The 1971 PGA Championship was the 53rd PGA Championship, played February 25–28 at the original PGA National Golf Club, presently known as BallenIsles Country Club (East Course)[2][3] in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

1971 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesFebruary 25–28, 1971
LocationPalm Beach Gardens, Florida
Course(s)PGA National Golf Club,
(now BallenIsles
Country Club, East Course)[1]
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,096 yards (6,489 m)
Field144 players, 81 after cut[2]
Cut149 (+5)
Prize fund$202,440[2]
Winner's share$40,000
Champion
United States Jack Nicklaus
281 (−7)
← 1970
1972 →
PGA National is located in the United States
PGA National
PGA National
PGA National is located in Florida
PGA National
PGA National

Jack Nicklaus won the second of his five PGA Championships, two strokes ahead of Billy Casper, the reigning Masters champion. Nicklaus led wire-to-wire,[4][5] and held a four-stroke lead over Gary Player after 54 holes, with Casper seven shots back.[6] The two were pre-tournament favorites, along with Arnold Palmer,[7] who shot an opening round 75 and finished at 289 (+1), eight strokes back.[8]

Nicklaus became the first in history to complete the modern career Grand Slam for a second time; two victories in each of the four major championships.[8] He completed his third career grand slam at the 1978 Open Championship.

The championship was played in February rather than August, due to anticipated oppressive summer weather in Florida. The rescheduling changed the PGA Championship from the fourth and final major of the calendar year to the first in 1971, and the 1970 and 1971 editions were consecutive majors. It returned to August in 1972 at Oakland Hills in Michigan.[9]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, February 25, 1971

Place Player Score To par
1   Jack Nicklaus 69 −3
T2   Bob Charles 70 −2
  Bob Goalby
  Bobby Mitchell
T5   Bradley Anderson 71 −1
  Deane Beman
  Julius Boros
  Billy Casper
  Bruce Devlin
  Larry Hinson
  Johnny Miller
  Gary Player
  Sam Snead
  Lee Trevino
  Bert Yancey

Source:[4]

Second round

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Friday, February 26, 1971

Place Player Score To par
1   Jack Nicklaus 69-69=138 −6
2   Miller Barber 72-68=140 −4
3   Gibby Gilbert 74-67=141 −3
T4   Gene Borek 72-70=142 −2
  Bruce Devlin 71-71=142
  Lionel Hebert 72-70=142
  Bob Lunn 72-70=142
  Bob Murphy 74-68=142
  Tom Weiskopf 72-70=142
  Larry Ziegler 74-68=142

Source:[10]

Third round

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Saturday, February 27, 1971

Place Player Score To par
1   Jack Nicklaus 69-69-70=208 −8
2   Gary Player 71-73-68=212 −4
3   Gibby Gilbert 74-67-72=213 −3
T4   Miller Barber 72-68-75=215 −1
  Tommy Bolt 72-74-69=215
  Gene Borek 72-70-73=215
  Billy Casper 71-73-71=215
  Bob Charles 70-75-70=215
  Bob Lunn 72-70-73=215
  Bert Yancey 71-74-70=215

Source:[6]

Final leaderboard

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Sunday, February 28, 1971

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Jack Nicklaus 69-69-70-73=281 −7 40,000
2   Billy Casper 71-73-71-68=283 −5 22,800
3   Tommy Bolt 72-74-69-69=284 −4 14,200
T4   Miller Barber 72-68-75-70=285 −3 8,800
  Gary Player 71-73-68-73=285
T6   Gibby Gilbert 74-67-72-73=286 −2 6,500
  Dave Hill 74-71-71-70=286
  Jim Jamieson 72-72-72-70=286
T9   Jerry Heard 73-71-72-71=287 −1 4,800
  Bob Lunn 72-70-73-72=287
  Fred Marti 72-71-74-70=287
  Bob Rosburg 74-72-70-71=287

Source:[8][11]

References

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  1. ^ "Golf". BallenIsles Country Club. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Tournament Info for: 1971 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  3. ^ "Club history". BallenIsles Country Club. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Jack Nicklaus takes lead in PGA golf tournament". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. February 26, 1971. p. 19.
  5. ^ "Nicklaus takes 2-stroke lead in PGA". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. February 27, 1971. p. 12.
  6. ^ a b "Nicklaus runs four birds to increase his PGA lead". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. February 28, 1971. p. 15.
  7. ^ "Palmer, Nicklaus PGA co-favorites". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. February 25, 1971. p. 17.
  8. ^ a b c Loomis, Tom (March 1, 1971). "Jack the giant killer - 2nd PGA falls to Nicklaus". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 15.
  9. ^ Jenkins, Dan (March 8, 1971). "Dominance of the Smiling Bear". Sports Illustrated. p. 22. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  10. ^ "Sports scoreboard: Golf". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. February 27, 1971. p. 3B.
  11. ^ "1971 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
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26°49′55″N 80°07′01″W / 26.832°N 80.117°W / 26.832; -80.117