1957 PGA Championship Winner and Scores
Winner: Lionel Hebert def. Dow Finsterwald
Semifinalists: Lionel Hebert def. Walter Burkemo; Dow Finsterwald def. Don Whitt (match scores below)
Where it was played: Miami Valley Golf Club in Dayton, Ohio
Tournament dates: July 17-21, 1957
What Happened at the 1957 PGA Championship
For the final time, the PGA Championship used a match play format, making Lionel Hebert the last of the match-play champions. A year later, at the 1958 PGA Championship, the man Hebert defeated here in the championship match — Dow Finsterwald — became the first of the stroke-play champions.The biggest star in the tournament, Sam Snead, lost in the fourth round to Finsterwald. To reach the finals, Finsterwald beat Theodore Sleichter, Bud Williamson, Joe Kirkwood Jr., Snead, Charles Sheppard and Don Whitt; while Hebert defeated Max Evans, Marty Furgol, Charles Farlow, Mike Souchak, Claude Harmon and Walter Burkemo.
Hebert won five times in his PGA Tour career, and this tournament was the first of those five victories. In the closely contested title match, neither Hebert nor Finsterwald led at any point by more than 1-up until the match ended on the 35th green. The match was tied after 31 holes, but Hebert went 1-up with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 32nd. After the finalists matched birdies for the next two holes, Finsterwald bogeyed the 34th hole after hitting into water fronting the green. Hebert parred the 35th hole to close out the 2-and-1 victory and win the 1957 PGA Championship.
Lionel's older brother Jay Hebert, who lost in the quarterfinals here, later won the 1960 PGA Championship. Gene Littler, who won the 1977 PGA Championship in the first-ever sudden-death playoff in a major, made his tournament debut here and lost in the second round.
Later-Round Match Scores
Fourth Round (18 holes)Mike Souchak def. Brien Charter, 4 and 3
Lionel Hebert def. Charles Farlow, 3 and 1
Claude Harmon def. Charles Bassler, 4 and 3
Tommy Bolt def. Eldon Briggs, 7 and 6
Henry Ransom def. Herman Keiser, 5 and 3
Walter Burkemo def. Tony Holguin, 1-up
Jay Hebert def. Charles Harper Jr., 1-up
Doug Ford def. Bob Gajda, 4 and 2
Milon Marusic def. Mike Krak, 2 and 1
Donald Whitt def. Ellsworth Vines, 4 and 3
Ted Kroll def. Ewing Pomeroy, 4 and 3
Dick Mayer def. Al Smith, 5 and 3
Warren Smith def. Skee Riegel, 3 and 2
Charles Sheppard def. Buck White, 1-up
Sam Snead def. John Thoren, 3 and 2
Dow Finsterwald def. Joe Kirkwood Jr., 2 and 1
Round of 16 (18 holes)
Lionel Hebert def. Mike Souchak, 2 and 1
Claude Harmon def. Tommy Bolt, 1-up
Walter Burkemo def. Henry Ransom, 5 and 4
Jay Hebert def. Doug Ford, 3 and 2
Donald Whitt def. Milon Marusic, 2 and 1
Dick Mayer def. Ted Kroll, 1-up
Charles Sheppard def. Warren Smith, 4 and 3
Dow Finsterwald def. Sam Snead, 2 and 1
Quarterfinals (36 holes)
Lionel Hebert def. Claude Harmon, 2 and 1
Walter Burkemo def. Jay Hebert, 2 and 1
Donald Whitt def. Milon Marusic, 2 and 1
Dow Finsterwald def. Charles Sheppard, 2-up
Semifinals (36 holes)
Lionel Hebert def. Walter Burkemo, 3 and 1
Dow Finsterwald def. Don Whitt, 2-up
Championship Match (36 holes)
Lionel Hebert def. Dow Finsterwald, 2 and 1
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1956 PGA Championship - 1958 PGA Championship
