The 1951 PGA Championship was the 33rd

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

, held June 27 to July 3 at

Oakmont Country Club Oakmont Country Club is a country club in the eastern United States, located mostly in Plum with only a very small portion of the property located in Oakmont, suburbs of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania. Established in 1903, its golf course i ...

Oakmont, Pennsylvania Oakmont is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a Pittsburgh suburb and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 6,303 as of the 2010 Census. ...

, a suburb northeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...

won the

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

championship, 7 & 6 over

Walter Burkemo Walter E. Burkemo (October 9, 1918 – October 8, 1986) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1953 PGA Championship, 1953. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Burkemo was the youngest of 13 children of N ...

in the Tuesday final; the winner's share was $3,500 and the runner-up's was $1,500. It marked the first time the PGA Championship returned to a venue; Oakmont had hosted in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

(at the time, it had also hosted two U.S. Opens and three U.S. Amateurs). It was the third and final win for Snead in the PGA Championship, and the fifth of his seven

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

titles. At age 39, he was the oldest at the time to win the PGA Championship, passing his old record of two years earlier. Burkemo won the title in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

and was runner-up again in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. Defending champion

Chandler Harper John Chandler Harper (March 10, 1914 – November 8, 2004) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1950. He won seven times on the PGA Tour and played in the Ryder Cup in 1955. Harper was born, raised a ...

lost in the first round to

Jim Turnesa James R. Turnesa (December 9, 1912 – August 27, 1971) was an American professional golfer and winner of the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final. He was one of seven famous golfing brothers; Phil (1896–198 ...

in a match that went to 23 holes. Turnesa, the runner-up to Snead back in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

, won the title following year in 1952, and displaced Snead as the oldest champion by a few months. Snead's win was the last by a former champion for twenty years, until

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

won his second PGA Championship in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Claude Harmon Eugene Claude Harmon Sr. (July 14, 1916 – July 23, 1989) was an American professional golfer and golf instructor. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Harmon spent much of his boyhood in Florida, in the Orlando area. A youthful prodigy, he qualified for ...

Lloyd Mangrum Lloyd Eugene Mangrum (August 1, 1914 – November 17, 1973) was an American professional golfer. He was known for his smooth swing and his relaxed demeanour on the course, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Icicle." Early life and family Mangrum ...

, and Pete Cooper tied for the lowest score in the stroke play qualifier at 142 (−2). Harmon won the $250 medalist prize on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff. The

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

was held in the first week of July in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Its mandatory two-day qualifier was held the same days as the PGA's semifinals and finals, which prevented participation in both events.

Format

The

format at the PGA Championship in 1951 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in seven days: * Wednesday and Thursday – 36-hole

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

qualifier, 18 holes per day; **defending champion

and top 63 professionals advanced to match play * Friday – first two rounds, 18 holes each * Saturday – third round – 36 holes * Sunday – quarterfinals – 36 holes * Monday – semifinals – 36 holes * Tuesday – final – 36 holes

Past champions in the field

Failed to qualify

Runyan did not advance in the six-way playoff for the one final spot in the match play field.
Source:

Final results

Final eight bracket

Source:

Final match scorecards

''Morning'' ''Afternoon'' : Source:

References

External links

PGA Media Guide 2012
– 1951 PGA Championship {{DEFAULTSORT:PGA Championship

1951 PGA Championship 1951 in golf 1951 in American sports 1951 in sports in Pennsylvania June 1951 sports events in the United States July 1951 sports events in the United States