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1977 PGA Championship
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | 1977 PGA Championship |
| dates | August 11–14, 1977 |
| location | Pebble Beach, California |
| course | Pebble Beach Golf Links |
| org | PGA of America |
| tour | PGA Tour |
| par | 72 |
| yardage | 6806 yd |
| field | 138 players, 71 after cut |
| cut | 151 (+7) |
| purse | $250,000 |
| winners_share | $45,000 |
| champion | USA Lanny Wadkins |
| score | 282 (−6), playoff |
| previous | [1976](1976-pga-championship) |
| next | [1978](1978-pga-championship) |
| map | USA#USA California |
| map_relief | yes |
| map_label | Pebble Beach |
| map_caption | Location in the United States##Location in California |
| coordinates |
The 1977 PGA Championship was the 59th PGA Championship, played August 11–14 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. Lanny Wadkins, 27, won his only major championship in a sudden-death playoff over Gene Littler. It was the first playoff at the PGA Championship in ten years and was the first-ever sudden-death playoff in a stroke-play major championship. The last was 36 years earlier at the 1941 PGA Championship, when the 36-hole final match went to two extra holes.
Prior to the start of the championship, the irons of several top players were deemed to have non-conforming groove dimensions, most notably those of Tom Watson. He had won the Masters and British Open earlier that year, and was attempting to become the first to win three majors in the same year since Ben Hogan in 1953. Others with non-conforming irons included major winners Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Gary Player, and Tom Weiskopf. The rule limiting groove width to .035 in had been around for decades. Watson shot an opening round of 68 (−4) with an old set of borrowed irons, and finished at 286 (−2), four strokes back in a tie for sixth. He won eight majors but never a PGA Championship; his only win in the U.S. Open came here at Pebble Beach in 1982.
Four-time champion Jack Nicklaus finished one stroke out of the playoff at 283 (−5). He won the previous major at this course, the U.S. Open in 1972, and was runner-up to Watson at the next in 1982.
This was the 13th consecutive professional major won by American-born players. The streak began with Lee Trevino's victory at the 1974 PGA Championship and continued as the Americans swept the majors in 1975, 1976, and the previous majors in 1977. This remains the second longest major-winning streak for Americans; the longest was in the 1940s and ended with Lew Worsham's win at the 1947 U.S. Open.
This was the second major championship at Pebble Beach, which had hosted the U.S. Open in 1972. The U.S. Open returned in 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, and 2019. It was only the second PGA Championship in California and the first as a stroke-play competition; the previous was in December 1929 in Los Angeles at Hillcrest. The 1962 event was originally awarded to Brentwood in L.A., but was moved to Philadelphia at Aronimink.
The fairways at Pebble Beach were extremely dry, due to an extended drought, in its third year in northern California.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, August 11, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Gene Littler | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | USA Mark Hayes | 68 | −4 |
| USA Jerry McGee | |||
| USA Tom Watson | |||
| T5 | USA George Cadle | 69 | −3 |
| USA Jack Nicklaus | |||
| USA Lanny Wadkins | |||
| T8 | USA George Archer | 70 | −2 |
| USA Charles Coody | |||
| NZL John Lister | |||
| USA Roger Maltbie | |||
| USA Johnny Miller | |||
| USA Fuzzy Zoeller |
Second round
Friday, August 12, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Gene Littler | 67-69=136 | −8 |
| 2 | USA Jerry McGee | 68-70=138 | −6 |
| T3 | USA Jack Nicklaus | 69-71=140 | −4 |
| USA Lanny Wadkins | 69-71=140 | ||
| T5 | USA Charles Coody | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| USA Al Geiberger | 71-70=141 | ||
| USA Joe Inman | 72-69=141 | ||
| USA Tom Watson | 68-73=141 | ||
| T9 | USA George Cadle | 69-73=142 | −2 |
| USA Gil Morgan | 74-68=142 | ||
| USA Fuzzy Zoeller | 70-72=142 |
Third round
Saturday, August 13, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Gene Littler | 67-69-70=206 | −10 |
| 2 | USA Jack Nicklaus | 69-71-70=210 | −6 |
| 3 | USA Charles Coody | 70-71-70=211 | −5 |
| T4 | USA George Cadle | 69-73-70=212 | −4 |
| USA Gil Morgan | 74-68-70=212 | ||
| USA Jerry Pate | 73-70-69=212 | ||
