-73=276
T4Gil Morgan United States76-71-66-67=280–414,500
Tom Weiskopf United States73-67-69-71=280
6Craig Stadler United States70-74-67-71=282-210,000
T7Andy Bean United States72-72-70-70=284E8,000
Graham Marsh Australia72-74-68-70=284
Lee Trevino United States69-73-70-72=284
10Fuzzy Zoeller United States75-69-73-68=285+16,500

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]

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1John Mahaffey United States4-3–150,000
T2Jerry Pate United States4-xE25,000
Tom Watson United States4-x

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Watson leads a PGA without Jack by four". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 5, 1978. p. 1B.
  2. 1 2 "Tournament Info for: 1978 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mahaffey healthy, wealthy and alive again". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 7, 1978. p. B1.
  4. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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.
Preceded by
1978 Open Championship		 Major Championships Succeeded by
1979 Masters

Coordinates: 40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827

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