1976 PGA Championship

1976 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 12–16, 1976
LocationBethesda, Maryland
38°59′46″N 77°10′34″W / 38.996°N 77.176°W / 38.996; -77.176
Course(s)Congressional Country Club
Blue Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,054 yards (6,450 m)[1]
Field138 players, 76 after cut[2]
Cut149 (+9)
Prize fund$250,950
Winner's share$45,000
Champion
United States Dave Stockton
281 (+1)
Location map
Congressional Country Club is located in the United States
Congressional Country Club
Congressional Country Club
Location in the United States
Congressional Country Club is located in Maryland
Congressional Country Club
Congressional Country Club
Location in Maryland
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The 1976 PGA Championship was the 58th PGA Championship, played August 12–16 at Congressional Country Club (Blue Course) in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb northwest of Washington, D.C. Held six weeks following the United States Bicentennial, it was the second major at Congressional; the U.S. Open was conducted twelve years earlier in 1964.

Dave Stockton, the 1970 champion, sank a 15-foot (5 m) putt to save par on the 72nd hole to win his second PGA Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Raymond Floyd and Don January.[3] The final round was delayed to Monday for the first time, due to weather.[2] Stockton's final putt averted the first sudden-death playoff in major championship history,[4][5] which came a year later at the 1977 PGA Championship.

Defending champion Jack Nicklaus shot a final round 74 (+4) and finished two strokes back, in a tie for fourth. Third round leader Charles Coody shot 77 and fell into a tie for eighth.[3]

  1. ^ "Grim Jack set for PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 12, 1976. p. 12.
  2. ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1976 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Stockton snatches PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 17, 1976. p. 12.
  4. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 23, 1976). "Swinging in the rain". Sports Illustrated. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Stockton anticipated PGA win". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 17, 1976. p. D1.