1975 PGA Championship
The 1975 PGA Championship was the 57th PGA Championship, played August 7–10 at the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Jack Nicklaus, an Ohio native, won the fourth of his five PGA Championships and the fourteenth of his eighteen major titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Bruce Crampton.[3] Nicklaus was the 54-hole leader, four strokes ahead of Crampton.[4]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 7–10, 1975 |
| Location | Akron, Ohio |
| Course(s) | Firestone Country Club South Course |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7,180 yards (6,565 m)[1] |
| Field | 136 players, 71 after cut[2] |
| Cut | 148 (+8) |
| Prize fund | $225,000 |
| Winner's share | $45,000 |
| Champion | |
 | |
| 276 (−4) | |
It was the second major of the year for Nicklaus, who won his fifth green jacket in April at the Masters,[3][5] and the fourth of five times that he won two majors in the same calendar year.[1]
Through 2015, this was the fourth and last time a player won the Masters and PGA Championship in the same calendar year. Nicklaus had previously won both in 1963, preceded by Jack Burke, Jr. in 1956 and Sam Snead in 1949.
This was the third PGA Championship at the South Course, which previously hosted in 1960 and 1966. It also a former venue for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which began in 1976 as the "World Series of Golf" on the PGA Tour, preceded by the American Golf Classic, which debuted in 1961.
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | | 1963, 1971, 1973 | 70 | 68 | 67 | 71 | 276 | −4 | 1 |
| Raymond Floyd | | 1969 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 286 | +6 | T10 |
| Don January | | 1967 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 73 | 286 | +6 | T10 |
| Al Geiberger | | 1966 | 70 | 70 | 80 | 71 | 291 | +11 | T33 |
| Gary Player | .svg.png){kind=small} | 1962, 1972 | 72 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 291 | +11 | T33 |
| Bobby Nichols | | 1964 | 72 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 291 | +11 | T33 |
| Julius Boros | | 1968 | 71 | 73 | 78 | 70 | 292 | +12 | T40 |
| Lee Trevino | | 1974 | 73 | 72 | 78 | 74 | 297 | +17 | T60 |
| Dow Finsterwald | | 1958 | 75 | 73 | 76 | 81 | 305 | +25 | T70 |
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Ford | | 1955 | 78 | 71 | 149 | +9 |
| Lionel Hebert | | 1957 | 76 | 73 | 149 | +9 |
| Sam Snead | | 1942, 1949, 1951 | 75 | 74 | 149 | +9 |
| Jerry Barber | | 1961 | 79 | 72 | 151 | +11 |
| Dave Stockton | | 1970 | 77 | 74 | 151 | +11 |
Source:[6]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, August 7, 1975
Source:[7]
Second round
Friday, August 8, 1975
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruce Crampton | .svg.png){kind=small} | 71-63=134 | −6 |
| 2 | Hale Irwin | | 72-65=137 | −3 |
| T3 | Jack Nicklaus | | 70-68=138 | −2 |
| Mark Hayes | | 67-71=138 | ||
| Bob Wynn | | 69-69=138 | ||
| T6 | Ed Dougherty | | 69-70=139 | −1 |
| John Schlee | | 71-68=139 | ||
| T8 | Al Geiberger | | 70-70=140 | E |
| J. C. Snead | | 73-67=140 | ||
| Maurice VerBrugge | | 72-68=140 |
Source:[8]
Third round
Saturday, August 9, 1975
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | | 70-68-67=205 | −5 |
| 2 | Bruce Crampton | | 71-63-75=209 | −1 |
| 3 | Hale Irwin | | 72-65-73=210 | E |
| T4 | Ed Dougherty | | 69-70-72=211 | +3 |
| Tom Weiskopf | | 70-71-70=211 | ||
| T6 | David Graham | | 72-70-70=212 | +2 |
| Bob Murphy | | 75-68-69=212 | ||
| Tom Watson | | 70-71-71=212 | ||
| T9 | Billy Casper | | 69-72-72=213 | +3 |
| Mark Hayes | | 67-71-75=213 | ||
| Mike Hill | | 72-71-70=213 | ||
| Larry Hinson | | 68-73-72=213 | ||
| Don January | | 72-70-71=213 | ||
| Gene Littler | | 76-71-66=213 |
Source:[4]
Final round
Sunday, August 10, 1975
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | | 70-68-67-71=276 | −4 | 45,000 |
| 2 | Bruce Crampton | | 71-63-75-69=278 | −2 | 25,700 |
| 3 | Tom Weiskopf | | 70-71-70-68=279 | −1 | 16,000 |
| 4 | Andy North | | 72-74-70-65=281 | +1 | 10,500 |
| T5 | Billy Casper | | 69-72-72-70=283 | +3 | 8,663 |
| Hale Irwin | | 72-65-73-73=283 | |||
| T7 | Dave Hill | | 71-71-74-68=284 | +4 | 6,918 |
| Gene Littler | | 76-71-66-71=284 | |||
| 9 | Tom Watson | | 70-71-71-73=285 | +5 | 6,075 |
| T10 | Buddy Allin | | 73-72-70-71=286 | +6 | 4,468 |
| Ben Crenshaw | | 73-72-71-70=286 | |||
| Raymond Floyd | | 70-73-72-71=286 | |||
| David Graham | | 72-70-70-74=286 | |||
| Don January | | 72-70-71-73=286 | |||
| John Schlee | | 71-68-75-72=286 | |||
| Leonard Thompson | | 74-69-72-71=286 |
References
- Parascenzo, Marino (August 11, 1975). "Nicklaus manhandles Firestone". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.
- "Tournament Info for: 1975 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
- "Nicklaus rules PGA again". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 11, 1975. p. 10.
- "Mini miracle at 16 sparks Nicklaus". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 10, 1975. p. 3B.
- Jenkins, Dan (August 18, 1975). "Swinging on a star". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
- "1975 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- "Top players trail at PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 8, 1975. p. 1D.
- "Crampton after that major crown". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 9, 1975. p. 1B.