1995 PGA Championship

1995 PGA Championship
Tournament information
Dates August 10–13, 1995
Location Los Angeles, California
Course(s) Riviera Country Club
Tour(s) PGA Tour
Statistics
Par 71
Length 6,956 yards (6,361 m)
Field 150 players, 72 after cut[1]
Cut 142 (E)
Prize fund $2.0 million
Winner's share $360,000
Champion
Australia Steve Elkington
267 (–17), playoff
«1994
1996»
Riviera CC
Location in the United States

The 1995 PGA Championship was the 77th PGA Championship, held August 10–13 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California. Steve Elkington shot a final round 64 (–7) and won his only major championship in a sudden-death playoff. Elkington sank a 20-foot (6 m) birdie putt on the first playoff hole (par 4, 18th) to defeat Colin Montgomerie.[2][3] Ernie Els, the third round leader, shot 72 (+1) and finished two strokes back, in a tie for third with Jeff Maggert. His 197 after 54 holes was the lowest-ever for a major championship.[4]

A new 72-hole scoring record for the PGA Championship was set at 267, the second straight year for a new low. Bobby Nichols' 271 in 1964 stood for thirty years, until Nick Price had 269 in 1994.[5] The record was lowered by two strokes in 2001.

Elkington became the fourth Australian-born player to win the PGA Championship, preceded by Jim Ferrier in 1947, David Graham in 1979, and Wayne Grady in 1990.

Brad Faxon shot a final round 63 to climb to fifth place and earned a spot on the Ryder Cup team. His record was 1–2–0 in his first Ryder Cup, as the U.S. team narrowly lost at home.

This was the third major championship at Riviera, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1948 and the PGA Championship in 1983.[6] It was the fourth and most recent PGA Championship held in the state of California, with none scheduled through 2018.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Jeff Sluman  United States 1988 69 67 68 70 274 –10 T8
Payne Stewart  United States 1989 69 70 69 67 275 –9 T13
Paul Azinger  United States 1993 70 70 72 67 279 –5 T31
Nick Price  Zimbabwe 1992, 1994 71 71 70 68 280 –4 T39
Lanny Wadkins  United States 1977 73 69 71 72 285 +1 T63
Jack Nicklaus  United States 1963, 1971,
1973 1975, 1980
69 71 71 76 287 +2 T67

Missed the cut

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 Total To par
Bob Tway  United States 1986 71 72 143 +1
Hal Sutton  United States 1983 70 74 144 +2
Hubert Green  United States 1985 75 70 145 +3
Wayne Grady  Australia 1990 75 70 145 +3
Larry Nelson  United States 1981, 1987 70 75 145 +3
David Graham  Australia 1979 76 70 146 +4
John Mahaffey  United States 1978 75 72 147 +5
John Daly  United States 1991 76 73 149 +7

Source:[7]

Final leaderboard

Finishing hole at Riviera Country Club

Sunday, August 13, 1995

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
T1 Steve Elkington  Australia 68-67-68-64=267 –17 Playoff
Colin Montgomerie  Scotland 68-67-67-65=267
T3 Ernie Els  South Africa 66-65-66-72=269 –15 116,000
Jeff Maggert  United States 66-69-65-69=269
5 Brad Faxon  United States 70-67-71-63=271 –13 80,000
T6 Bob Estes  United States 69-68-68-68=273 –11 68,500
Mark O'Meara  United States 64-67-69-73=273
T8 Jay Haas  United States 69-71-64-70=274 –10 50,000
Justin Leonard  United States 68-66-70-70=274
Steve Lowery  United States 69-68-68-69=274
Jeff Sluman  United States 69-67-68-70=274
Craig Stadler  United States 71-66-66-71=274

Source:[3][7]

Playoff

The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 18th hole, where both drove into the fairway and reached the green in regulation. Elkington was away and birdied from 20 feet (6 m). Montgomerie was slightly closer, but missed his putt to extend the playoff.[2][3]

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Steve Elkington  Australia 3–1360,000
2 Colin Montgomerie  Scotland x E 216,000

References

  1. "Tournament Info for: 1995 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Parascenzo, Marino (August 14, 1996). "Elkington wins PGA in playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C1.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bonk, Thomas (August 14, 1995). "Elkington claims PGA for first major title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.
  4. Bonk, Thomas (August 13, 1995). "Riviera yields to a PGA record assault by Els". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1F.
  5. "How low can they go?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 14, 1995. p. C-3.
  6. Reilly, Rick (August 21, 1995). "Nothing to sneeze at". Sports Illustrated: 34.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "1995 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 17, 2013.

External links

Preceded by
1995 Open Championship
Major Championships Succeeded by
1996 Masters

Coordinates: 34°03′00″N 118°30′04″W / 34.050°N 118.501°W