The 1974 PGA Championship was the 56th PGA Championship, played August 8–11 at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, North Carolina, a suburb southwest of Winston-Salem. Lee Trevino won the first of his two PGA Championships, one stroke ahead of defending champion Jack Nicklaus.[1] It was the fifth of Trevino's six major titles and Nicklaus was the runner-up to Trevino in a major for the fourth and final time.[3] It was the first year since 1969 in which Nicklaus did not win a major championship,[4] but he regained the title the following year.

1974 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 8–11, 1974
LocationClemmons, North Carolina
35°59′35″N 80°24′18″W / 35.993°N 80.405°W / 35.993; -80.405
Course(s)Tanglewood Park,
Championship Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,050 yards (6,447 m)[1]
Field141 players, 78 after cut[2]
Cut149 (+9)
Prize fund$225,000
Winner's share$45,000
Champion
United States Lee Trevino
276 (−4)
Location map
Tanglewood Park is located in the United States
Tanglewood Park
Tanglewood Park
Location in the United States
Tanglewood Park is located in North Carolina
Tanglewood Park
Tanglewood Park
Location in North Carolina
← 1973
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Three-time champion Sam Snead, age 62, finished tied for third for his third consecutive top ten finish in the event. It was the final major in which he was in contention, his next best finish was a tie for 42nd at the PGA Championship in 1979. Gary Player's bid to win three majors in 1974 came up short in the final round; the winner of the Masters and Open Championship finished four strokes back at even par, in seventh place.

Trevino used a putter he found in a friend's attic only days before and had only one three-putt, on the 71st hole.[4] Tanglewood is a county-owned facility in Forsyth County.[5]

This championship coincided with the resignation of President Nixon, who left office on Friday.[6]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, August 8, 1974

Place Player Score To par
T1   Raymond Floyd 68 −2
  Hubert Green
  John Schlee
T4   Bobby Cole 69 −1
  Jack Nicklaus
  Eddie Pearce
  Sam Snead
  Leonard Thompson
  Tom Watson
T10   Jim Colbert 70 E
  Bruce Devlin
  Al Geiberger
  Tom Jenkins
  Grier Jones
  Tom Nieporte
  Victor Regalado
  Mason Rudolph
  DeWitt Weaver
  Kermit Zarley

Source:[7]

Second round

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Friday, August 9, 1974

Place Player Score To par
1   John Schlee 68-67=135 −5
2   Hubert Green 68-68=136 −4
T3   Bobby Cole 69-68=137 −3
  Gary Player 73-64=137
5   Jack Nicklaus 69-69=138 −2
6   Lee Trevino 73-66=139 −1
T7   Tommy Aaron 73-67=140 E
  Frank Beard 73-67=140
  Raymond Floyd 68-72=140
  Al Geiberger 70-70=140
  Leonard Thompson 69-71=140
  Sam Snead 69-71=140

Source:[8]

Third round

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Saturday, August 10, 1974

Lee Trevino shot 68 to take the lead at 207 (−3), while 36-hole leader John Schlee carded 75 to fall three strokes back.[9][10]

Place Player Score To par
1   Lee Trevino 73-66-68=207 −3
T2   Bobby Cole 69-68-71=208 −2
  Jack Nicklaus 69-69-70=208
T4   Frank Beard 73-67-69=209 −1
  Hubert Green 68-68-73=209
T6   Dave Hill 74-69-67=210 E
  Gary Player 73-64-73=210
  John Schlee 68-67-75=210
  Leonard Thompson 69-71-70=210
10   Sam Snead 69-71-71=211 +1

Source:[9][10]

Final round

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Sunday, August 11, 1974

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Lee Trevino 73-66-68-69=276 −4 45,000
2   Jack Nicklaus 69-69-70-69=277 −3 25,700
T3   Bobby Cole 69-68-71-71=279 −1 10,957
  Hubert Green 68-68-73-70=279
  Dave Hill 74-69-67-69=279
  Sam Snead 69-71-71-68=279
7   Gary Player 73-64-73-70=280 E 7,200
8   Al Geiberger 70-70-75-66=281 +1 6,635
T9   Don Bies 73-71-68-70=282 +2 5,850
  John Mahaffey 72-72-71-67=282

Source:[1][11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "'Super' Lee notches PGA". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. August 12, 1974. p. 12.
  2. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1974 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  3. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 19, 1974). "He left them laughing". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
  4. ^ a b Gundelfinger, Phil (August 12, 1974). "Trevino holds off Nicklaus to win PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 18.
  5. ^ "Tanglewood Park: golf". Forsyth County. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  6. ^ "Nixon Resigns". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 9, 1974. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Swinging Sam still firing birds". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 9, 1974. p. 1D.
  8. ^ "Player chases Schlee in PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 10, 1974. p. 1B.
  9. ^ a b "Trevino grabs PGA lead". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 11, 1974. p. 11.
  10. ^ a b "Player ignores comedian's antics". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 11, 1974. p. 3C.
  11. ^ "1974 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
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