1979 PGA Championship

1979 PGA Championship
Tournament information
Dates	August 2–5, 1979
Location	Bloomfield Township, 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	150 players, 74 after cut^[1]
Cut	146 (+6)
Prize fund	$350,600
Winner's share	$60,000
Champion
David Graham
272 (−8), playoff
«1978 1980»

Oakland Hills Country Club

Location in the United States

Oakland Hills Country Club

Location in Michigan

The 1979 PGA Championship was the 61st PGA Championship, played August 2–5 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. After a double-bogey on the 72nd hole, David Graham won the first of his two major titles on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff with Ben Crenshaw.^[2]^[3] Through 17 holes in the final round, Graham was seven-under, with seven birdies and ten pars. Of the 21 holes he played Sunday, nine were birdies.

After 54 holes, Rex Caldwell was the leader at 203 (−7), Crenshaw was two strokes back and Graham four behind at 207 (−3), all in search of their first major title.^[4] It was the fifth runner-up finish for Crenshaw in a major, and second consecutive.^[5] He later won two majors, both at the Masters, in 1984 and 1995; Graham won his second at the U.S. Open in 1981 at Merion.

Three-time champion Sam Snead set the record for the oldest player to make the cut in a major. He was 67 years, 2 months, and 7 days of age at the cut and finished 42nd at 288 (+8). He won in 1942, 1949, and 1951, all in match play.

It was the sixth major championship held on the South Course, which previously hosted the PGA Championship in 1972 and the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, 1951, and 1961. It later hosted the U.S. Open in 1985 and 1996, the PGA Championship in 2008, and the Ryder Cup in 2004.

This was the third consecutive playoff at the PGA Championship (and nearly the fourth, as the 1976 title was decided by the final putt on the 72nd green).^[6]

Graham became the second Australian-born player to win the PGA Championship, preceded by Jim Ferrier in 1947.

Jerry Pate and Tom Watson, runners-up in the previous year's playoff, were tied with Graham in third place after 54 holes. Pate's 71 tied for fifth but Watson's 74 dropped him into a tie for twelfth at 281. Watson had won three of his eight majors at this time, but never completed the career grand slam, missing the PGA Championship leg. Defending champion John Mahaffey tied for 51st.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Don January	United States	1967	69	70	71	69	279	−1	T7
Gary Player	South Africa	1962, 1972	73	70	70	71	284	+4	T23
Dave Stockton	United States	1970, 1976	70	75	72	70	287	+7	T35
Lee Trevino	United States	1974	70	73	72	72	287	+7	T35
Sam Snead	United States	1942, 1949, 1951	73	71	71	73	288	+8	T42
John Mahaffey	United States	1978	72	74	71	73	290	+10	T51
Raymond Floyd	United States	1969	74	70	77	72	293	+13	T62
Al Geiberger	United States	1966	76	70	73	75	294	+14	T65
Jack Nicklaus	United States	1963, 1971, 1973, 1975	73	72	78	71	294	+14	T65
Lanny Wadkins	United States	1977	71	75	73	76	295	+13	70

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Julius Boros	United States	1968	77	73	150	+10
Dow Finsterwald	United States	1958	77	74	151	+11
Bobby Nichols	United States	1964	74	82	156	+16
Jerry Barber	United States	1961	83	75	158	+18
Doug Ford	United States	1955	81	82	163	+23

Source^[7]^[8]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 2, 1979

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Tom Watson	United States	66	−4
2	Rex Caldwell	United States	67	−3
T3	Jay Haas	United States	68	−2
T3	Ron Streck	United States	68	−2
T5	Ben Crenshaw	United States	69	−1
	Gibby Gilbert	United States
	David Graham	Australia
	Hubert Green	United States
	Don January	United States
	Bruce Lietzke	United States
	Graham Marsh	Australia
	Jim Masserio	United States
	Artie McNickle	United States
	Jerry Pate	United States
	Alan Tapie	United States

Source:^[9]

Second round

Friday, August 3, 1979

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Ben Crenshaw	United States	69-67=136	−4
T2	Rex Caldwell	United States	67-70=137	−3
	David Graham	Australia	69-68=137
	Jay Haas	United States	68-69=137
T5	Bruce Lietzke	United States	69-69=138	−2
	Jerry Pate	United States	69-69=138
	Alan Tapie	United States	69-69=138
	Tom Watson	United States	66-72=138
T9	Rod Funseth	United States	70-69=139	−1
	Hubert Green	United States	69-70=139
	Don January	United States	69-70=139
	Graham Marsh	Australia	69-70=139
	Artie McNickle	United States	69-70=139
	Ron Streck	United States	68-71=139
	Leonard Thompson	United States	72-67=139

Source:^[7]

