1991 PGA Championship

1991 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 8–11, 1991
LocationCarmel, Indiana
39°56′53″N 86°11′38″W / 39.948°N 86.194°W / 39.948; -86.194
Course(s)Crooked Stick Golf Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,289 yards (6,665 m)
Field151 players,
77 after cut[1]
Cut147 (+3)
Prize fund$1.35 million
Winner's share$230,000
Champion
United States John Daly
276 (−12)
Location map
1991 PGA Championship is located in the United States
1991 PGA Championship
Location in the United States
1991 PGA Championship is located in Indiana
1991 PGA Championship
Location in Indiana
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The 1991 PGA Championship was the 73rd PGA Championship, held August 8–11 at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb north of Indianapolis. John Daly won the first of his two major titles, three strokes ahead of runner-up Bruce Lietzke.[2][3]

Daly, age 25, was the ninth alternate and only got into the field after several others pulled out of the tournament. Nick Price withdrew for the birth of his first child and Daly hired his caddy, Jeff "Squeaky" Medlin. Daly's outgoing personality and "grip it and rip it" style of play made him an instant fan favorite. The PGA Championship was also his first PGA Tour victory.[4][5]

A spectator, Thomas Weaver, died after being struck by lightning during a weather delay in the first round. It was the second fatality at a major championship in 1991. Two months earlier at the U.S. Open in Minnesota, six people were hit by lightning with one fatality.[6] Daly donated $30,000 to Weaver's family for a college fund. Both daughters went on to graduate from college and one is now a doctor.[7]

  1. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1991 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  2. ^ Shapiro, Leonard (August 12, 1991). "Daly knocks out PGA field". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1B.
  3. ^ Bunch, Ken (August 12, 1991). "Daly drives his way to easy PGA victory". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1B.
  4. ^ Garrity, John (August 19, 1991). "Over drive". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  5. ^ Saylor, Jack (August 12, 1991). "Daly comes long way to reach the top". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (Knight-Ridder Newspapers). p. C1.
  6. ^ Hackenberg, Dave (August 9, 1991). "Lightning kills spectator at PGA Championship". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15.
  7. ^ Ushe, Naledi (May 18, 2021). "John Daly Set Up College Fund for Daughters of Man Killed by Lightning During PGA Championship". People. Retrieved May 19, 2021.