Golf Tours - PGA Tour - PGA
Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf
tournament, conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America
as part of the PGA TOUR. The PGA Championship is one of the four Major
Championships in men's golf, and it is the golf season's final major,
being played in August. It is an official money event on both the PGA
TOUR and the PGA European Tour.
In line with the other majors, winning the PGA gives a golfer several
privileges which make his career much more secure, if he is not already
one of the elite of the sport. PGA champions are automatically invited
to play in the other three majors (The Masters, US Open and British
Open) for the next five years, and are exempt from qualifying for the
PGA Championship through age 65. They also receive membership on the PGA
TOUR for the following five seasons and invitations to THE PLAYERS
Championship for five years.
The Championship has been held at a large number of venues, some of them
now quite obscure, but nowadays it is usually staged by one of a small
group of celebrated courses, each of which has also hosted several other
leading events.
History
The first PGA Championship was in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in
Bronxville, New York. The trophy was donated by Rodman Wanamaker, and is
known as the Wanamaker Trophy. It was initially a match play event, and
it moved to a stroke play format in 1958. It is sometimes said that this
was a result of pressure from televsion, which prefers to see as many
famous players as possible in contention on the final day. The first
winner, Jim Barnes received US$500 in 1916, while 2004 winner Vijay
Singh received US$1.125 million.
Qualification
The PGA Championship was established for the purpose of providing a high
profile tournament specifically for professional golfers at a time when
they were generally not held in high esteem in a sport that was largely
run by wealthy amateurs. This origin is still reflected in the entry
system for the Championship. It is the only major which does not invite
leading amateurs to compete, and the only one which reserves a large
number of places, 25 out of 150, for club professionals. More
significantly, it is the only major that does not explicitly grant entry
to the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, although it
invariably invites all top-50 players who are not already qualified. The
PGA Tour is now independent of the PGA of America, and it is an elite
organisation of tournament professionals, but the PGA Championship is
still run by the PGA of America, which is mainly a body for club and
teaching professionals.
* All former PGA Champions.
* Winners of the last five U.S. Opens.
* Winners of the last five Masters.
* Winners of the last five British Opens.
* The last Senior PGA Champion.
* The low 15 scorers and ties in the previous PGA Championship.
* The 25 low scorers in the last PGA Club Professional Championship.
* The 70 leaders in official money standings.
* Members of the last United States Ryder Cup Team.
* Winners of tournaments co-sponsored or approved by the PGA Tour since
the previous PGA Championship (does not include pro-am and team
competitions).
* The PGA of America reserves the right to invite additional players not
included in the categories listed above.
* The total field is a maximum of 150 players. Vacancies are filled by
the first available player from the list of alternates (those below 70th
place in official money standings).
Records
* Oldest Winner: Julius Boros in 1968 (48 years, 4 months, 18 days),
1968
* Youngest Winner: Gene Sarazen in 1922 (20 years, 5 months, 22 days)
* Greatest winning margin in the matchplay era: Paul Runyan beat Sam
Snead 8 & 7 in 1938.
* Lowest absolute 72-hole score: 265, David Toms (66-65-65-69), 2001.
o This is the lowest 72-hole score ever recorded in any major
championship.
* Lowest 72-hole score in relation to par: -18, Tiger Woods
(66-67-70-67, 270) and Bob May (72-66-66-66, 270), 2000.
o Toms' 2001 score was -15. The 2001 site, the Highlands Course at
Atlanta Athletic Club, plays to par 70, while the 2000 site, Valhalla
Golf Club, plays to par 72.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGA_Championship
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