The 1973 PGA Championship was the 55th

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 ...

, played August 9–12 at

Canterbury Golf Club Canterbury Golf Club is a private golf and country club located in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, Ohio, US. The club was formerly the home of the DAP Championship, part of the Web.com Tour Finals. A member club of the USGA, Canterbury has ...

Beachwood, Ohio Beachwood is a city in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 14,040. History The land that eventually became Beachwood was originally part of the Connecticut We ...

, a suburb east of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. Ohio native

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 the third of his five PGA Championships, four strokes ahead of runner-up

Bruce Crampton Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales ...

. It was the twelfth of Nicklaus' eighteen

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 as a professional. At the time, the holder of the most major titles was the late Bobby Jones, with thirteen. As a lifelong

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, his majors were the Open and amateur championships in the U.S. and Britain. Including his two

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

titles, Nicklaus now had 14 majors, surpassing Jones. With his 12th professional major win Nicklaus also usurped

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

's record of 11 professional major victories. As of July 2021 these records still stand.

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 ...

, age 61, shot even-par each day and finished in the top ten for the second straight year; he tied for ninth after a tie for fourth in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and would improve on those in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. This was the third major at Canterbury, which hosted the U.S. Open twice in the 1940s, both decided in playoffs.

Lawson Little William Lawson Little Jr. (June 23, 1910 – February 1, 1968) was an American professional golfer who also had a distinguished amateur career. Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island, and lived much of his early life in the San Francisco area, ...

was the champion in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

with a three-stroke win over

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...

. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

, the first U.S. Open in five years was played at the course.

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 ...

won in the second 18-hole playoff round, one stroke ahead of major winners

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hog ...

and

Vic Ghezzi Victor J. Ghezzi (October 19, 1910 – May 30, 1976) was an American professional golfer. (Birth year sometimes listed as 1911 or 1912) Born in Rumson, New Jersey, Ghezzi won 11 times on the PGA Tour, including one major title, the 1941 PGA Champ ...

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

Source:

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, August 9, 1973'' Source:

Second round

''Friday, August 10, 1973'' Source:

Third round

''Saturday, August 11, 1973'' Source:

Final round

''Sunday, August 12, 1973'' Source:

References

External links

PGA Media Guide 2012
– 1973 PGA Championship {{coord, 41.469, -81.521, type:event, display=title PGA Championship Golf in Ohio Beachwood, Ohio