Third round

Saturday, August 4, 1979

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Rex Caldwell	United States	67-70-66=203	−7
2	Ben Crenshaw	United States	69-67-69=205	−5
T3	David Graham	Australia	69-68-70=207	−3
	Jerry Pate	United States	69-69-69=207
	Tom Watson	United States	66-72-69=207
6	Ron Streck	United States	68-71-69=208	−2
T7	Gibby Gilbert	United States	69-72-68=209	−1
	Bruce Lietzke	United States	69-69-71=209
	Gene Littler	United States	71-71-67=209
T10	Graham Marsh	Australia	69-72-68=209	E
	Jay Haas	United States	68-69-73=210
	Don January	United States	69-70-71=210

Source:^[10]

Final round

Sunday, August 5, 1979

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	David Graham	Australia	69-68-70-65=272	−8	Playoff
T1	Ben Crenshaw	United States	69-67-69-67=272	−8	Playoff
3	Rex Caldwell	United States	67-70-66-71=274	−6	25,000
4	Ron Streck	United States	68-71-69-68=276	−4	20,000
T5	Gibby Gilbert	United States	69-72-68-69=278	−2	14,500
T5	Jerry Pate	United States	69-69-69-71=278	−2	14,500
T7	Jay Haas	United States	68-69-73-69=279	−1	9,200
	Don January	United States	69-70-71-69=279
	Howard Twitty	United States	70-73-69-67=279
T10	Lou Graham	United States	69-74-68-69=280	E	6,750
T10	Gary Koch	United States	71-71-71-67=280	E	6,750

Source:^[8]

Scorecard

	Birdie		Bogey		Double bogey

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	3	4	4	4	3	4
Graham	−4	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−6	−7	−7	−8	−9	−9	−9	−9	−10	−10	−10	−8

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Playoff

The sudden-death playoff began at the first tee and Graham saved par with one putt from 18 feet (5.5 m) to tie. At the par-5 second hole, Crenshaw tapped in for birdie while Graham sank a ten-footer (3 m) to continue. He won with a birdie on the 202-yard (185 m) par-3 third hole, after Crenshaw found a bunker and his 25-foot (8 m) putt for par lipped out. Graham put his 4-iron tee shot to within 8 feet (2.4 m) and with two putts to win, sank the first.^[2]^[3]^[6]

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	David Graham	Australia	4-4-2	−2	60,000
2	Ben Crenshaw	United States	4-4-4	E	40,000

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3
Par	4	5	3
Graham	E	−1	−2
Crenshaw	E	−1	E

References

↑ "Tournament Info for: 1979 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
1 2 Parascenzo, Marino (August 6, 1979). "Graham's birdie wins PGA in sudden death". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 9.
1 2 Taylor, Jim (August 6, 1979). "Graham's win 'extra' special". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 15.
↑ Taylor, Jim (August 5, 1979). "Caldwell leads PGA by 2". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 1D.
↑ "Delray's Graham wins PGA". Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. August 6, 1979. p. B5.
1 2 Jenkins, Dan (August 13, 1979). "This Graham simply refused to crack". Sports Illustrated. p. 42.
1 2 "Gentle Ben says he's ready to win". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire reports. August 4, 1979. p. 1B.
1 2 "1979 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
↑ "Watson swings out of slump". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 3, 1979. p. 1D.
↑ "A longshot good shot for PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire reports. August 5, 1979. p. 1B.

External links

About.com – 1979 PGA Championship
PGA.com – 1979 PGA Championship

Preceded by 1979 Open Championship	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1980 Masters

1979 Men's Major Golf Championships

The Masters U.S. Open The Open Championship PGA Championship

PGA Championships

1916 1917 1918 1919

1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Kraft Nabisco Championships

Other past events

Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (1999–2002, 2004–2006)
Buick Invitational (2005)
Nissan Open (2003–2006)
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (1999–2006)
John Deere Classic (2004–2006)
Memorial Tournament (1988–1998)
FedEx St. Jude Classic (1999–2003)
Compaq Classic (1999–2002)
The Barclays Classic (1999–2006)
Booz Allen Classic (2003–2006)
Buick Championship (2000-2002, 2006)
Deutsche Bank Championship (2003–2006)
WGC-American Express Championship (1999–2006)
Chrysler Classic of Greensboro (2003–2006)
Las Vegas Invitational (2001–2006)
Walt Disney World Golf Classic (1998–2006)
Tampa Bay Championship (2003–2006)
The Tour Championship (1991–2006)
Battle at the Bridges (1999–2005)
WGC-EMC World Cup (2000–2006)
Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (1999–2008)
Skins Game (1991-2008)
Target World Challenge (2001–2006)

Key figures

Music composers	Barry White ("Love's Theme") Non Stop Music Bob Christianson

Television contract history
ABC's Wide World of Sports (1966-1996)
Golf on ESPN

Coordinates: 42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277

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