1997 PGA Championship

The 1997 PGA Championship was the 79th PGA Championship, held August 14–17 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. Davis Love III won his only major championship, five strokes ahead of runner-up Justin Leonard, winner of the 1997 Open Championship.^[2][3]

1997 PGA Championship

Tournament information
Dates	August 14–17, 1997
Location	Mamaroneck, New York, U.S. 40.958°N 73.754°W / 40.958; -73.754
Course(s)	Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course
Organized by	PGA of America
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,987 yards (6,389 m)
Field	150 players, 77 after cut[1]
Cut	146 (+6)
Prize fund	$2.6 million
Winner's share	$470,000
Champion
Davis Love III
269 (−11)
Location map
Winged Foot GC Location in the United States Show map of the United States Winged Foot GC Location in New York Show map of New York
← 1996 1998 →

The last few holes on Sunday were played in a steady rain. However, when Love reached the final green with the tournament wrapped up, the sun peeked through the clouds and a rainbow appeared in the sky. Many took it as a symbol of Love finally winning his first major after several close calls and of his late father, a PGA professional, approvingly looking down from above.

Love's performance is remembered as one of the best in modern major championship history. Only two players finished within 10 shots of him. The sports analytics expert Bill Barnwell statistically identified the victory as the second most dominant win of the modern era (1960–2011), only behind Tiger Woods' 15-shot triumph at the 2000 U.S. Open.^[4]

This was the first PGA Championship at the West Course and the fifth major; it previously hosted four U.S. Opens (1929, 1959, 1974, and 1984), which later returned in 2006 and 2020. The tournament was televised by TBS Sports and CBS Sports.

Course layout

Main article: Winged Foot Golf Club

West Course

Hole	Name	Yards	Par		Hole	Name	Yards	Par
1	Genesis	446	4		10	Pulpit	190	3
2	Elm	411	4		11	Billows	396	4
3	Pinnacle	216	3		12	Cape	540	5
4	Sound View	460	4		13	White Mule	212	3
5	Long Lane	515	5		14	Shamrock	432	4
6	El	324	4		15	Pyramid	423	4
7	Babe-in-the-Woods	161	3		16	Hells Bells	457	4
8	Arena	442	4		17	Well-Well	449	4
9	Meadow	467	4		18	Revelations	448	4
Out		3,442	35		In		3,545	35
Source:[5]					Total		6,987	70

Lengths of the course for previous majors:

• 1984 U.S. Open: 6,930 yards (6,340 m), par 70
• 1974 U.S. Open: 6,961 yards (6,365 m), par 70
• 1959 U.S. Open: 6,873 yards (6,285 m), par 70
• 1929 U.S. Open: 6,786 yards (6,205 m), par 72

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 14, 1997

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	John Daly	66	−4
	Davis Love III
3	Robert Allenby	67	−3
T4	Paul Azinger	68	−2
	Tom Kite
	Justin Leonard
	Shigeki Maruyama
	Greg Norman
	Chris Perry
	Paul Stankowski
	Bob Tway

Second round

Friday, August 15, 1997

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Lee Janzen	69-67=136	−4
2	Davis Love III	66-71=137	−3
T3	Phil Blackmar	70-68=138	−2
	Fred Couples	71-67=138
	Justin Leonard	68-70=138
	Jeff Maggert	69-69=138
	Shigeki Maruyama	68-70=138
	Phil Mickelson	69-69=138
	Costantino Rocca	69-69=138
T10	John Daly	66-73=139	−1
	Greg Norman	68-71=139
	Chris Perry	68-71=139
	Vijay Singh	73-66=139
	Paul Stankowski	68-71=139

Third round

Saturday, August 16, 1997

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Justin Leonard	68-70-65=203	−7
	Davis Love III	66-71-66=203
T3	Lee Janzen	69-67-74=210	E
	Tom Kite	68-71-71=210
T5	Fred Couples	71-67-73=211	+1
	David Duval	70-70-71=211
	Scott Hoch	71-72-68=211
	Jeff Maggert	69-69-73=211
	Phil Mickelson	69-69-73=211
	Tiger Woods	70-70-71=211

Final round

Sunday, August 17, 1997

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Davis Love III	66-71-66-66=269	−11	470,000
2	Justin Leonard	68-70-65-71=274	−6	280,000
3	Jeff Maggert	69-69-73-65=276	−4	175,000
4	Lee Janzen	69-67-74-69=279	−1	125,000
5	Tom Kite	68-71-71-70=280	E	105,000
T6	Phil Blackmar	70-68-74-69=281	+1	85,000
	Jim Furyk	69-72-72-68=281
	Scott Hoch	71-72-68-70=281
9	Tom Byrum	69-73-70-70=282	+2	70,000
T10	Tom Lehman	69-72-72-70=283	+3	60,000
	Scott McCarron	74-71-67-71=283
	Joey Sindelar	72-71-71-69=283

Source:^[6]

References

1. "Tournament Info for: 1997 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
2. Diaz, Jaime (August 25, 1997). "At long last, Love". Sports Illustrated. p. 28. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012.
3. Parascenzo, Marino (August 18, 1997). "Color this one special". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B1.
4. Barnwell, Bill (June 24, 2011). "Relative Dominance". Grantland. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
5. D'Amato, Gary (August 14, 1997). "1997 PGA Championship: course". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. p. 6C.
6. "1997 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved July 28, 2012.

External links

• Full results
• PGA.com – 1997 PGA Championship