| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 14–17, 1969 |
| Location | Kettering, Ohio |
| Course(s) | NCR Country Club, South Course |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,915 yards (6,323 m) |
| Field | 139 players, 79 after cut [1] |
| Cut | 149 (+7) |
| Prize fund | $175,000[1] |
| Winner's share | $35,000 |
| Champion | |
 Raymond Floyd | |
| 276 (−8) | |
The 1969 PGA Championship was the 51st PGA Championship, played August 14–17 on the South Course of NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio, a suburb south of Dayton. Raymond Floyd, age 26, won the first of his four major titles, one stroke ahead of runner-up Gary Player.[2][3]
Floyd held a five-shot lead after the third round, at 202 (−11),[4] and carded a 74 (+3) on Sunday.[5]
During the tournament's third round, demonstrators tried to disrupt the play of Player and Jack Nicklaus. Ice was thrown in Player's face and one spectator yelled while Nicklaus prepared to putt.[6][7] Security was stepped up for the final round on Sunday.[3][8]
This was the first PGA Championship after the formation of the "Tournament Players Division" in December 1968,[9][10][11] later renamed the PGA Tour. It also marked the permanent move of the PGA Championship to August, excluding 1971, which was played in Florida in February. Except for 1965, it had been played in July in the 1960s; five times during the decade it was held the week immediately after The Open Championship in Britain, including 1968. The new scheduling allowed more players to participate in both majors, cementing the concept of the modern grand slam.
The attendance on Sunday was 23,543 and a new record was set for the four days at 80,847; including practice days, the week's attendance was 106,043.[5]
- ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1969 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ Taylor, Jim (August 18, 1969). "Angelic Floyd Holds Off Mob". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 15. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (August 25, 1969). "Golf gets a look at the real world". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
- ^ "Floyd holds five-stroke lead after third round of PGA meet". Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Associated Press. August 17, 1969. p. 24.
- ^ a b Gundelfinger, Phil (August 18, 1969). "Floyd scrambles to one-shot PGA win". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 30.
- ^ "Civil rights demonstrators disrupt PGA championships". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 17, 1969. p. 4B.
- ^ "Gary Player attacked". Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Associated Press. August 17, 1969. p. 24.
- ^ "Escort new to Floyd". Toledo Blade. Ohio. August 18, 1969. p. 15.
- ^ "Tour golfers, PGA settle fuss over tourney control". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 14, 1968. p. 15.
- ^ "Pro golf struggle is settled; PGA forms tourney group". Milwaukee Journal. December 14, 1968. p. 18.
- ^ "Dispute in U.S. settled". Glasgow Herald. Scotland, U.K. December 16, 1968. p. 5.