The 1975 PGA Championship was the 57th PGA Championship, played August 7–10 at the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Jack Nicklaus, an Ohio native, won the fourth of his five PGA Championships and the fourteenth of his eighteen major titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Bruce Crampton.[3] He was also the 54-hole leader, four strokes ahead of Crampton.[4]

1975 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 7–10, 1975
LocationAkron, Ohio
41°00′29″N 81°30′29″W / 41.008°N 81.508°W / 41.008; -81.508
Course(s)Firestone Country Club
South Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,180 yards (6,565 m)[1]
Field136 players, 71 after cut[2]
Cut148 (+8)
Prize fund$225,000
Winner's share$45,000
Champion
United States Jack Nicklaus
276 (−4)
Location map
Firestone Country Club is located in the United States
Firestone Country Club
Firestone Country Club
Location in the United States
Firestone Country Club is located in Ohio
Firestone Country Club
Firestone Country Club
Location in Ohio
← 1974
1976 →

It was the second major of the year for Nicklaus, who won his fifth green jacket in April at the Masters,[3][5] and the fourth of five times that he won two majors in the same calendar year.[1]

Through 2021, this was the fourth and most recent time a player won the Masters and PGA Championship in the same calendar year. Nicklaus had previously won both in 1963, preceded by Jack Burke Jr. (1956) and Sam Snead (1949). Nicklaus also held both titles after a Masters win in 1972, and Tiger Woods held all four major titles after his Masters win in 2001.

This was the third PGA Championship at the South Course, which previously hosted in 1960 and 1966. It also a former venue for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which began in 1976 as the "World Series of Golf" on the PGA Tour, preceded by the American Golf Classic, which debuted in 1961.

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 400 500 450 465 230 465 225 450 465 3,650 405 365 180 460 410 230 625 390 465 3,530 7,180
Par 4 5 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 35 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 4 35 70

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, August 7, 1975

Place Player Score To par
1   Mark Hayes 67 −3
T2   Bob Benson 68 −2
  Larry Hinson
T4   Billy Casper 69 −1
  Ed Dougherty
  Fred Wampler
  Bob Wynn
T8   Jim Dent 70 E
  Bruce Devlin
  Raymond Floyd
  Al Geiberger
  Mike Morley
  Jack Nicklaus
  Art Wall Jr.
  Tom Watson
  Tom Weiskopf

Source:[6]

Second round

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Friday, August 8, 1975

Place Player Score To par
1   Bruce Crampton 71-63=134 −6
2   Hale Irwin 72-65=137 −3
T3   Jack Nicklaus 70-68=138 −2
  Mark Hayes 67-71=138
  Bob Wynn 69-69=138
T6   Ed Dougherty 69-70=139 −1
  John Schlee 71-68=139
T8   Al Geiberger 70-70=140 E
  J. C. Snead 73-67=140
  Maurice VerBrugge 72-68=140

Source:[7]

Third round

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Saturday, August 9, 1975

Place Player Score To par
1   Jack Nicklaus 70-68-67=205 −5
2   Bruce Crampton 71-63-75=209 −1
3   Hale Irwin 72-65-73=210 E
T4   Ed Dougherty 69-70-72=211 +3
  Tom Weiskopf 70-71-70=211
T6   David Graham 72-70-70=212 +2
  Bob Murphy 75-68-69=212
  Tom Watson 70-71-71=212
T9   Billy Casper 69-72-72=213 +3
  Mark Hayes 67-71-75=213
  Mike Hill 72-71-70=213
  Larry Hinson 68-73-72=213
  Don January 72-70-71=213
  Gene Littler 76-71-66=213

Source:[4]

Final round

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Sunday, August 10, 1975

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Jack Nicklaus 70-68-67-71=276 −4 45,000
2   Bruce Crampton 71-63-75-69=278 −2 25,700
3   Tom Weiskopf 70-71-70-68=279 −1 16,000
4   Andy North 72-74-70-65=281 +1 10,500
T5   Billy Casper 69-72-72-70=283 +3 8,663
  Hale Irwin 72-65-73-73=283
T7   Dave Hill 71-71-74-68=284 +4 6,918
  Gene Littler 76-71-66-71=284
9   Tom Watson 70-71-71-73=285 +5 6,075
T10   Buddy Allin 73-72-70-71=286 +6 4,468
  Ben Crenshaw 73-72-71-70=286
  Raymond Floyd 70-73-72-71=286
  David Graham 72-70-70-74=286
  Don January 72-70-71-73=286
  John Schlee 71-68-75-72=286
  Leonard Thompson 74-69-72-71=286

Source:[1][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Parascenzo, Marino (August 11, 1975). "Nicklaus manhandles Firestone". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.
  2. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1975 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Nicklaus rules PGA again". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 11, 1975. p. 10.
  4. ^ a b "Mini miracle at 16 sparks Nicklaus". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 10, 1975. p. 3B.
  5. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 18, 1975). "Swinging on a star". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  6. ^ "Top players trail at PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 8, 1975. p. 1D.
  7. ^ "Crampton after that major crown". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 9, 1975. p. 1B.
  8. ^ "1975 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
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