The 1972 PGA Championship was the 54th PGA Championship, played August 3–6 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Gary Player won his second PGA Championship with a total of 281 (+1), two strokes ahead of runners-up Tommy Aaron and Jim Jamieson.[2] It was the sixth of Player's nine major titles, but his first in over four years.[3][4]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 3–6, 1972 |
| Location | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan |
| Course(s) | Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7,054 yards (6,450 m) |
| Field | 138 players, 77 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 150 (+10) |
| Prize fund | $224,087 |
| Winner's share | $45,000 |
| Champion | |
 Gary Player | |
| 281 (+1) | |
The PGA Championship returned to the month of August in 1972 after being played in late February in 1971 in Florida.
Defending champion Jack Nicklaus, winner of the year's Masters and U.S. Open and runner-up in the British Open, finished six strokes back in a tie for thirteenth place. He regained the title the following year.
It was the fifth major championship held on the South Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, 1951, and 1961. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1979 and 2008, the U.S. Open in 1985 and 1996, and the Ryder Cup in 2004.
Course layout edit
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 446 | 521 | 202 | 439 | 442 | 368 | 408 | 458 | 227 | 3,511 | 459 | 420 | 567 | 173 | 468 | 388 | 408 | 201 | 459 | 3,543 | 7,054 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Round summaries edit
First round edit
Thursday, August 3, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 |  Buddy Allin |
68 | −2 |
| Stan Thirsk
| |||
| T3 | Raymond Floyd |
69 | −1 |
| Larry Gilbert
| |||
| Jerry Heard
| |||
| Jim Jamieson
| |||
| Arnold Palmer
| |||
| T8 | Richard Crawford |
70 | E |
| Rod Funseth
| |||
| Johnny Miller
| |||
| Dan Sikes
| |||
| Sam Snead
| |||
| Jim Wiechers
|
Source:[5]
Second round edit
Friday, August 4, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerry Heard |
69-70=139 | −1 |
| T2 | Raymond Floyd |
69-71=140 | E |
| Hale Irwin |
71-69=140 | ||
| T4 | Gay Brewer |
71-70=141 | +1 |
| Jim Jamieson |
69-72=141 | ||
| Bob Smith |
69-72=141 | ||
| T7 | Gary Player |
71-71=142 | +2 |
| Dan Sikes |
70-72=142 | ||
| Lanny Wadkins |
74-68=142 | ||
| T10 | Billy Casper |
73-70=143 | +3 |
| Phil Rodgers |
71-72=143 | ||
| Art Wall Jr. |
72-71=143 | ||
| Jim Wiechers |
70-73=143 |
Source:[6]
Third round edit
Saturday, August 5, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player |
71-71-67=209 | −1 |
| 2 | Billy Casper |
73-70-67=210 | E |
| T3 | Gay Brewer |
71-70-70=211 | +1 |
| Jerry Heard |
69-70-72=211 | ||
| Phil Rodgers |
71-72-68=211 | ||
| T6 | Tommy Aaron |
71-71-70=212 | +2 |
| Doug Sanders |
72-72-68=212 | ||
| Jim Wiechers |
70-73-69=212 | ||
| Larry Wise |
74-71-67=212 | ||
| 10 | Jim Jamieson |
69-72-72=213 | +3 |
Source:[7]
Final round edit
Sunday, August 6, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player |
71-71-67-72=281 | +1 | 45,000 |
| T2 | Tommy Aaron |
71-71-70-71=283 | +3 | 20,850 |
| Jim Jamieson |
69-72-72-70=283 | |||
| T4 | Billy Casper |
73-70-67-74=284 | +4 | 9,275 |
| Raymond Floyd |
69-71-74-70=284 | |||
| Sam Snead |
70-74-71-69=284 | |||
| T7 | Gay Brewer |
71-70-70-74=285 | +5 | 6,383 |
| Jerry Heard |
69-70-72-74=285 | |||
| Phil Rodgers |
71-72-68-74=285 | |||
| Doug Sanders |
72-72-68-73=285 |
References edit
- ^ "Tournament Info for: 1972 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 14, 1972). "No muzzle for the monster". Sports Illustrated. p. 58.
- ^ "Player recoups faded prestige with win". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 7, 1972. p. 5B.
- ^ a b "Nervy Gary Player takes PGA Crown". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. August 7, 1972. p. 10.
- ^ "Two share PGA lead with 68s". Milwaukee Sentinel. August 4, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ "Heard tops PGA by stroke". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. August 5, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ "Hot round by Player tops PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 5, 1972. p. 1, sports.
- ^ "1972 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
External links edit
- PGA Media Guide 2012
- PGA.com – 1972 PGA Championship