7 Golfing Greats Who Made PGA Championship the Battleground of Thrills for Golf Fans

Started in 1916, the PGA Championship is among the most anticipated golfing events of the year. However, even the annual event had significant participants which helped the Major reach its iconic stature. With the Wanamaker Trophy embedded with some of the biggest names in the golf world, let’s take a look at some of the golfers who mastered the century-old event.

The 2023 PGA Championship will mark the 105th edition of the tournament. The event has had 69 different winners over the years. While some golfers made the mark on the event during its Match Play era before 1956, another series of players even joined the list of in the current generation of Stroke Play. Let’s take a look at seven names who had the most impact at the second Major of the year.

1. Jack Nicklaus

While Nicklaus is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time, there is hardly anyone better than ‘the Golden Bear’ at the PGA Championship. He began his dominance at the event with a win in 1963. However, Jack required another eight years to get his hands over his second Wanamaker Trophy.

From 1971 to 1980, the Hall of Famer won the PGA Championship four times (1971, 1973, 1975, and 1980). Moreover, similar to his five victories in the event, Jack Nicklaus also has almost the same number of runner-up finishes (1964, 1965, 1974, 1983).

The legendary golfer also holds the position of being crowned at the PGA Championship for the most number of times (5) in the stroke play era. However, when it comes to having the most number of Wanamaker Trophies of all time, Nicklaus has some company.

2. Walter Hagen

While Jack Nicklaus is considered the most decorated player of the stroke play era, Hagen held the same reputation during the early days of the Major’s inception. Five years after the foundation of the PGA Championship in 1916, Hagen won his maiden title. However, from 1924-1927, Walter Hagen remained the sole owner of the Wanamaker Trophy winning it repeatedly in the match-play format.

With five wins, he shares the record for the most number of PGA Championship victories alongside Jack Nicklaus. While Hagen is popular for his illustrious record in the Major, he is also known for losing the Wanamaker Trophy in a taxi in 1925. Nonetheless, the 107-year-old trophy was later found in 1930, in the basement of Hagen’s golf clubs company.

3. Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods clearly needs no introduction in the golf world. The golfer is widely considered a synonym for the sport of golf. Among his 15 Major titles, four of Tiger’s wins have been from the PGA Championship. Just three years after turning pro, Woods won his maiden Wanamaker Trophy in 1999.

He successfully defended his title a year later at the Valhalla Golf Club, joining an elite list of golfers who’ve managed to win the Major back to back. Tiger Woods imitated his two consecutive wins in a row again during the 2006 and 2007 editions of the PGA Championship. He remains the only golfer to have four wins in the Major.

4. Gene Sarazen

Very few golfers had the privilege to compete in the PGA Championship since its inception in 1916. However, six years after the foundation, the event had one of its greatest winners, Gene Sarazen. The Hall of Famer won his first Wanamaker Trophy in 1922 and was the first golfer to successfully defend it in 1923.

During his 1922 triumph, Sarazen became the youngest golfer to win the PGA Championship at 20 years, 174 days. The records remain intact even after 100 years. He won his third and final PGA Championship a decade later in 1933, engraving himself as one of the greatest players to play in the event.

5. Sam Snead

Sam Snead was among the first golfers who played a key role in popularizing the sport. He dominated the professional circuit in the 1940s. During the same period, Sam managed to grasp two wins at the iconic event.

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He won the 1942 PGA Championship before claiming it again in 1949. Sam Snead’s final Wanamaker Trophy win came in 1951 at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Though his road of PGA Championship victories came to an end, he did end his career with 7 Major triumphs.

6. Phil Mickelson

Apart from his immense talent, Phil Mickelson is also adored by the golf world for his witty humor. The combination of his comical character and fierce competitive mind helped him in becoming one of the best golfers to win the Wanamaker Trophy. Phil’s 2005 win in Springfield marked his first PGA Championship win.

His second win in 2021 defied the odds when 50 years, 11 months old Mickelson became the oldest golfer to win the PGA Championship. As ‘Lefty’ still looks active as ever, he might as well replicate his 2021 PGA Championship performance in the forthcoming events.

7. Brooks Koepka

While the list includes some of the most senior players to have won the Major, Brooks Koepka managed to join the list of the greats within a short period of his career. Ahead of successfully retaining his US Open title in 2018, Koepka also got his hands over the Wanamaker Trophy for the first time the same year.

He returned to the Major a year later at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, New York, and successfully defended his PGA Championship title in 2019. Brooks Koepka remains the last golfer to win the 107-year-old event back to back.

Some other big names to win the PGA Championship

Along with Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, many other golfers also have won the Wanamaker Trophy twice. Jim Barnes was the winner of the first-ever PGA Championship in 1916 and won it again in 1919 when the event returned after the First World War.

Nearly a decade after Barnes’ victory, Leo Diegel stopped the dominance of Walter Hagen at the PGA Championship. He ended Hagen’s four continuous wins in 1928 and won the event again in 1929. Some other names who’ve left a major impact on the event with two wins are Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Rory McIlroy, Vijay Singh, Ben Hogan, and the latest one to the list, Justin Thomas.

As the event is continuing with its century-old history, the PGA Championship will proceed to elevate more golfers to legendary status. Are we missing anybody? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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