PGA Championship Top Finishes: Most Top 5s, Top 10s, Top 25s in Career
The PGA Championship is one of the four "major championships" of men's professional golf. You probably won't be surprised to learn that Jack Nicklaus tops each of the lists that follow; Nicklaus also shares (with Walter Hagen) the tournament record of five victories.
Note that the lists that follow only include PGA Championships from the tournament's stroke-play era (1958-present).
Most Top 5 Finishes in PGA Championship
14 — Jack Nicklaus8 — Tiger Woods
6 — Gary Player
6 — Billy Casper
As noted above, the lists on this page include only finishes during the PGA's stroke-play era. The match-play era presents some issues in deciding how to count a golfer's finish, because, in most years, there was not a consolation bracket or playoffs among losers in a given round to determine placements.
But everyone can agree that any golfer who reaches the semifinals of a match-play tournament has recorded a Top 5 finish: In the semifinals, there are only four golfers left, after all. So if we included semifinalists from the match-play era, would any make the list of most Top 5 finishes? Yes. Walter Hagen would come in at 8 and Gene Sarazen at 7.
Most Top 10 Finishes in PGA Championship
15 — Jack Nicklaus10 — Tom Watson
10 — Phil Mickelson
9 — Tiger Woods
8 — Raymond Floyd
8 — Sam Snead
8 — Gary Player
8 — Billy Casper
Arnold Palmer, who played the second-most PGA Championships of anyone (37), does not appear in either the Top 5 or the Top 10 list. The PGA Championship is the only one of the majors that Palmer failed to win — its omission is what prevented Palmer from winning the career grand slam. Palmer had four Top 5 finishes in the PGA Championship, three of which were runners-up. He had six Top 10 finishes.
Most Top 25 Finishes in PGA Championship
23 — Jack Nicklaus18 — Tom Watson
17 — Raymond Floyd
15 — Phil Mickelson
13 — Adam Scott
13 — Arnold Palmer
13 — Billy Casper
Palmer finally shows up on the Top 25 list. Tom Watson is there, too; like Palmer, Watson failed to collect the career grand slam because he never won a PGA Championship. Scott and Casper never won this major, either.
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