1997 PGA Championship
The 1997 PGA Championship was the 79th PGA Championship, held August 14–17 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. Davis Love III won his only major championship, five strokes ahead of runner-up Justin Leonard, winner of the 1997 Open Championship.[2][3]
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 14–17, 1997 |
| Location | Mamaroneck, New York |
| Course(s) | Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 6,987 yards (6,389 m) |
| Field | 150 players, 77 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 146 (+6) |
| Prize fund | $2.6 million |
| Winner's share | $470,000 |
| Champion | |
 Davis Love III | |
| 269 (−11) | |
The last few holes on Sunday were played in a steady rain. However, when Love reached the final green with the tournament wrapped up, the sun peaked through the clouds and a rainbow appeared in the sky. Many took it as a symbol of Love finally winning his first major after several close calls and of his late father, a PGA professional, approvingly looking down from above.
Love's performance is remembered as one of the best in modern major championship history. Only two players finished within 10 shots of him. The sports analytics expert Bill Barnwell statistically identified the victory as the second most dominant win of the modern era (1960–2011), only behind Tiger Woods' 15-shot triumph at the 2000 U.S. Open.[4]
This was the first PGA Championship at the West Course and the fifth major; it previously hosted four U.S. Opens (1929, 1959, 1974, and 1984), which later returned in 2006 and 2020. The tournament was televised by TBS Sports and CBS Sports.
Course layout
West Course
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genesis | 446 | 4 | 10 | Pulpit | 190 | 3 | |
| 2 | Elm | 411 | 4 | 11 | Billows | 396 | 4 | |
| 3 | Pinnacle | 216 | 3 | 12 | Cape | 540 | 5 | |
| 4 | Sound View | 460 | 4 | 13 | White Mule | 212 | 3 | |
| 5 | Long Lane | 515 | 5 | 14 | Shamrock | 432 | 4 | |
| 6 | El | 324 | 4 | 15 | Pyramid | 423 | 4 | |
| 7 | Babe-in-the-Woods | 161 | 3 | 16 | Hells Bells | 457 | 4 | |
| 8 | Arena | 442 | 4 | 17 | Well-Well | 449 | 4 | |
| 9 | Meadow | 467 | 4 | 18 | Revelations | 448 | 4 | |
| Out | 3,442 | 35 | In | 3,545 | 35 | |||
| Source:[5] | Total | 6,987 | 70 | |||||
Lengths of the course for previous majors:
- 1984 U.S. Open: 6,930 yards (6,340 m), par 70
- 1974 U.S. Open: 6,961 yards (6,365 m), par 70
- 1959 U.S. Open: 6,873 yards (6,285 m), par 70
- 1929 U.S. Open: 6,786 yards (6,205 m), par 72
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, August 14, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | John Daly | 66 | −4 |
| Davis Love III | |||
| 3 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Robert Allenby | 67 | −3 |
| T4 | Paul Azinger | 68 | −2 |
| Tom Kite | |||
| Justin Leonard | |||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Shigeki Maruyama | |||
| Greg Norman | |||
| Chris Perry | |||
| Paul Stankowski | |||
| Bob Tway |
Second round
Friday, August 15, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Janzen | 69-67=136 | −4 |
| 2 | Davis Love III | 66-71=137 | −3 |
| T3 | Phil Blackmar | 70-68=138 | −2 |
| Fred Couples | 71-67=138 | ||
| Justin Leonard | 68-70=138 | ||
| Jeff Maggert | 69-69=138 | ||
| Shigeki Maruyama | 68-70=138 | ||
| Phil Mickelson | 69-69=138 | ||
 Costantino Rocca | 69-69=138 | ||
| T10 | John Daly | 66-73=139 | −1 |
| Greg Norman | 68-71=139 | ||
| Chris Perry | 68-71=139 | ||
 Vijay Singh | 73-66=139 | ||
| Paul Stankowski | 68-71=139 |
Third round
Saturday, August 16, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Justin Leonard | 68-70-65=203 | −7 |
| Davis Love III | 66-71-66=203 | ||
| T3 | Lee Janzen | 69-67-74=210 | E |
| Tom Kite | 68-71-71=210 | ||
| T5 | Fred Couples | 71-67-73=211 | +1 |
| David Duval | 70-70-71=211 | ||
| Scott Hoch | 71-72-68=211 | ||
| Jeff Maggert | 69-69-73=211 | ||
| Phil Mickelson | 69-69-73=211 | ||
| Tiger Woods | 70-70-71=211 |
Final round
Sunday, August 17, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davis Love III | 66-71-66-66=269 | −11 | 470,000 |
| 2 | Justin Leonard | 68-70-65-71=274 | −6 | 280,000 |
| 3 | Jeff Maggert | 69-69-73-65=276 | −4 | 175,000 |
| 4 | Lee Janzen | 69-67-74-69=279 | −1 | 125,000 |
| 5 | Tom Kite | 68-71-71-70=280 | E | 105,000 |
| T6 | Phil Blackmar | 70-68-74-69=281 | +1 | 85,000 |
| Jim Furyk | 69-72-72-68=281 | |||
| Scott Hoch | 71-72-68-70=281 | |||
| 9 | Tom Byrum | 69-73-70-70=282 | +2 | 70,000 |
| T10 | Tom Lehman | 69-72-72-70=283 | +3 | 60,000 |
| Scott McCarron | 74-71-67-71=283 | |||
| Joey Sindelar | 72-71-71-69=283 |
Source:[6]
References
- "Tournament Info for: 1997 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
- Diaz, Jaime (August 25, 1997). "At long last, Love". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
- Parascenzo, Marino (August 18, 1997). "Color this one special". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B1.
- Barnwell, Bill (June 24, 2011). "Relative Dominance". Grantland. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- D'Amato, Gary (August 14, 1997). "1997 PGA Championship: course". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. p. 6C.
- "1997 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved July 28, 2012.