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1978 PGA Championship
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | 1978 PGA Championship |
| dates | August 3–6, 1978 |
| location | Oakmont, Pennsylvania |
| course | Oakmont Country Club |
| org | PGA of America |
| tour | PGA Tour |
| par | 71 |
| yardage | 6989 yd |
| field | 149 players, 70 after cut |
| cut | 148 (+6) |
| purse | $300,240 |
| winners_share | $50,000 |
| champion | USA John Mahaffey |
| score | 276 (−8), playoff |
| previous | [1977](1977-pga-championship) |
| next | [1979](1979-pga-championship) |
| map | USA#USA Pennsylvania |
| map_relief | yes |
| map_label | Oakmont |
| map_caption | Location in the United States##Location in Pennsylvania |
| coordinates |
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.
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. 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 and missed the cut by five strokes in one of his worst performances in a major. It was his only missed cut in a major the entire 1970s decade. 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:
Before 1962, the 1st hole was played as a par 5.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, August 3, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Tom Watson | 67 | −4 |
| 2 | USA Dave Stockton | 68 | −3 |
| T3 | USA Dave Hill | 69 | −2 |
| USA Ben Crenshaw | |||
| USA Johnny Miller | |||
| USA Lee Trevino | |||
| T7 | USA Grier Jones | 70 | −1 |
| USA Phil Hancock | |||
| USA Lanny Wadkins | |||
| USA Mike Sullivan | |||
| USA Mike Morley | |||
| USA Billy Kratzert | |||
| USA Jerry McGee | |||
| USA Rod Funseth | |||
| USA Craig Stadler |
Second round
Friday, August 4, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Tom Watson | 67-69=136 | −6 |
| T2 | USA Tom Weiskopf | 73-67=140 | −2 |
| USA Joe Inman | 72-68=140 | ||
| USA Ben Crenshaw | 69-71=140 | ||
| 5 | USA Johnny Miller | 69-72=141 | −1 |
| T6 | USA John Mahaffey | 75-67=142 | E |
| USA Bobby Nichols | 75-67=142 | ||
| USA Bob Zender | 73-69=142 | ||
| USA Jerry Pate | 72-70=142 | ||
| USA Tom Purtzer | 72-70=142 | ||
| USA Hubert Green | 71-71=142 | ||
| USA Lee Trevino | 69-73=142 |
Source:
Third round
Saturday, August 5, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Tom Watson | 67-69-67=203 | −10 |
| 2 | USA Jerry Pate | 72-70-66=208 | −5 |
| T3 | USA Joe Inman | 72-68-69=209 | −4 |
| USA Tom Weiskopf | 73-67-69=209 | ||
| 5 | USA John Mahaffey | 75-67-68=210 | −3 |
| 6 | USA Craig Stadler | 70-74-67=211 | −2 |
| 7 | USA Lee Trevino | 69-73-70=212 | −1 |
| T8 | USA Gil Morgan | 76-71-66=213 | E |
| USA Kermit Zarley | 75-71-67=213 | ||
| USA Phil Hancock | 70-73-70=213 | ||
| USA Johnny Miller | 69-72-72=213 |
Source:
Final round
Sunday, August 6, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | USA John Mahaffey | 75-67-68-66=276 | −8 | Playoff |
| USA Jerry Pate | 72-70-66-68=276 | |||
| USA Tom Watson | 67-69-67-73=276 | |||
| T4 | USA Gil Morgan | 76-71-66-67=280 | −4 | 14,500 |
| USA Tom Weiskopf | 73-67-69-71=280 | |||
| 6 | USA Craig Stadler | 70-74-67-71=282 | -2 | 10,000 |
| T7 | USA Andy Bean | 72-72-70-70=284 | E | 8,000 |
| AUS Graham Marsh | 72-74-68-70=284 | |||
| USA Lee Trevino | 69-73-70-72=284 | |||
| 10 | USA Fuzzy Zoeller | 75-69-73-68=285 | +1 | 6,500 |
Source:
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 ft birdie putt to win the title.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA **John Mahaffey** | 4-3 | −1 | 50,000 |
| T2 | USA Jerry Pate | 4-x | E | 25,000 |
| USA Tom Watson | 4-x |
References
References
- (August 5, 1978). "Watson leads a PGA without Jack by four". Eugene Register-Guard.
- "Tournament Info for: 1978 PGA Championship". PGA.com.
- Jenkins, Dan. (August 14, 1978). "Jumping for joy".
- (August 4, 1978). "Nicklaus scuffles around in 79 in the PGA". Eugene Register-Guard.
- Axelrod, Phil. (August 4, 1978). "Dame Oakmont plays Jack". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- (August 6, 1978). "Watson has all but wrapped up the PGA". Eugene Register-Guard.
- "1978 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com.
- (August 7, 1978). "Mahaffey healthy, wealthy and alive again". Eugene Register-Guard.
- Parascenzo, Marino. (August 7, 1978). "Mahaffey wins PGA in 3-way playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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