1971 PGA Championship: Nicklaus Slams It ... Again
Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 281
Where it was played: PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Tournament dates: February 25-28, 1971
Leader after first round: Bob Murphy, 68
Leader after second round: Jack Nicklaus, 138
Leader after third round: Jack Nicklaus, 208
What Happened at the 1971 PGA Championship
Jack Nicklaus won the tournament by two strokes, his second career victory in the PGA Championship. And that made him the first golfer to win all four of the professional majors at least twice each. In other words, his win here made Nicklaus the first-ever to win the double career grand slam.Nicklaus opened with a 69, took the lead with another 69 in the second round, then cruised to the win. Nicklaus led by four strokes after a third-round 70, with Gary Player pursuing. But in the final round, Player could do no better than match Nicklaus' 73 and finished tied for fourth. The golfers who finished 2-3 — Billy Casper and Tommy Bolt — started the final round well back of Nicklaus and never threatened his lead.
Bolt was 55 years old at the time of the 1971 PGA Championship, and hadn't posted a Top 10 finish in a major since 1965. His third-place showing here was his last Top 10 in a major. For Casper, it was his third time finishing as runner-up in a PGA Championship, a tournament he never won.
This was Nicklaus' ninth career win in a professional major, tying Ben Hogan on the all-time list for second at the time, behind only Walter Hagen's 11 wins in the pro majors. It was the 34th overall win for Nicklaus on the PGA Tour.
The PGA was played in February this year, making it the first major of the year rather than the last. Sixty-nine-year-old Gene Sarazen completed the first two rounds and missed the cut, nearly 50 years after his win in the 1922 PGA Championship (he also won this major in 1923 and 1933). He entered in 1972, but withdrew, so the 1971 PGA is the last one in which he completed play. Walter Burkemo, winner of the 1953 PGA Championship, played in his final major here and missed the cut. And Chandler Harper, winner of the 1950 PGA Championship, also made his final start in any major here. At age 56, he made the cut but withdrew following the third round.
1971 PGA Championship Final Scores
| Jack Nicklaus | 69-69-70-73—281 |
| Billy Casper | 71-73-71-68—283 |
| Tommy Bolt | 72-74-69-69—284 |
| Gary Player | 71-73-68-73—285 |
| Miller Barber | 72-68-75-70—285 |
| Jim Jamieson | 72-72-72-70—286 |
| Gibby Gilbert | 74-67-72-73—286 |
| Dave Hill | 74-71-71-70—286 |
| Bob Lunn | 72-70-73-72—287 |
| Jerry Heard | 73-71-72-71—287 |
| Fred Marti | 72-71-74-70—287 |
| Bob Rosburg | 74-72-70-71—287 |
| Larry Hinson | 71-73-73-71—288 |
| Bruce Devlin | 71-71-74-72—288 |
| Frank Beard | 74-71-73-70—288 |
| Bob Charles | 70-75-70-73—288 |
| Lee Trevino | 71-73-75-69—288 |
| Herb Hooper | 74-71-73-71—289 |
| Arnold Palmer | 75-71-70-73—289 |
| Bob E. Smith | 73-70-75-72—290 |
| Johnny Miller | 71-76-72-71—290 |
| John Schroeder | 72-74-74-71—291 |
| Hale Irwin | 73-72-72-74—291 |
| Jerry McGee | 73-74-71-73—291 |
| Larry Wood | 74-71-72-74—291 |
| Chuck Courtney | 74-71-74-72—291 |
| Brad Anderson | 71-75-75-70—291 |
| Bert Yancey | 71-74-70-76—291 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 72-70-77-72—291 |
| Terry Dill | 75-68-75-74—292 |
| Rod Funseth | 72-74-75-71—292 |
| Gene Borek | 72-70-73-77—292 |
| Al Geiberger | 74-69-77-72—292 |
| Sam Snead | 71-74-74-74—293 |
| Homero Blancas | 72-73-74-74—293 |
| Dave Eichelberger | 74-74-72-73—293 |
| George Archer | 74-73-74-72—293 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 70-73-75-75—293 |
| Julius Boros | 71-74-72-76—293 |
| Dave Stockton | 73-73-75-73—294 |
| Grier Jones | 74-75-73-72—294 |
| John Schlee | 72-76-75-71—294 |
| Billy Maxwell | 75-71-76-72—294 |
| Howie Johnson | 77-71-75-71—294 |
| Babe Hiskey | 75-72-69-78—294 |
| eane Beman | 71-74-75-75—295 |
| Dan Sikes Jr. | 73-73-75-74—295 |
| Bobby Nichols | 74-72-74-75—295 |
| Jim Colbert | 72-73-76-74—295 |
| Mike Hill | 72-72-74-77—295 |
| Larry Ziegler | 74-68-76-77—295 |
| Cesar Sanudo | 77-72-73-73—295 |
| Bob Murphy | 68-78-75-74—295 |
| Bob Goalby | 70-74-73-78—295 |
| Al Kelley | 73-74-74-75—296 |
| Bill Garrett | 74-75-75-72—296 |
| Mason Rudolph | 76-72-75-74—297 |
| Bill Bisdorf | 76-73-76-72—297 |
| Bruce Crampton | 72-77-73-75—297 |
| Jacky Cupit | 76-71-73-77—297 |
| Dick Lotz | 76-73-77-71—297 |
| Hugh Royer Jr. | 78-71-73-75—297 |
| Joe Campbell | 73-76-74-75—298 |
| Labron Harris Jr. | 76-72-74-76—298 |
| Dewitt Weaver | 73-76-77-72—298 |
| Chi Chi Rodriguez | 73-76-73-77—299 |
| Chick Evans | 74-74-73-78—299 |
| Bob Duden | 72-75-79-73—299 |
| Bob Stone | 73-75-72-79—299 |
| Corky Dahl | 75-69-79-76—299 |
| Larry Mancour | 74-71-78-77—300 |
| Pete Brown | 76-70-78-76—300 |
| R.H. Sikes | 76-73-79-72—300 |
| Bert Greene | 76-69-73-82—300 |
| Ken Towns | 75-74-76-77—302 |
| Manuel De La Torre | 74-70-79-79—302 |
| Gene Littler | 73-71-82-76—302 |
| Ken Still | 76-72-77-78—303 |
| Steve Spray | 75-73-79-76—303 |
| John Molinda | 75-72-79-78—304 |
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