1973 PGA Championship
The 1973 PGA Championship was the 55th PGA Championship, played August 9–12 at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb east of Cleveland. Ohio native Jack Nicklaus won the third of his five PGA Championships, four strokes ahead of runner-up Bruce Crampton.[2]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 9–12, 1973 |
| Location | Beachwood, Ohio |
| Course(s) | Canterbury Golf Club |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,852 yards (6,265 m) |
| Field | 148 players, 74 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 149 (+7) |
| Prize fund | $225,000 |
| Winner's share | $45,000 |
| Champion | |
 Jack Nicklaus | |
| 277 (−7) | |
Golf Club
Golf Club
It was the 12th of Nicklaus' 18 major titles as a professional.[3] At the time, the holder of the most major titles was the late Bobby Jones, with 13. As a lifelong amateur, his majors were the Open and amateur championships in the U.S. and Britain. Including his two U.S. Amateur titles, Nicklaus now had 14 majors, surpassing Jones.[2] With his 12th professional major win Nicklaus also usurped Walter Hagen's record of 11 professional major victories.
Sam Snead, age 61, shot even-par each day and finished in the top ten for the second straight year; he tied for ninth after a tie for fourth in 1972 and would improve on those in 1974.
This was the third major at Canterbury, which hosted the U.S. Open twice in the 1940s, both decided in playoffs. Lawson Little was the champion in 1940 with a three-stroke win over Gene Sarazen. Following World War II in 1946, the first U.S. Open in five years was played at the course. Lloyd Mangrum won in the second 18-hole playoff round, one stroke ahead of major winners Byron Nelson and Vic Ghezzi.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, August 9, 1973
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Al Geiberger | 67 | −4 |
| Don Iverson | |||
| T3 | Bob Dickson | 69 | −2 |
| Mike Hill | |||
| Don Iverson | |||
| T6 | Don Bies | 70 | −1 |
| Bob Brue | |||
| Raymond Floyd | |||
| Gibby Gilbert | |||
 Tony Jacklin | |||
| Tom Weiskopf |
Source:[4]
Second round
Friday, August 10, 1973
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Don Iverson | 67-72=139 | −3 |
| Mason Rudolph | 69-70=139 | ||
| T3 | Gibby Gilbert | 70-70=140 | −2 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 72-68=140 | ||
| Dan Sikes | 72-68=140 | ||
| T6 | Tony Jacklin | 70-70=141 | −1 |
| Dave Stockton | 72-69=141 | ||
| Tom Weiskopf | 70-71=141 | ||
| T9 | Don Bies | 70-72=142 | E |
| Bob Brue | 70-72=142 | ||
| Jim Colbert | 72-70=142 | ||
| Mike Hill | 69-73=142 | ||
| Sam Snead | 71-71=142 | ||
| Lanny Wadkins | 73-69=142 |
Source:[5]
Third round
Saturday, August 11, 1973
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 72-68-68=208 | −5 |
| T2 | Don Iverson | 67-72-70=209 | −4 |
| Mason Rudolph | 69-70-70=209 | ||
| 4 | Dennis Lyons | 73-70-67=210 | −3 |
| T5 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bruce Crampton | 71-73-67=211 | −2 |
| Jim Colbert | 72-70-69=211 | ||
| T7 | Dan Sikes | 72-68-72=212 | −1 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 70-71-71=212 | ||
| T9 | Don Bies | 70-72-71=213 | E |
| Gibby Gilbert | 70-70-73=213 | ||
| Sam Snead | 71-71-71=213 | ||
| Lanny Wadkins | 73-69-71=213 |
Final round
Sunday, August 12, 1973
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 72-68-68-69=277 | −7 | 45,000 |
| 2 | Bruce Crampton | 71-73-67-70=281 | −3 | 25,700 |
| T3 | Mason Rudolph | 69-70-70-73=282 | −2 | 11,909 |
| J. C. Snead | 71-74-68-69=282 | |||
| Lanny Wadkins | 73-69-71-69=282 | |||
| T6 | Don Iverson | 67-72-70-74=283 | −1 | 7,312 |
| Dan Sikes | 72-68-72-71=283 | |||
| Tom Weiskopf | 70-71-71-71=283 | |||
| T9 | Hale Irwin | 76-72-68-68=284 | E | 5,625 |
| Sam Snead | 71-71-71-71=284 | |||
| Kermit Zarley | 76-71-68-69=284 |
References
- "Tournament Info for: 1973 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- Jenkins, Dan (August 20, 1973). "Jack goes one up on a legend". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- "Jack fires final round 69 for four shot win in PGA". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 13, 1973. p. 12.
- "Iverson's 67 shares PGA lead". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. August 10, 1973. p. 1, part 2.
- "Rabbit and vet pace PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 11, 1973. p. 1B.
- "Nicklaus muscles way into PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 12, 1973. p. 1B.
- "Sports scoreboard: Golf". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. August 12, 1973. p. 6B.
- "1973 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- "PGA scorecard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 13, 1973. p. 15.