1959 PGA Championship
Six strokes back at the start of the final round, Bob Rosburg shot a 66 (−4) to win his only major championship at 277 (−3), one stroke ahead of runners-up Jerry Barber and Doug Sanders. Rosburg had managed only five birdies in the first three rounds, but had five in the first nine on Sunday to go out in 30, then a record. Barber shot a 65 on Friday and was the 36-hole and 54-hole leader at 205 (−5), with Sanders a stroke back. Barber won the title two years later, in a Monday playoff in 1961. Tied for fourteenth at 286 (+6) was Arnold Palmer.
This was the second year of stroke play at the PGA Championship, a match play event through 1957. Daily admission was three dollars on Thursday and Friday, and five dollars per day on the weekend. The winner's share was increased fifty per cent to $8,250; two years earlier, it was $8,000 for the final match play competition.
The Open Championship was played several weeks earlier in Scotland at Muirfield; only four Americans (two amateurs) were in the field and none made the cut.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, July 30, 1959
Place | Player | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|
T1 | Jerry Barber | 69 | −1 |
Jackson Bradley | |||
Walter Burkemo | |||
Billy Casper | |||
Dick Hart | |||
Chuck Klein | |||
Mike Krak | |||
Gene Littler | |||
Mike Souchak | |||
T10 | Jack Burke Jr. | 70 | E |
Buster Cupit | |||
Don Fairfield | |||
Al Feminelli | |||
Billy Maxwell | |||
Herman Scharlau | |||
Don Shock | |||
Ken Venturi | |||
Art Wall Jr. |
Source:
Second round
Friday, July 31, 1959
Place | Player | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jerry Barber | 69-65=134 | −6 |
2 | Mike Souchak | 69-67=136 | −4 |
3 | Doug Sanders | 72-66=138 | −2 |
T4 | Dow Finsterwald | 71-68=139 | −1 |
Gene Littler | 69-70=139 | ||
T6 | Billy Casper | 69-71=140 | E |
Lionel Hebert | 71-69=140 | ||
Cary Middlecoff | 72-68=140 | ||
T9 | Walter Burkemo | 69-71=141 | +1 |
Fred Hawkins | 72-69=141 | ||
Bob Goalby | 72-69=141 |
Source:
Third round
Saturday, August 1, 1959
Place | Player | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jerry Barber | 69-65-71=205 | −5 |
2 | Doug Sanders | 72-66-68=206 | −4 |
3 | Mike Souchak | 69-67-71=207 | −3 |
T4 | Dow Finsterwald | 71-68-71=210 | E |
Cary Middlecoff | 72-68-70=210 | ||
T6 | Jay Hebert | 72-70-69=211 | +1 |
Gene Littler | 69-70-72=211 | ||
Bob Rosburg | 71-72-68=211 | ||
T9 | Tommy Jacobs | 73-71-68=212 | +2 |
Sam Snead | 71-73-68=212 | ||
Ken Venturi | 70-72-70=212 |
Source:
Final round
Sunday, August 2, 1959
Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Rosburg | 71-72-68-66=277 | −3 | 8,250 |
T2 | Jerry Barber | 69-65-71-73=278 | −2 | 3,563 |
Doug Sanders | 72-66-68-72=278 | |||
4 | Dow Finsterwald | 71-68-71-70=280 | E | 2,500 |
T5 | Bob Goalby | 72-69-72-68=281 | +1 | 2,000 |
Mike Souchak | 69-67-71-74=281 | |||
Ken Venturi | 70-72-70-69=281 | |||
T8 | Cary Middlecoff | 72-68-70-72=282 | +2 | 1,600 |
Sam Snead | 71-73-68-70=282 | |||
10 | Gene Littler | 69-70-72-73=284 | +4 | 1,450 |
Source:
Scorecard
Final round
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey |
Source:
References
- ^ "Tournament Info for: 1959 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
- ^ Bartlett, Charles (August 3, 1959). "Rosburg wins P.G.A. title with 277". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
- ^ "Rosburg Rallies to Win PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 3, 1959. pp. 18, 21.
- ^ Brown, Gwilym (August 10, 1959). "Drama at Minneapolis in wind and rain". Sports Illustrated. p. 42.
- ^ Bartlett, Charles (August 2, 1959). "Barber keeps P.G.A. lead by stroke with 205". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ "Barber keeps lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 2, 1959. p. 1C.
- ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 30, 1959). "Old timer laments match play passing as 41st PGA meet opens". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3, part 6.
- ^ "Nine players tied for PGA lead with 69s". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 31, 1959. p. 17.
- ^ "PGA tournament scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 31, 1959. p. 18.
- ^ "Jerry Barber grabs PGA lead with 134". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 1, 1959. p. 11.
- ^ "Barber keeps lead on great final shot". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 2, 1959. p. 1, sports.
External links
- PGA.com – 1959 PGA Championship