72-Hole Scoring Record at Senior PGA Championship

What are the lowest total scores in the history of the Senior PGA Championship? The best 72-hole total any golfer has yet achieved in this oldest of the senior majors is 265. That's a record shared by two golfers.

Rocco Mediate established 265 as the tournament record in the 2016 Senior PGA Championship, which he won by three strokes. Paul Broadhurst then matched the record in 2018, winning by four.

These are all the 72-hole scores so far at the Senior PGA Championship of 270 and below (*non-winner):

• 265 — Rocco Mediate (62-66-71-66), 2016, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (19-under)
• 265 — Paul Broadhurst (72-66-64-63), 2018, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (19-under)
• 267 — Richard Bland (64-66-74-63), 2024, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (17-under)
• 268 — Sam Snead (66-66-67-69), 1973, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (20-under)
• 268 — *Colin Montgomerie (67-66-68-67), 2016, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (16-under)
• 268 — Steven Alker (64-72-69-63), 2022, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (16-under)
• 269 — *Tim Petrovic (66-69-65-69), 2018, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (15-under)
• 270 — Don January (68-68-67-67), 1979 (December), Turnberry Isle, Aventura, Florida (18-under)
• 270 — Bernhard Langer (65-67-70-68), 2017, Trump National, Washington, D.C. (18-under)
• 270 — *Scott McCarron (66-68-66-70), 2018, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (14-under)
• 270 — *Jerry Kelly (70-65-70-65), 2018, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (14-under)
• 270 — *Richard Green (64-71-70-65), 2024, Club at Harbor Shores, Benton, Michigan (14-under)

What jumps out? Of the 12 such scores (270 and below) so far, five of them were recorded by runners-up or even third-place finishes. Even more noticeable is that all five of those instances happened at the same club: The Club at Harbor Shores in Benton, Michigan. In fact, nine of the 12 instances of 270-and-below totals in the Senior PGA Championship happened at Harbor Shores. (Most of the Senior PGA's best 18-hole scores also happened at Harbor Shores.)

And Harbor Shores will be hosting again, so stay tuned.

Only two of the golfers on the above list are from Senior PGAs played prior to 2016: Sam Snead (1973) and Don January (December 1979 — the Senior PGA was played twice that year). Snead was the record-holder for 43 years.

Progression of the Tournament's Scoring Record

The Senior PGA Championship had periods in its early history when it was just two rounds (36 holes) in duration, and three rounds (54 holes). It switched permanently to a four-round (72 holes) format beginning in 1958.

This is how the record for the tournament's lowest winning scores has progressed through the years:

36 Holes
154 — Fred McLeod, 1938
146 — Otto Hackbarth, 1940
142 — Jack Burke Sr., 1941
138 — Eddie Williams, 1942

54 Holes
223 — Jock Hutchison, 1937
214 — Gene Sarazen, 1954
213 — Mortie Dutra, 1955
210 — Al Watrous, 1957
201 — Doug Tewell, 2000 (scheduled for 72 holes, shortened by weather)

72 Holes
288 — Gene Sarazen, 1958
284 — Willie Goggin, 1959
278 — Paul Runyan, 1961
272 — Herman Barron, 1963
268 — Sam Snead, 1973
265 — Rocco Mediate, 2016

See also: U.S. Senior Open scoring records

Sources:
PGA of America. 2024 Senior PGA Player Guide, All-Time Records.