The 1980 PGA Championship was the 62nd PGA Championship, held August 7–10 at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Jack Nicklaus won his fifth PGA Championship, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Andy Bean. The victory tied Nicklaus with Walter Hagen, who won five PGA titles in match play competition in the 1920s.[2]

1980 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 7–10, 1980
LocationRochester, New York
43°06′47″N 77°31′59″W / 43.113°N 77.533°W / 43.113; -77.533
Course(s)Oak Hill Country Club,
East Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length6,964 yards (6,368 m)
Field150 players, 77 after cut[1]
Cut149 (+9)
Prize fund$376,400[1]
Winner's share$60,000
Champion
United States Jack Nicklaus
274 (−6)
Location map
Oak Hil Country Club is located in the United States
Oak Hil Country Club
Oak Hil Country Club
Location in the United States
Oak Hil Country Club is located in New York
Oak Hil Country Club
Oak Hil Country Club
Location in New York
← 1979
1981 →

It was the 17th of 18 major titles for the 40-year-old Nicklaus, and his second of the year: he won the U.S. Open two months earlier.[3][4] The previous season in 1979 had been Nicklaus' worst, with no tour wins for the first time in his career. His next and final major title came nearly six years later, at the Masters in 1986.

After 36 holes, Nicklaus was at 139 (−1), a stroke behind leader Gil Morgan.[5][6] Nicklaus fired a 66 (−4) on Saturday to move to 205 (−5) and a three-shot lead over Lon Hinkle heading into the final round, with Morgan three more back at 211 in third. Nicklaus was as low as six-under for the round through fourteen holes, but struggled on the last four, and alternated bogeys with scrambling pars.[7] Sunday was less eventful as Hinkle and Morgan fell back and Nicklaus carded a one-under 69 for a runaway win, uncommon for a major.[8]

Since changing to stroke play in 1958, the largest victory margin at the PGA Championship had been four strokes, in 1966 and 1973, the latter also won by Nicklaus. His seven stroke margin in 1980 remained the record until 2012, when Rory McIlroy won by eight.

Nicklaus became the third to win both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year, joining Gene Sarazen (1922) and Ben Hogan (1948).[8] Tiger Woods later won both in 2000, part of his "Tiger Slam, and Brooks Koepka also accomplished this feat in 2018.

This was the third major championship at the East Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1956 and 1968, when Nicklaus was the runner-up to Lee Trevino. The U.S. Open later returned in 1989 and the PGA Championship in 2003, 2013, and 2023. The course also hosted the Ryder Cup in 1995.

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 447 410 206 570 419 175 432 430 425 3,514 432 195 374 596 325 178 440 458 452 3,450 6,964
Par 4 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 4 35 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 4 4 35 70

Round summaries edit

First round edit

Thursday, August 7, 1980

Place Player Score To par
1   Craig Stadler 67 −3
T2   Gil Morgan 68 −2
  Bob Murphy
  Curtis Strange
  Howard Twitty
  Bobby Walzel
T7   Ben Crenshaw 69 −1
  David Graham
  Hale Irwin
T10   George Archer 70 E
  Lee Elder
  Raymond Floyd
  Bob Gilder
  Morris Hatalsky
  Lon Hinkle
  Hale Irwin
  Johnny Miller
  Tōru Nakamura
  Jack Nicklaus
  Jack Renner

Source:[9]

Second round edit

Friday, August 8, 1980

Place Player Score To par
1   Gil Morgan 68-70=138 −2
2   Lon Hinkle 70-69=139 −1
  Jack Nicklaus 70-69=139
4   Curtis Strange 68-72=140 E
5   Johnny Miller 70-71=141 +1
T6   Dave Eichelberger 72-70=142 +2
  Gary Koch 71-71=142
  Artie McNickle 71-71=142
  Andy North 72-70=142
  Bill Rogers 71-71=142
  Craig Stadler 67-75=142
  Howard Twitty 68-74=142

Source:[5][6]

Third round edit

Saturday, August 9, 1980

Place Player Score To par
1   Jack Nicklaus 70-69-66=205 −5
2   Lon Hinkle 70-69-69=208 −2
T3   Andy Bean 72-71-68=211 +1
  Gil Morgan 68-70-73=211
T5   Terry Diehl 72-72-68=212 +2
  Curtis Strange 68-72-72=212
7   Howard Twitty 68-74-71=213 +3
8   Bill Rogers 71-71-72=214 +4
T9   Andy North 72-70-73=215 +5
  Jerry Pate 72-73-70=215
  Bobby Walzel 68-76-71=216

Source:[7]

Final round edit

Sunday, August 10, 1980

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Jack Nicklaus 70-69-66-69=274 −6 60,000
2   Andy Bean 72-71-68-70=281 +1 40,000
T3   Lon Hinkle 70-69-69-75=283 +3 22,500
  Gil Morgan 68-70-73-72=283
T5   Curtis Strange 68-72-72-72=284 +4 14,500
  Howard Twitty 68-74-71-71=284
7   Lee Trevino 74-71-71-69=285 +5 11,000
T8   Bill Rogers 71-71-72-72=286 +6 8,500
  Bobby Walzel 68-76-71-71=286
T10   Terry Diehl 72-72-68-76=288 +8 6,000
  Peter Jacobsen 71-73-74-70=288
  Jerry Pate 72-73-70-73=288
  Tom Watson 75-74-72-67=288
  Tom Weiskopf 71-73-72-72=288

Source:[10][11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1980 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  2. ^ "PGA title added to Jack's display". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 11, 1980. p. 17. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  3. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 18, 1980). "Jack, this is getting ridiculous". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  4. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 11, 1980). "Nicklaus' 5th PGA victory no mortal feat". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 9.
  5. ^ a b Parascenzo, Marino (August 9, 1980). "Morgan takes halfway lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 9.
  6. ^ a b "Nicklaus waiting in PGA's wings". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 9, 1980. p. 1C.
  7. ^ a b "Jack loses his big lead at the end". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 10, 1980. p. 1B.
  8. ^ a b "Nicklaus spells GREAT with runaway PGA". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. August 11, 1980. p. 1-part 2.
  9. ^ "PGA favorites left far back by Stadler's 67". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 8, 1980. p. 1D.
  10. ^ "1980 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  11. ^ "Golf: PGA scores". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. August 11, 1980. p. 18. Retrieved July 20, 2012.

External links edit