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1959 PGA Championship

The 1959 PGA Championship was the 41st PGA Championship played from July 30 to August 2 at Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb west of Minneapolis.

1959 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesJuly 30 – August 2, 1959
LocationSt. Louis Park, Minnesota
Course(s)Minneapolis Golf Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Statistics
Par70
Length6,850 yards (6,264 m)
Field174 players,
100 after 1st cut
64 after 2nd cut
Cut150 (+10) (1st cut)
221 (+11) (2nd cut)
Prize fund$51,175[1]
Winner's share$8,250
Champion
United States Bob Rosburg
277 (−3)
← 1958
1960 →

Six strokes back at the start of the final round, Bob Rosburg shot a 66 (−4) to win his only major championship at 277 (−3), one stroke ahead of runners-up Jerry Barber and Doug Sanders.[2][3][4] Rosburg had managed only five birdies in the first three rounds,[5] but had five in the first nine on Sunday to go out in 30, then a record.[2] Barber shot a 65 on Friday and was the 36-hole and 54-hole leader at 205 (−5), with Sanders a stroke back.[6] Barber won the title two years later, in a Monday playoff in 1961. Tied for fourteenth at 286 (+6) was Arnold Palmer.[3]

This was the second year of stroke play at the PGA Championship, a match play event through 1957. Daily admission was three dollars on Thursday and Friday, and five dollars per day on the weekend.[7] The winner's share was increased fifty per cent to $8,250; two years earlier, it was $8,000 for the final match play competition.

The Open Championship was played several weeks earlier in Scotland at Muirfield; only four Americans (two amateurs) were in the field and none made the cut.

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, July 30, 1959

Place Player Score To par
T1   Jerry Barber 69 −1
  Jackson Bradley
  Walter Burkemo
  Billy Casper
  Dick Hart
  Chuck Klein
  Mike Krak
  Gene Littler
  Mike Souchak
T10   Jack Burke Jr. 70 E
  Buster Cupit
  Don Fairfield
  Al Feminelli
  Billy Maxwell
  Herman Scharlau
  Don Shock
  Ken Venturi
  Art Wall Jr.

Source:[8][9]

Second round

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Friday, July 31, 1959

Place Player Score To par
1   Jerry Barber 69-65=134 −6
2   Mike Souchak 69-67=136 −4
3   Doug Sanders 72-66=138 −2
T4   Dow Finsterwald 71-68=139 −1
  Gene Littler 69-70=139
T6   Billy Casper 69-71=140 E
  Lionel Hebert 71-69=140
  Cary Middlecoff 72-68=140
T9   Walter Burkemo 69-71=141 +1
  Fred Hawkins 72-69=141
  Bob Goalby 72-69=141

Source:[10]

Third round

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Saturday, August 1, 1959

Place Player Score To par
1   Jerry Barber 69-65-71=205 −5
2   Doug Sanders 72-66-68=206 −4
3   Mike Souchak 69-67-71=207 −3
T4   Dow Finsterwald 71-68-71=210 E
  Cary Middlecoff 72-68-70=210
T6   Jay Hebert 72-70-69=211 +1
  Gene Littler 69-70-72=211
  Bob Rosburg 71-72-68=211
T9   Tommy Jacobs 73-71-68=212 +2
  Sam Snead 71-73-68=212
  Ken Venturi 70-72-70=212

Source:[5][11]

Final round

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Sunday, August 2, 1959

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Bob Rosburg 71-72-68-66=277 −3 8,250
T2   Jerry Barber 69-65-71-73=278 −2 3,563
  Doug Sanders 72-66-68-72=278
4   Dow Finsterwald 71-68-71-70=280 E 2,500
T5   Bob Goalby 72-69-72-68=281 +1 2,000
  Mike Souchak 69-67-71-74=281
  Ken Venturi 70-72-70-69=281
T8   Cary Middlecoff 72-68-70-72=282 +2 1,600
  Sam Snead 71-73-68-70=282
10   Gene Littler 69-70-72-73=284 +4 1,450

Source:[2][3]

Scorecard

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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 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 4
  Rosburg +1 E −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3
  Barber −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −4 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −3 −2
  Sanders −4 −4 −4 −3 −2 −2 −2 −2 −3 −3 −3 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −1 −2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1959 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Bartlett, Charles (August 3, 1959). "Rosburg wins P.G.A. title with 277". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
  3. ^ a b c d "Rosburg Rallies to Win PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 3, 1959. pp. 18, 21.
  4. ^ Brown, Gwilym (August 10, 1959). "Drama at Minneapolis in wind and rain". Sports Illustrated. p. 42.
  5. ^ a b Bartlett, Charles (August 2, 1959). "Barber keeps P.G.A. lead by stroke with 205". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  6. ^ "Barber keeps lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 2, 1959. p. 1C.
  7. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 30, 1959). "Old timer laments match play passing as 41st PGA meet opens". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3, part 6.
  8. ^ "Nine players tied for PGA lead with 69s". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 31, 1959. p. 17.
  9. ^ "PGA tournament scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 31, 1959. p. 18.
  10. ^ "Jerry Barber grabs PGA lead with 134". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 1, 1959. p. 11.
  11. ^ "Barber keeps lead on great final shot". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 2, 1959. p. 1, sports.
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44°57′50″N 93°23′42″W / 44.964°N 93.395°W / 44.964; -93.395

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