The 1965 PGA Championship was the 47th PGA Championship, played August 12–15 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, a suburb southeast of Pittsburgh. Dave Marr won his only major championship, two strokes ahead of runners-up Billy Casper and Jack Nicklaus.[2][3][4]

1965 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 12–15, 1965
LocationLigonier, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Laurel Valley Golf Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length7,090 yards (6,483 m)
Field165 players, 77 after cut
Cut151 (+9)
Prize fund$149,700[1]
Winner's share$25,000
Champion
United States Dave Marr
280 (−4)
← 1964
1966 →
Laurel Valley Golf Club is located in the United States
Laurel Valley Golf Club
Laurel Valley Golf Club
Laurel Valley Golf Club is located in Pennsylvania
Laurel Valley Golf Club
Laurel Valley Golf Club

Marr was the co-leader after 54 holes with Tommy Aaron, a stroke ahead of Gardner Dickinson and two shots ahead of major champions Nicklaus and Casper.[5] Aaron shot 78 and Dickinson 74 on Sunday, while Marr matched an even-par 71 with Nicklaus and Casper.[6]

Not far from his hometown of Latrobe, Laurel Valley was co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1959,[7][8] who had another disappointing major in his home state and finished 14 strokes back, tied for 33rd.[9] Three years earlier, he lost an 18-hole playoff to Nicklaus in the U.S. Open at Oakmont near Pittsburgh, then finished tied for 17th five weeks later at the PGA Championship at Aronimink, outside Philadelphia. (Palmer won the other two majors of 1962, the Masters and the Open Championship, but never won the PGA Championship for a career grand slam.)

After the practice rounds, a 60-foot (18 m) fir tree was installed on the par-5 third hole to prevent corner-cutting from the tee to an adjacent fairway, over the objections of the club professional.[9][10][11][12]

This was the final PGA Championship appearance for two-time champion Ben Hogan, age 53, who tied for 15th place. After his near-fatal auto accident in early 1949, Hogan's legs could not withstand the grueling match play schedule and he did not play again in the championship until it became a stroke play event. He missed the 54-hole cut by a stroke in 1960 and tied for ninth place in 1964. Hogan won the title as a match play event in 1946 and 1948. Twenty former champions were in the field and twelve made the cut. Palmer was assessed a two-stroke penalty in both of the first two rounds and was at 147 (+5), ten shots back.[12]

A decade later, Laurel Valley hosted the Ryder Cup in 1975, the last Ryder Cup held in the U.S. without players from continental Europe.

Course layout

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Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 440 400 540 431 216 505 375 238 455 3,600 412 535 433 397 190 375 448 230 470 3,490 7,090
Par 4 4 5 4 3 5 4 3 4 36 4 5 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 35 71

Source:[13]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, August 12, 1965

Place Player Score To par
1   Tommy Aaron 66 −5
T2   Gardner Dickinson 67 −4
  Mason Rudolph
T4   Bruce Devlin 68 −3
  Raymond Floyd
  Sam Snead
7   Jack Nicklaus 69 −2
T8   Billy Casper 70 −1
  Dave Marr
  Mike Souchak
  Wynsol Spencer

Source:[14]

Second round

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Friday, August 13, 1965

Place Player Score To par
1   Tommy Aaron 66-71=137 −5
T2   Dave Marr 70-69=139 −3
  Jack Nicklaus 69-70=139
4   Billy Casper 70-70=140 −2
T5   Gardner Dickinson 67-74=141 −1
  Raymond Floyd 68-73=141
T7   Don Bies 71-71=142 E
  R. H. Sikes 71-71=142
  Mike Souchak 70-72=142
T10   Bruce Devlin 68-75=143 +1
  Doug Ford 73-70=143
  Mason Rudolph 67-76=143
  Sam Snead 68-75=143

Source:[12]

Third round

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Saturday, August 14, 1965

Place Player Score To par
T1   Tommy Aaron 66-71-72=209 −4
  Dave Marr 70-69-70=209
3   Gardner Dickinson 67-74-69=210 −3
T4   Billy Casper 70-70-71=211 −2
  Jack Nicklaus 69-70-72=211
T6   Raymond Floyd 68-73-72=213 E
  R. H. Sikes 71-71-71=213
  Sam Snead 68-75-70=213
9   Bob McCallister 76-68-70=214 +1
10   Bruce Devlin 68-75-72=215 +2

Source:[5]

Final round

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Sunday, August 15, 1965

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Dave Marr 70-69-70-71=280 −4 25,000
T2   Billy Casper 70-70-71-71=282 −2 12,500
  Jack Nicklaus 69-70-72-71=282
4   Bo Wininger 73-72-72-66=283 −1 8,000
5   Gardner Dickinson 67-74-69-74=284 E 7,000
T6   Bruce Devlin 68-75-72-70=285 +1 5,750
  Sam Snead 68-75-70-72=285
T8   Tommy Aaron 66-71-72-78=287 +3 4,040
  Jack Burke Jr. 75-71-72-69=287
  Jacky Cupit 72-76-70-69=287
  Rod Funseth 75-72-69-71=287
  Bob McCallister 76-68-70-73=287

Source:[2][3]

Television

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This was the first PGA Championship televised by the ABC network, which retained the broadcast rights through 1990, when it was succeeded by CBS.

References

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  1. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1965 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Gundelfinger, Phil (August 16, 1965). "Dave Marr wins PGA with 280". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. 1, 30. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Kienzl, Ray (August 16, 1965). "Marr bulldogs way to PGA title". Pittsburgh Press. p. 28.
  4. ^ Wright, Alfred (August 23, 1965). "Diary of a career in turmoil". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
  5. ^ a b "Dapper David ties tiring Tom as PGA leader". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 15, 1965. p. 3B.
  6. ^ "Confidence top prize". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 16, 1965. p. 3B.
  7. ^ Bires, Mike (July 9, 2004). "Big time: Laurel Valley stands out". Beaver County Times. Pennsylvania. p. C8.
  8. ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (August 12, 1965). "Jack Nicklaus PGA 'Pick' in Palmerland". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 28.
  9. ^ a b Parascenzo, Marino (June 23, 1989). "A place in the world of golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 23.
  10. ^ "Laurel Valley prexy discounts Erath move". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 14, 2016. p. 12.
  11. ^ "Tree grows, Laruel feud flares". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. August 15, 1965. p. 1, section 4.
  12. ^ a b c "Aaron leads by 2; Palmer in rhubarb". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. August 14, 1965. p. 2, part 2.
  13. ^ "Laurel Valley". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (yardages). August 12, 1965. p. 28.
  14. ^ "Aaron's 66 leads PGA". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. August 13, 1965. p. 2, part 2.
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40°13′44″N 79°14′10″W / 40.229°N 79.236°W / 40.229; -79.236