1978 PGA Championship

The 1978 PGA Championship was the 60th PGA Championship, played August 3–6 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. John Mahaffey won his only major championship in a sudden-death playoff over Jerry Pate and Tom Watson.[3][4]

1978 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 3–6, 1978
LocationOakmont, Pennsylvania
40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827
Course(s)Oakmont Country Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length6,989 yards (6,391 m)[1][2]
Field149 players, 70 after cut[2]
Cut148 (+6)
Prize fund$300,240
Winner's share$50,000
Champion
John Mahaffey
276 (−8), playoff
Location map
Oakmont
Location in the United States
Oakmont
Location in Pennsylvania

Watson led the tournament each day and held a five-shot lead after 54 holes, but he faltered on Sunday with a 73 (+2) in his best opportunity for a PGA Championship, the only major he has never won. Pate had a four-foot (1.3 m) putt for a par and the victory on the 72nd hole, but it lipped out. After opening with a four-over 75 on Thursday, Mahaffey rebounded to go 12-under for the next three rounds, including a five-under 66 in the final round to gain the seven strokes on Watson. He had a history of hard luck in majors: at the U.S. Open, he lost the 18-hole playoff in 1975 and was the 54-hole leader in 1976, won by tour rookie Pate. Mahaffey broke that streak when he birdied the second extra hole to win the playoff at Oakmont.[5] It was the second of three consecutive playoffs at the PGA Championship.

Like Arnold Palmer, Watson won numerous majors but never the PGA Championship, the only leg missing for a career grand slam. At this time he had won three of his eight majors; his next best finish at the PGA Championship came fifteen years later in 1993, placing fifth at Inverness. Pate finished in the top five for the third straight year (and would again the next year) but never won another major.

Jack Nicklaus, age 38, shot a 79 in the first round[6][7] and missed the cut by five strokes in one of his worst performances in a major. It was his only missed cut in a major the entire 1970s decade. Four-time champion Nicklaus was a pre-tournament favorite: in his previous majors at Oakmont (two U.S. Opens), he won in 1962, his first major and first win as a professional, and tied for fourth in the 1973. At the previous year's PGA Championship at Pebble Beach, he finished third, one stroke out of the playoff.

This was the eighth major held at Oakmont and its third PGA Championship; the previous two in 1922 and 1951 were match play events.

Course layout
Main article: Oakmont Country Club
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4693434255613792014342554803,5474623716031853604532303224563,4426,989
Par444543435364453443443571

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

Before 1962, the 1st hole was played as a par 5.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 3, 1978

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Tom Watson67−4
2 Dave Stockton68−3
T3 Dave Hill69−2
Ben Crenshaw
Johnny Miller
Lee Trevino
T7 Grier Jones70−1
Phil Hancock
Lanny Wadkins
Mike Sullivan
Mike Morley
Billy Kratzert
Jerry McGee
Rod Funseth
Craig Stadler

Second round

Friday, August 4, 1978

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Tom Watson67-69=136−6
T2 Tom Weiskopf73-67=140−2
Joe Inman72-68=140
Ben Crenshaw69-71=140
5 Johnny Miller69-72=141−1
T6 John Mahaffey75-67=142E
Bobby Nichols75-67=142
Bob Zender73-69=142
Jerry Pate72-70=142
Tom Purtzer72-70=142
Hubert Green71-71=142
Lee Trevino69-73=142

Source:[1]

Third round

Saturday, August 5, 1978

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Tom Watson67-69-67=203−10
2 Jerry Pate72-70-66=208−5
T3 Joe Inman72-68-69=209−4
Tom Weiskopf73-67-69=209
5 John Mahaffey75-67-68=210−3
6 Craig Stadler70-74-67=211−2
7 Lee Trevino69-73-70=212−1
T8 Gil Morgan76-71-66=213E
Kermit Zarley75-71-67=213
Phil Hancock70-73-70=213
Johnny Miller69-72-72=213

Source:[8]

Final round

Sunday, August 6, 1978

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
T1 John Mahaffey75-67-68-66=276−8Playoff
Jerry Pate72-70-66-68=276
Tom Watson67-69-67-73=276
T4 Gil Morgan76-71-66-67=280−414,500
Tom Weiskopf73-67-69-71=280
6 Craig Stadler70-74-67-71=282-210,000
T7 Andy Bean72-72-70-70=284E8,000
Graham Marsh72-74-68-70=284
Lee Trevino69-73-70-72=284
10 Fuzzy Zoeller75-69-73-68=285+16,500

Source:[9][3]

Playoff

The sudden death playoff began on the front nine at hole #1, a par-4 which all three parred.
After Watson and Pate could not birdie hole #2, Mahaffey sunk a 12-foot (3.7 m) birdie putt to win the title.[4]

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1 John Mahaffey4-3−150,000
T2 Jerry Pate4-xE25,000
Tom Watson4-x

References
  1. "Watson leads a PGA without Jack by four". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 5, 1978. p. 1B.
  2. "Tournament Info for: 1978 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  3. "Mahaffey healthy, wealthy and alive again". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 7, 1978. p. B1.
  4. Parascenzo, Marino (August 7, 1978). "Mahaffey wins PGA in 3-way playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
  5. Jenkins, Dan (August 14, 1978). "Jumping for joy". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  6. "Nicklaus scuffles around in 79 in the PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 4, 1978. p. 1D.
  7. Axelrod, Phil (August 4, 1978). "Dame Oakmont plays Jack". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
  8. "Watson has all but wrapped up the PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 6, 1978. p. B1.
  9. "1978 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
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