The 1995 PGA Championship was the 77th PGA Championship, held August 10–13 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California. Steve Elkington shot a final round 64 (−7) and won his only major championship in a sudden-death playoff. Elkington sank a 20-foot (6 m) birdie putt on the first playoff hole (par 4, 18th) to defeat Colin Montgomerie.[2][3] Ernie Els, the third round leader, shot 72 (+1) and finished two strokes back, in a tie for third with Jeff Maggert. His 197 after 54 holes was the lowest-ever for a major championship.[4]
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 10–13, 1995 |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Course(s) | Riviera Country Club |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,956 yards (6,361 m) |
| Field | 150 players, 72 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 142 (E) |
| Prize fund | $2.0 million |
| Winner's share | $360,000 |
| Champion | |
 Steve Elkington | |
| 267 (−17), playoff | |
A new 72-hole scoring record for the PGA Championship was set at 267, the second straight year for a new low. Bobby Nichols' 271 in 1964 stood for thirty years, until Nick Price had 269 in 1994.[5] The record was lowered by two strokes in 2001.
Elkington became the fourth Australian-born player to win the PGA Championship, preceded by Jim Ferrier in 1947, David Graham in 1979, and Wayne Grady in 1990. The next was Jason Day in 2015.
Brad Faxon shot a final round 63 to climb to fifth place and earned a spot on the Ryder Cup team. His record was 1–2–0 in his first Ryder Cup, as the U.S. team narrowly lost at home.
This was the third major championship at Riviera, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1948 and the PGA Championship in 1983.[6] It was the fourth PGA Championship in California (1929, 1977, 1983), and the last until 2020.
Round summaries edit
First round edit
Thursday, August 10, 1995
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Michael Bradley |
63 | −8 |
| T2 | Jim Gallagher Jr. |
64 | −7 |
| Mark O'Meara
| |||
| 4 | John Adams |
65 | −6 |
| T5 | Chip Beck |
66 | −5 |
 Ernie Els
| |||
| Lee Janzen
| |||
| Jeff Maggert
| |||
| Gil Morgan
| |||
| Greg Norman
|
Second round edit
Friday, August 11, 1995
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Ernie Els |
66-65=131 | −11 |
| Mark O'Meara |
64-67=131 | ||
| 3 | Justin Leonard |
68-66=134 | −8 |
| T4 | Brian Claar |
68-67=135 | −7 |
| Steve Elkington |
68-67=135 | ||
| Jeff Maggert |
66-69=135 | ||
 Colin Montgomerie |
68-67=135 | ||
| Greg Norman |
66-69=135 | ||
| T9 | Michael Bradley |
63-73=136 | −6 |
 Michael Campbell |
71-65=136 | ||
| Jim Gallagher Jr. |
64-72=136 | ||
| Peter Jacobsen |
69-67=136 | ||
| Lee Janzen |
66-70=136 | ||
| Billy Mayfair |
68-68=136 | ||
| Jeff Sluman |
69-67=136 |
Third round edit
Saturday, August 12, 1995
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernie Els |
66-65-66=197 | −16 |
| T2 | Jeff Maggert |
66-69-65=200 | −13 |
| Mark O'Meara |
64-67-69=200 | ||
| 4 | Colin Montgomerie |
68-67-67=202 | −11 |
| T5 | Steve Elkington |
68-67-68=203 | −10 |
| Craig Stadler |
71-66-66=203 | ||
| T7 | Jay Haas |
69-71-64=204 | −9 |
| Justin Leonard |
68-66-70=204 | ||
| Jeff Sluman |
69-67-68=204 | ||
| T10 | Bob Estes |
69-68-68=205 | −8 |
 Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
69-69-67=205 | ||
| Steve Lowery |
69-68-68=205 | ||
| Greg Norman |
66-69-70=205 | ||
| Duffy Waldorf |
69-69-67=205 |
Final round edit
Sunday, August 13, 1995
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Steve Elkington |
68-67-68-64=267 | −17 | Playoff |
| Colin Montgomerie |
68-67-67-65=267 | |||
| T3 | Ernie Els |
66-65-66-72=269 | −15 | 116,000 |
| Jeff Maggert |
66-69-65-69=269 | |||
| 5 | Brad Faxon |
70-67-71-63=271 | −13 | 80,000 |
| T6 | Bob Estes |
69-68-68-68=273 | −11 | 68,500 |
| Mark O'Meara |
64-67-69-73=273 | |||
| T8 | Jay Haas |
69-71-64-70=274 | −10 | 50,000 |
| Justin Leonard |
68-66-70-70=274 | |||
| Steve Lowery |
69-68-68-69=274 | |||
| Jeff Sluman |
69-67-68-70=274 | |||
| Craig Stadler |
71-66-66-71=274 |
Playoff edit
The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 18th hole, where both drove into the fairway and reached the green in regulation. Elkington was away and birdied from twenty feet (6 m). Montgomerie was slightly closer, but missed his putt to extend the playoff.[2][3]
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Elkington |
3 | −1 | 360,000 |
| 2 | Colin Montgomerie |
4 | E | 216,000 |
References edit
- ^ "Tournament Info for: 1995 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
- ^ a b Parascenzo, Marino (August 14, 1996). "Elkington wins PGA in playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C1.
- ^ a b c Bonk, Thomas (August 14, 1995). "Elkington claims PGA for first major title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.
- ^ Bonk, Thomas (August 13, 1995). "Riviera yields to a PGA record assault by Els". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1F.
- ^ "How low can they go?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 14, 1995. p. C-3.
- ^ Reilly, Rick (August 21, 1995). "Nothing to sneeze at". Sports Illustrated. p. 34.
- ^ "1995 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
External links edit
- Yahoo! Sports: 1995 PGA Championship leaderboard
- PGA.com – 1995 PGA Championship