List of PGA Championship champions

The PGA Championship is an annual golf competition formerly held in mid-August until 2019, when it moved to mid-May. It was established in 1916 and is one of the four major championships played each year which include the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship (British Open).[1] In addition, this championship is conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA). Due to World War I and II, the competition was not held from 1917 to 1918 and in 1943, respectively.
The reigning champion of the competition is automatically invited to play in the other three majors for the next five years, and is exempt from qualifying for the PGA Championship for life. The champion also receives membership on the PGA Tour for the following five years and invitations to The Players Championship for five years. The prize of the tournament is the Wanamaker Trophy, which the champion keeps until the following year's competition. The PGA Championship was originally a match play event; however, in 1958 it was changed to a stroke play event.[2]
Walter Hagen (match play) and Jack Nicklaus (stroke play) hold the record for the most victories; both men have won the competition five times. Hagen holds the record for most consecutive wins in match play with four (1924–27), and Tiger Woods holds the record for most consecutive wins in stroke play with two, which he did twice (1999–2000, 2006–07). Phil Mickelson is the oldest winner of the PGA Championship; he was 50 years, 11 months old when he won in 2021. The youngest winner of the PGA Championship is Gene Sarazen, who was 20 years, 174 days old when he won in 1922. David Toms holds the record for the lowest score over 72 holes, which is 265.[3]
Jason Day holds the record for most strokes under par for 72 holes, 20, when he won the 2015 PGA Championship. This is the record under par score in all major championships.[4] The PGA Championship has had three wire-to-wire champions: Bobby Nichols in 1964, Raymond Floyd in 1982, and Hal Sutton in 1983.[5] Four others have led wire-to-wire if ties after a round are counted: Floyd in 1969, Nick Price in 1994, Woods in 2000 and Mickelson in 2005.[5]
Champions
Match play
| Year | Country | Champion | Margin[6] | Runner-up | Course | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | Jim Barnes | 1 up | Jock Hutchison | Siwanoy Country Club | Bronxville, New York | |
| 1917 | — | None[a] | — | None | — | — |
| 1918 | — | None | — | None | — | — |
| 1919 | Jim Barnes | 6 & 5 | Fred McLeod | Engineers Country Club | Roslyn Harbor, New York | |
| 1920 | Jock Hutchison | 1 up | James Douglas Edgar | Flossmoor Country Club | Flossmoor, Illinois | |
| 1921 | Walter Hagen | 3 & 2 | Jim Barnes | Inwood Country Club | Inwood, New York | |
| 1922 | Gene Sarazen | 4 & 3 | Emmet French | Oakmont Country Club | Oakmont, Pennsylvania | |
| 1923 | Gene Sarazen | 38 holes | Walter Hagen | Pelham Country Club | Pelham Manor, New York | |
| 1924 | Walter Hagen | 2 up | Jim Barnes | French Lick Springs Resort | French Lick, Indiana | |
| 1925 | Walter Hagen | 6 & 5 | Bill Mehlhorn | Olympia Fields Country Club | Olympia Fields, Illinois | |
| 1926 | Walter Hagen | 5 & 3 | Leo Diegel | Salisbury Country Club | East Meadow, New York | |
| 1927 | Walter Hagen | 1 up | Joe Turnesa | Cedar Crest GC | Dallas, Texas | |
| 1928 | Leo Diegel | 6 & 5 | Al Espinosa | Baltimore Country Club | Baltimore, Maryland | |
| 1929 | Leo Diegel | 6 & 4 | Johnny Farrell | Hillcrest Country Club | Los Angeles, California | |
| 1930 | Tommy Armour | 1 up | Gene Sarazen | Fresh Meadow Country Club | Great Neck, New York | |
| 1931 | Tom Creavy | 2 & 1 | Denny Shute | Wannamoisett Country Club | Rumford, Rhode Island | |
| 1932 | Olin Dutra | 4 & 3 | Frank Walsh | Keller Golf Course | Maplewood, Minnesota | |
| 1933 | Gene Sarazen | 5 & 4 | Willie Goggin | Blue Mound Golf & Country Club | Wauwatosa, Wisconsin | |
| 1934 | Paul Runyan | 38 holes | Craig Wood | The Park Country Club | Williamsville, New York | |
| 1935 | Johnny Revolta | 5 & 4 | Tommy Armour | Twin Hills Golf & Country Club | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | |
| 1936 | Denny Shute | 3 & 2 | Jimmy Thomson | Pinehurst Resort | Pinehurst, North Carolina | |
| 1937 | Denny Shute | 37 holes | Harold McSpaden | Pittsburgh Field Club | Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania | |
| 1938 | Paul Runyan | 8 & 7 | Sam Snead | The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort | Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania | |
| 1939 | Henry Picard | 37 holes | Byron Nelson | Pomonok Country Club | Flushing, New York | |
