The 1976 PGA Championship was the 58th PGA Championship, played August 12–16 at Congressional Country Club (Blue Course) in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb northwest of Washington, D.C. Held six weeks following the United States Bicentennial, it was the second major at Congressional; the U.S. Open was conducted twelve years earlier in 1964.

1976 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 12–16, 1976
LocationBethesda, Maryland
38°59′46″N 77°10′34″W / 38.996°N 77.176°W / 38.996; -77.176
Course(s)Congressional Country Club
Blue Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,054 yards (6,450 m)[1]
Field138 players, 76 after cut[2]
Cut149 (+9)
Prize fund$250,950
Winner's share$45,000
Champion
United States Dave Stockton
281 (+1)
Location map
Congressional Country Club is located in the United States
Congressional Country Club
Congressional Country Club
Location in the United States
Congressional Country Club is located in Maryland
Congressional Country Club
Congressional Country Club
Location in Maryland
← 1975
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Dave Stockton, the 1970 champion, sank a 15-foot (5 m) putt to save par on the 72nd hole to win his second PGA Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Raymond Floyd and Don January.[3] The final round was delayed to Monday for the first time, due to weather.[2] Stockton's final putt averted the first sudden-death playoff in major championship history,[4][5] which came a year later at the 1977 PGA Championship.

Defending champion Jack Nicklaus shot a final round 74 (+4) and finished two strokes back, in a tie for fourth. Third round leader Charles Coody shot 77 and fell into a tie for eighth.[3]

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 403 215 453 420 409 456 166 362 602 3,486 460 395 188 445 439 554 211 411 465 3,568 7,054
Par 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 35 4 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 35 70

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, August 12, 1976

Place Player Score To par
1   Tom Weiskopf 65 −5
T2   Tom Kite 66 −4
  Gil Morgan
T4   Charles Coody 68 −2
  Lee Elder
  Jerry McGee
T7   Mark Hayes 69 −1
  Hale Irwin
  Mike Morley
  Jerry Pate
  Bob Zender

Source:[6]

Second round

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Friday, August 13, 1976

Place Player Score To par
1   Gil Morgan 66-68=134 −6
2   Tom Kite 66-72=138 −2
T3   Don January 70-69=139 −1
  Gary Player 70-69=139
  Tom Weiskopf 65-74=139
T6   Bill Collins 70-70=140 E
  Charles Coody 68-72=140
  Ben Crenshaw 71-69=140
  Raymond Floyd 72-68=140
  Gene Littler 71-69=140
  Jerry McGee 68-72=140
  Jack Nicklaus 71-69=140
  Bob Zender 69-71=140

Source:[7]

Third round

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Saturday, August 14, 1976
Sunday, August 15, 1976

Place Player Score To par
1   Charles Coody 68-72-67=207 −3
T2   Gil Morgan 66-68-75=209 −1
  Jack Nicklaus 71-69-69=209
4   Don January 70-69-71=210 E
T5   Raymond Floyd 72-68-71=211 +1
  David Graham 70-71-70=211
  Tom Kite 66-72-73=211
  Gary Player 70-69-72=211
  Dave Stockton 70-72-69=211
T10   Lee Elder 68-74-70=212 +2
  Jerry McGee 68-72-72=212
  Tom Weiskopf 65-74-73=212

Source:[8]

Final round

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Sunday, August 15, 1976 (cancelled)
Monday, August 16, 1976

After the third round was completed on Sunday morning, the fourth round was begun but then scratched due to weather; the partial scores were cancelled with a fresh start on Monday.[9]

Champion
(c) = past champion
Top 10
Place Player Score To par Money (US$)
1   Dave Stockton (c) 70-72-69-70=281 +1 45,000
T2   Raymond Floyd (c) 72-68-71-71=282 +2 20,000
  Don January (c) 70-69-71-72=282
T4   David Graham 70-71-70-72=283 +3 9,750
  Jack Nicklaus (c) 71-69-69-74=283
  Jerry Pate 69-73-72-69=283
  John Schlee 72-71-70-70=283
T8   Charles Coody 68-72-67-77=284 +4 6,000
  Ben Crenshaw 71-69-74-70=284
  Jerry McGee 68-72-72-72=284
  Gil Morgan 66-68-75-75=284
  Tom Weiskopf 65-74-73-72=284

Source:[5][10]

References

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  1. ^ "Grim Jack set for PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 12, 1976. p. 12.
  2. ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1976 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Stockton snatches PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 17, 1976. p. 12.
  4. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 23, 1976). "Swinging in the rain". Sports Illustrated. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b "Stockton anticipated PGA win". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 17, 1976. p. D1.
  6. ^ "Riled Weiskopf's 65 claims first-round PGA leadership". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 13, 1976. p. 27.
  7. ^ "Dr. Gil stakes big margin 'Don't feel any pressure'". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 14, 1978. p. 13.
  8. ^ "P.G.A. results". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. August 16, 1972. p. 13.
  9. ^ "Nicklaus' birdie erased, fishing too". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 16, 1976. p. 11.
  10. ^ "1976 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
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