PGA Championship: a brief history

First contested in 1916, the USPGA Championship is the third oldest of the four majors, after the Open (1860) and US Open (1894)

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First contested in 1916, the USPGA Championship is the third oldest of the four majors, after the Open (1860) and US Open (1894)

First contested in 1916, the USPGA Championship is the third oldest of the four majors, after the Open (1860) and US Open (1894).

Department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker donated the trophy for the inaugural event, as well as the sum of $2,580 in prize money. Times have changed since then, and the tournament prize pool is a staggering $8,500,000 this year.

England's Jim Barnes claimed the first ever PGA Championship at Siwanoy Country Club, New York, and made it two in a row when the tournament returned to the schedule after the First World War. Other famous names to grace the trophy in the early years of the event included Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead.

Up until 1958, the competition was played in a matchplay format. Paul Runyan recorded the largest margin of victory in a final at Oakmont in 1938, defeating Snead 8&7 over 36 holes.

In the modern era, there have been 11 play-offs for the Wanamaker Trophy with the likes of Don January (1961), Tom Watson (1978), Greg Norman (1993) and Colin Montgomerie (1995) all missing out on glory.

Tiger Woods shares the record for the lowest score against par with Bob May. The pair finished at 18-under-par in 2000 at Valhalla, with Tiger defeating the unfortunate May in a subsequent three-hole play-off. Woods also equalled that benchmark with an incredible display at Medinah in 2006.

Although the USPGA is often seen as the least important of the four majors, it traditionally has the strongest field. Despite the fact the tournament reserves places for the top 20 players from the PGA Professional National Championship, the top 70 players on the US Money List gain automatic entry.

Nick Bonfield
Content Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, commissioning and feature writing. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x