| 1940 | Byron Nelson | 1 up | Sam Snead | Hershey Country Club | Hershey, Pennsylvania | |
| 1941 | Vic Ghezzi | 38 holes | Byron Nelson | Cherry Hills Country Club | Cherry Hills Village, Colorado | |
| 1942 | Sam Snead | 2 & 1 | Jim Turnesa | Seaview Country Club | Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 1943 | — | None[b] | — | None | — | — |
| 1944 | Bob Hamilton | 1 up | Byron Nelson | Manito Golf and Country Club | Spokane, Washington | |
| 1945 | Byron Nelson | 1 up | Sam Byrd | Moraine Country Club | Dayton, Ohio | |
| 1946 | Ben Hogan | 6 & 4 | Ed Oliver | Portland Golf Club | Portland, Oregon | |
| 1947 | Jim Ferrier | 2 & 1 | Chick Harbert | Plum Hollow Country Club | Southfield, Michigan | |
| 1948 | Ben Hogan | 7 & 6 | Mike Turnesa | Norwood Hills Country Club | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| 1949 | Sam Snead | 3 & 2 | Johnny Palmer | Hermitage Country Club | Richmond, Virginia | |
| 1950 | Chandler Harper | 4 & 3 | Henry Williams Jr. | Scioto Country Club | Columbus, Ohio | |
| 1951 | Sam Snead | 7 & 6 | Walter Burkemo | Oakmont Country Club | Oakmont, Pennsylvania | |
| 1952 | Jim Turnesa | 1 up | Chick Harbert | Big Spring Country Club | Louisville, Kentucky | |
| 1953 | Walter Burkemo | 2 & 1 | Felice Torza | Birmingham Country Club | Birmingham, Michigan | |
| 1954 | Chick Harbert | 4 & 3 | Walter Burkemo | Keller Golf Course | Maplewood, Minnesota | |
| 1955 | Doug Ford | 4 & 3 | Cary Middlecoff | Meadowbrook Country Club | Detroit, Michigan | |
| 1956 | Jack Burke Jr. | 3 & 2 | Ted Kroll | Blue Hill Country Club | Canton, Massachusetts | |
| 1957 | Lionel Hebert | 1 up | Dow Finsterwald | Miami Valley Golf Club | Dayton, Ohio |
Stroke play


| † | Tournament won in a playoff |
Multiple champions
| Golfer | Total | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 | |
| 5 | 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980 | |
| 4 | 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007 | |
| 3 | 1922, 1923, 1933 | |
| 3 | 1942, 1949, 1951 | |
| 3 | 2018, 2019, 2023 | |
| 2 | 1916, 1919 | |
| 2 | 1928, 1929 | |
| 2 | 1936, 1937 | |
| 2 | 1934, 1938 | |
| 2 | 1940, 1945 | |
| 2 | 1946, 1948 | |
| 2 | 1962, 1972 | |
| 2 | 1970, 1976 | |
| 2 | 1969, 1982 | |
| 2 | 1974, 1984 | |
| 2 | 1981, 1987 | |
| 2 | 1992, 1994 | |
| 2 | 1998, 2004 | |
| 2 | 2005, 2021 | |
| 2 | 2012, 2014 | |
| 2 | 2017, 2022 |
By nationality
| Nationality | Wins | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 89 | 61 | |
| 5 | 5 | |
| 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 |
Notes
- a The PGA Championship was not held from 1917 to 1918 because of World War I.
- b The 1943 PGA Championship was not held because of World War II.
- c Par is a predetermined number of strokes that a golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the total pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the total pars of each round). E stands for even, which means the tournament was completed in the predetermined number of strokes.[6]
- d Jerry Barber won in a playoff against Don January.
- e Don January won in a playoff against Don Massengale.
- f Lanny Wadkins won in a playoff against Gene Littler.
- g John Mahaffey won in a playoff against Tom Watson and Jerry Pate.
- h David Graham won in a playoff against Ben Crenshaw.
- i Larry Nelson won in a playoff against Lanny Wadkins.
- j Paul Azinger won in a playoff against Greg Norman.
- k Steve Elkington won in a playoff against Colin Montgomerie.
- l Mark Brooks won in a playoff against Kenny Perry.
- m Tiger Woods won in a playoff against Bob May.
- n Vijay Singh won in a playoff against Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard.
- o Martin Kaymer won in a playoff against Bubba Watson.
- p Keegan Bradley won in a playoff against Jason Dufner.
- q Justin Thomas won in a playoff against Will Zalatoris.
References
General
- "PGA Championship". PGA Media Center. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
Specific
- ^ "PGA Championship History". PGA Championship. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
- ^ "History of the USPGA". BBC Sport. August 10, 2001. Archived from the original on July 22, 2004. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
- ^ "Championship Record Book". PGA Championship. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
- ^ "Jason Day wins US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits". BBC Sport. August 17, 2015. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ a b "PGA Championship record details - wire-to-wire winners". PGA Championship. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
- ^ a b "Scoring". BBC Sport. September 16, 2005. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
External links