| USA Lanny Wadkins | 69-71-72=212 | ||
| USA Tom Watson | 68-73-71=212 | ||
| T9 | USA Miller Barber | 77-68-69=214 | −2 |
| USA Billy Casper | 73-71-70=214 | ||
| USA Al Geiberger | 71-70-73=214 | ||
| USA Joe Inman | 72-69-73=214 | ||
| USA Don January | 75-69-70=214 | ||
| USA Leonard Thompson | 72-73-69=214 |
Final round
Sunday, August 14, 1977
Littler, 47, was the leader in each of the first three rounds and entered Sunday at 206 (−10), with a four-shot lead over Jack Nicklaus. One-under on the front nine, Littler staggered on the back with a five-over 41. After the turn, he made five bogeys in six holes, then rallied with pars on the three finishing holes to make the playoff with a 76 (+4). Wadkins started the round six strokes back and shot a 70, which included a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to get to six-under for the championship. As the clubhouse leader, he waited for the final pairing of Nicklaus and Littler. Tied for the lead at 6-under with two holes remaining, Nicklaus's tee shot on the par-3 17th landed on the downslope over the front bunker and bounced into the heavy rough which led to a long par putt and a subsequent bogey. He had famously birdied the same hole in the final round of the 1972 U.S. Open, which he won by three strokes. Nicklaus then needed a birdie on 18th to tie Wadkins, but Jack's third shot into 18 came up 25 feet short and his birdie bid missed on the right. Playing in the final group behind Nicklaus, Littler's tee shot on the par-3 17th also landed on the downslope and bounced into the rough -- but Littler was able to salvage par by holing a 12-footer to remain 6-under. On the 18th, Littler's birdie putt from 20 feet past the hole to win the Championship outright stopped less than a foot short.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | USA Gene Littler | 67-69-70-76=282 | −6 | Playoff |
| USA Lanny Wadkins | 69-71-72-70=282 | |||
| 3 | USA Jack Nicklaus | 69-71-70-73=283 | −5 | 15,000 |
| 4 | USA Charles Coody | 70-71-70-73=284 | −4 | 12,000 |
| 5 | USA Jerry Pate | 73-70-69-73=285 | −3 | 10,000 |
| T6 | USA Al Geiberger | 71-70-73-72=286 | −2 | 7,300 |
| USA Lou Graham | 71-73-71-71=286 | |||
| USA Don January | 75-69-70-72=286 | |||
| USA Jerry McGee | 68-70-77-71=286 | |||
| USA Tom Watson | 68-73-71-74=286 |
Source:
Playoff
The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 first hole, where Wadkins missed the green, chipped from the heavy rough to 20 ft and saved par to tie. At the second hole, both reached the green of the par-5 in two shots, narrowly missed eagle putts, and tapped in for birdies. At the third hole, both missed the green in the heavy rough. Littler's difficult chip left him 20 ft for a par four, while Wadkins got his chip to within five feet (1.5 m). After Littler missed to the right, Wadkins rolled his in for the win.
The championship had gone without a playoff since 1967. The seventh and last sudden-death playoff was in 1996; the format was changed to a three-hole aggregate, first used in 2000.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA **Lanny Wadkins** | 4-4-4 | −1 | 45,000 |
| 2 | USA Gene Littler | 4-4-x | E | 25,000 |
- Sudden-death playoff played on holes 1, 2, and 3.
References
References
- "Tournament Info for: 1977 PGA Championship". PGA.com.
- Parascenzo, Marino. (August 12, 1977). "Littler leads at PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- (August 15, 1977). "Wadkins wins PGA playoff". Eugene Register-Guard.
- Parascenzo, Marino. (August 15, 1977). "Littler comes apart, Wadkins captures PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Jenkins, Dan. (August 22, 1977). "The battle of the ages".
- Parascenso, Marino. (August 11, 1977). "PGA bigwigs club Watson". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- (August 12, 1977). "Watson survives hassle". Milwaukee Journal.
- (August 12, 1977). "Watson proves himself". Milwaukee Sentinel.
- (August 12, 1977). "Watson trails by one stroke". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
- (November 10, 1961). "PGA opens its doors to Negroes, world golfers". Florence Times.
- (November 10, 1961). "PGA group abolishes 'Caucasian'". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
- (August 10, 1977). "Drought leaves Pebble Beach fairways brown". Daytona Beach Morning Journal.
- (August 15, 1977). "Wadkins wins PGA playoff". Eugene Register-Guard.
- "1977 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com.
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