The 1957 PGA Championship was the 39th

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 July 17–21 at Miami Valley Golf Club in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

. In the last

played under 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 ...

format,

Lionel Hebert Lionel Paul Hebert (January 20, 1928 – December 30, 2000) was an American professional golfer. He won five times on the PGA Tour, including the PGA Championship in 1957, the last edition held at match play. His older brother Jay won the same eve ...

won 2 & 1 over

Dow Finsterwald Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022) was an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ryder Cup teams, and serv ...

, who won the following year, the first as a 72-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 ...

event. Defending champion Jack Burke Jr. lost in the second round to Milon Marusic, 2 & 1. At the time, it was not yet known that this was the last at match play, the decision to switch to stroke play was announced during the November meetings. The

Open Championship 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 ...

was held two weeks earlier in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

; neither Hebert nor Finsterwald played in 1957 (or ever).

Format

The

format at the PGA Championship in 1957 called for nine rounds (162 holes) in five days. As in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

, the two-day stroke play qualifying segment (36 holes) was eliminated; 128 players were entered in the single-elimination bracket. The PGA Championship had concluded on Tuesday since

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

; this year's schedule was modified for a Sunday final, with match play beginning on Wednesday. The first five rounds were 18-hole matches contested over the first three days, which reduced the field to four players for the weekend. The semifinals and finals were 36-hole matches played on the final two days, Saturday and Sunday. * Wednesday – first round, 18 holes * Thursday – second and third rounds, 18 holes each * Friday – fourth round and quarterfinals, 18 holes each * Saturday – semifinals – 36 holes * Sunday – final – 36 holes Consolation matches at 18 holes were held on the weekend to determine third to eighth places.

Past champions in the field

Final results

''Sunday, July 21, 1957''

Final eight bracket

In the 18-hole quarterfinals Friday, a clash of the Hebert brothers was avoided when

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. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Burkemo was the youngest of 13 children of Norwegian immigrants ...

defeated

Jay Hebert Junius Joseph "Jay" Hebert (February 14, 1923 – May 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer. He won seven times on the PGA Tour including the 1960 PGA Championship. His younger brother, Lionel Hebert, also won the PGA Championship, in 19 ...

2&1, while

defeated

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 ...

by the same score. On the other side of the bracket,

defeated Charles Sheppard, 2 up, and Don Whitt defeated

Dick Mayer Alvin Richard Mayer (August 28, 1924 – June 2, 1989) was an American professional golfer. Mayer was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He apprenticed with renowned player and teacher Claude Harmon at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York ...

, 2&1. In the semifinals on Saturday, Finsterwald defeated Whitt, 2 up, and Hebert prevailed over Burkemo, 3&1. The final match on Sunday was all-square after the first 18 holes in the morning. Hebert won the first three holes in the afternoon with birdies, but the match was back to all square after thirty holes. Hebert birdied the next three and Finsterwald matched two of them, but then bogeyed the 34th and was two down with two to play; the par-3 35th was halved with pars to end the match. Hebert earned $8,000 for the victory and Finsterwald received $5,000 as runner-up. Burkemo, the

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

champion, defeated Whitt 3&1 to claim third place and $3,500. Finsterwald captured the title the following year in the new

format; Hebert's older brother Jay won in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Consolation brackets

Final match scorecards

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

References

External links

PGA Media Guide 2012
– 1957 PGA Championship {{coord, 39.792, -84.242, type:event, display=title PGA Championship Golf in Ohio Sports in Dayton, Ohio