1979 PGA Championship

1979 PGA Championship

Tournament information
Dates	August 2–5, 1979
Location	Bloomfield Township, Michigan 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277
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
Cut	146 (+6)
Prize fund	$350,600
Winner's share	$60,000
Champion
David Graham
272 (−8), playoff
Location map
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. 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. It was the fifth runner-up finish for Crenshaw in a major, and second consecutive. 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).

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.

This was the final major championship of the 1970s. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf played in the event assuring that they played in every major championship in the 1970s. They were the first players to play in every major championship for an entire decade.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 2, 1979

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

Source:

Second round

Friday, August 3, 1979

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

Source:

Third round

Saturday, August 4, 1979

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

Source:

Final round

Sunday, August 5, 1979

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

Source:

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.

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

Scorecard

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

External links

• PGA.com – 1979 PGA Championship