The 1972 PGA Championship was the 54th PGA Championship, played August 3–6 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Gary Player won his second PGA Championship with a total of 281 (+1), two strokes ahead of runners-up Tommy Aaron and Jim Jamieson.[2] It was the sixth of Player's nine major titles, but his first in over four years.[3][4]

1972 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 3–6, 1972
LocationBloomfield Hills, Michigan
Course(s)Oakland Hills Country Club,
South Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,054 yards (6,450 m)
Field138 players, 77 after cut[1]
Cut150 (+10)
Prize fund$224,087
Winner's share$45,000
Champion
South Africa Gary Player
281 (+1)
← 1971
1973 →
Oakland Hills Country Club is located in the United States
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club is located in Michigan
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club

The PGA Championship returned to the month of August in 1972 after being played in late February in 1971 in Florida.

Defending champion Jack Nicklaus, winner of the year's Masters and U.S. Open and runner-up in the British Open, finished six strokes back in a tie for thirteenth place. He regained the title the following year.

It was the fifth major championship held on the South Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, 1951, and 1961. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1979 and 2008, the U.S. Open in 1985 and 1996, and the Ryder Cup in 2004.

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 446 521 202 439 442 368 408 458 227 3,511 459 420 567 173 468 388 408 201 459 3,543 7,054
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 35 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 3 4 35 70

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, August 3, 1972

Place Player Score To par
T1   Buddy Allin 68 −2
  Stan Thirsk
T3   Raymond Floyd 69 −1
  Larry Gilbert
  Jerry Heard
  Jim Jamieson
  Arnold Palmer
T8   Richard Crawford 70 E
  Rod Funseth
  Johnny Miller
  Dan Sikes
  Sam Snead
  Jim Wiechers

Source:[5]

Second round

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Friday, August 4, 1972

Place Player Score To par
1   Jerry Heard 69-70=139 −1
T2   Raymond Floyd 69-71=140 E
  Hale Irwin 71-69=140
T4   Gay Brewer 71-70=141 +1
  Jim Jamieson 69-72=141
  Bob Smith 69-72=141
T7   Gary Player 71-71=142 +2
  Dan Sikes 70-72=142
  Lanny Wadkins 74-68=142
T10   Billy Casper 73-70=143 +3
  Phil Rodgers 71-72=143
  Art Wall Jr. 72-71=143
  Jim Wiechers 70-73=143

Source:[6]

Third round

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Saturday, August 5, 1972

Place Player Score To par
1   Gary Player 71-71-67=209 −1
2   Billy Casper 73-70-67=210 E
T3   Gay Brewer 71-70-70=211 +1
  Jerry Heard 69-70-72=211
  Phil Rodgers 71-72-68=211
T6   Tommy Aaron 71-71-70=212 +2
  Doug Sanders 72-72-68=212
  Jim Wiechers 70-73-69=212
  Larry Wise 74-71-67=212
10   Jim Jamieson 69-72-72=213 +3

Source:[7]

Final round

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Sunday, August 6, 1972

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Gary Player 71-71-67-72=281 +1 45,000
T2   Tommy Aaron 71-71-70-71=283 +3 20,850
  Jim Jamieson 69-72-72-70=283
T4   Billy Casper 73-70-67-74=284 +4 9,275
  Raymond Floyd 69-71-74-70=284
  Sam Snead 70-74-71-69=284
T7   Gay Brewer 71-70-70-74=285 +5 6,383
  Jerry Heard 69-70-72-74=285
  Phil Rodgers 71-72-68-74=285
  Doug Sanders 72-72-68-73=285

Source:[4][8]

References

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  1. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1972 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  2. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 14, 1972). "No muzzle for the monster". Sports Illustrated. p. 58.
  3. ^ "Player recoups faded prestige with win". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 7, 1972. p. 5B.
  4. ^ a b "Nervy Gary Player takes PGA Crown". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. August 7, 1972. p. 10.
  5. ^ "Two share PGA lead with 68s". Milwaukee Sentinel. August 4, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
  6. ^ "Heard tops PGA by stroke". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. August 5, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
  7. ^ "Hot round by Player tops PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 5, 1972. p. 1, sports.
  8. ^ "1972 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
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42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277