1972 PGA Championship
DatesAugust 3–6, 1972
LocationBloomfield Hills, Michigan
CourseOakland Hills Country Club,
South Course
OrgPGA of America
TourPGA Tour
Par70
Yardage7,054 yards (6,450 m)
Field138 players, 77 after cut[1]
Cut150 (+10)
Purse$224,087
Winners share$45,000
ChampionGary Player
Score281 (+1)
Previous1971
Next1973

The 1972 PGA Championship was the 54th PGA Championship, played August 3–6 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Gary Player won his second PGA Championship with a total of 281 (+1), two strokes ahead of runners-up Tommy Aaron and Jim Jamieson.[2] It was the sixth of Player's nine major titles, but his first in over four years.[3][4]

The PGA Championship returned to the month of August in 1972 after being played in late February in 1971 in Florida.

Defending champion Jack Nicklaus, winner of the year's Masters and U.S. Open and runner-up in the British Open, finished six strokes back in a tie for thirteenth place. He regained the title the following year.

It was the fifth major championship held on the South Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, 1951, and 1961. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1979 and 2008, the U.S. Open in 1985 and 1996, and the Ryder Cup in 2004.

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4465212024394423684084582273,5114594205671734683884082014593,5437,054
Par453444443354453444343570

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 3, 1972

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1Buddy Allin68−2
Stan Thirsk
T3Raymond Floyd69−1
Larry Gilbert
Jerry Heard
Jim Jamieson
Arnold Palmer
T8Richard Crawford70E
Rod Funseth
Johnny Miller
Dan Sikes
Sam Snead
Jim Wiechers

Source:[5]

Second round

Friday, August 4, 1972

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1Jerry Heard69-70=139−1
T2Raymond Floyd69-71=140E
Hale Irwin71-69=140
T4Gay Brewer71-70=141+1
Jim Jamieson69-72=141
Bob Smith69-72=141
T7Gary Player71-71=142+2
Dan Sikes70-72=142
Lanny Wadkins74-68=142
T10Billy Casper73-70=143+3
Phil Rodgers71-72=143
Art Wall Jr.72-71=143
Jim Wiechers70-73=143

Source:[6]

Third round

Saturday, August 5, 1972

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1Gary Player71-71-67=209−1
2Billy Casper73-70-67=210E
T3Gay Brewer71-70-70=211+1
Jerry Heard69-70-72=211
Phil Rodgers71-72-68=211
T6Tommy Aaron71-71-70=212+2
Doug Sanders72-72-68=212
Jim Wiechers70-73-69=212
Larry Wise74-71-67=212
10Jim Jamieson69-72-72=213+3

Source:[7]

Final round

Sunday, August 6, 1972

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Gary Player71-71-67-72=281+145,000
T2Tommy Aaron71-71-70-71=283+320,850
Jim Jamieson69-72-72-70=283
T4Billy Casper73-70-67-74=284+49,275
Raymond Floyd69-71-74-70=284
Sam Snead70-74-71-69=284
T7Gay Brewer71-70-70-74=285+56,383
Jerry Heard69-70-72-74=285
Phil Rodgers71-72-68-74=285
Doug Sanders72-72-68-73=285

Source:[4][8]

References

  1. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1972 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  2. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 14, 1972). "No muzzle for the monster". Sports Illustrated. p. 58.
  3. ^ "Player recoups faded prestige with win". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. August 7, 1972. p. 5B.
  4. ^ "Nervy Gary Player takes PGA Crown". Spokesman-Review. August 7, 1972. p. 10.
  5. ^ "Two share PGA lead with 68s". Milwaukee Sentinel. August 4, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
  6. ^ "Heard tops PGA by stroke". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. August 5, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
  7. ^ "Hot round by Player tops PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. August 5, 1972. p. 1, sports.
  8. ^ "1972 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 23, 2013.