1958 PGA Championship

1958 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesJuly 17–20, 1958
LocationHavertown, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Llanerch Country Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Statistics
Par70
Length6,710 yards (6,136 m)
Field161 players
93 after first cut
64 after second cut
Cut154 (+14) (first cut)
228 (+18) (second cut)[2]
Prize fund$39,388[1]
Winner's share$5,500
Champion
United States Dow Finsterwald
276 (−4)
← 1957
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Llanerch CC is located in the United States
Llanerch CC
Llanerch CC
Llanerch CC is located in Pennsylvania
Llanerch CC
Llanerch CC

The 1958 PGA Championship was the 40th PGA Championship, played July 17–20 at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. It was the first PGA Championship held in its current stroke play format,[3] 72 holes over four days, ending on Sunday. The previous editions were at match play, with the two most recent ones at seven rounds over five days, the final two rounds at 36 holes per match. The announcement of the change was made eight months earlier in November.[4][5]

Dow Finsterwald, the runner-up in 1957, shot a final round 67 to win his only major title, two shots ahead of runner-up Billy Casper. Finsterwald's round-by-round scores were 67-72-70-67=276, 4-under-par on the par-70 course.[6] Sam Snead led after 54 holes in pursuit of a fourth title, but faded to third with a final round 73 (+3).[7] The winner's share was $5,500, down from the previous year's $8,000.

The Open Championship was held two weeks earlier in England at Royal Lytham & St Annes, with only two Americans in the field; Gene Sarazen finished 16th, but missed the first cut at the PGA Championship.

  1. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1958 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  2. ^ Grimsley, Will (July 20, 1958). "Snead takes over PGA command; can become oldest man to win". St. Petersburg Independent. Florida. Associated Press. p. 10-A.
  3. ^ Wind, Herbert Warren (August 4, 1958). "Items from a summer notebook". Sports Illustrated. p. 46.
  4. ^ "Medal play in pro golf slated". Time-News. (Hendersonville, North Carolina). United Press. November 15, 1957. p. 8.
  5. ^ "P.G.A. swings from match to medal play". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 15, 1957. p. 1, part 4.
  6. ^ "Final Scores From PGA". The Salt Lake Tribune. July 21, 1958. p. 41.
  7. ^ "Finsterwald wins as Snead 'blows up'". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. July 21, 1958. p. 2, part 2.