S P E C I A L M O M E N T S I N P G A G R A N D S L A M H I S T O R Y
Special Moments in
PGA Grand Slam
of Golf History
(Compiled by The PGA of America – October 2011)
The Professional Golfers' Association of America
100 Avenue of the Champions
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418
www.PGA.com
1979 Junior golf the winner as the PGA Grand Slam debuts
Aug. 7 — Oak Hill Country Club (East Course), Rochester, N.Y.
Renovated by George and Tom Fazio over a two-year period, Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course hosted the inaugural PGA Grand Slam of Golf. The event was designed to benefit the PGA Junior Golf Foundation. Winners of the 1978 four major championships competed: PGA Champion John Mahaffey, British Open Champion Jack Nicklaus, Masters Champion Gary Player and U.S. Open Champion Andy North. The par-70, 6,984-yard course made it rough on the foursome, with North and Player sharing top honors with 73s and the $12,000 Steuben Trophy. Mahaffey and Nicklaus struggled in with 77s. Spectators were charged $25 or $30 to view the event, and another $100 to attend the evening awards presentation featuring the contestants, along with former President Gerald Ford, entertainers Pat Boone and Foster Brooks and sportscaster Chris Schenkel, the master of ceremonies. After expenses, The PGA’s Junior Golf Foundation netted more than $75,000.
1980 Lanny was dialed in at Hazeltine
July 1 — Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn.
Opening its doors to the public for the first time in more than a decade, Hazeltine National Golf Club hosted the second PGA Grand Slam of Golf. The elite foursome invited featured 1979 Tournament Players Championship winner Lanny Wadkins, 1979 PGA Champion David Graham, 1979 U.S. Open Champion Hale Irwin and 1979 Masters Champion Fuzzy Zoeller. Wadkins birdied the 18th hole for a 1-under-par 71 to finish two strokes ahead of Irwin and three ahead of Graham and Zoeller. Nearly 3,000 spectators followed the players over a course that had suffered severe criticism during one of its proudest moments, hosting the 1970 U.S. Open. At that time, Dave Hill spent a post-first round news conference criticizing the course, claiming it “lacked only cows and corn to be a real pasture.” The design was drastically changed by the time Hazeltine hosted the 1991 U.S. Open. Irwin admonished the media after the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. “Here we are facing you guys and all we’re being asked about is what we thing of the golf course,” he said. Nobody’s asking about junior golf and that was supposed to be the reason we came here. We’re not here to run a critique of Hazeltine. We’re here to promote junior golf.”
1981 Lee Trevino shines among a star-studded foursome
March 16 — Breakers West Golf Course, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Lee Trevino shined among one of golf’s most heralded quartets at Breakers West Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trevino posted a 3-under-par 68 on the 7,100-yard layout, playing in winds that gusted to 35 miles per hour. Tom Watson finished with a 71, while Jack Nicklaus was at 72 and Spain’s Seve Ballesteros had a 75. A gallery estimated at nearly 5,000 paid $25 each as a contribution to The PGA of America’s Junior Golf Foundation. Trevino was presented the PGA Grand Slam of Golf trophy Vice President George H.W. Bush. “The golf Lee played today was phenomenal,” said Nicklaus, who couldn’t overcome a double bogey start. “It was the best I’ve seen under these conditions in a long time.” Trevino had four birdies and a three-putt bogey to match the best-ball score of his three opponents. The PGA Grand Slam of Golf raised more than $125,000 for junior golf, in addition to raising funds for the American Cancer Society, a participating sponsor with the Economic Council of the Palm Beaches and Munsingwear Inc. “I think I had an advantage today, said Trevino, who donated $1,000 to the Southern Methodist University women’s golf team. “Ballesteros just came over from Spain a week ago. Tom Watson has been in the snow in Kansas City for a couple of weeks (actually Watson was working out in Florida) and Nicklaus missed the cut last week in Doral. And, I’ve done nothing but practice for this match for the past two months.”
1982 It was Mister Rogers neighborhood
March 15 — PGA National Golf Club (Champion), Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
British Open Champion Bill Rogers, leading a foursome of winners of the 1981 major championships, captured the fourth PGA Grand Slam of Golf with a 1-under-par 71. PGA Champion Larry Nelson was runner-up with a 75, while U.S. Open Champion David Graham was at 76, and Masters Champion Tom Watson had a 78. Nelson was the only player in the foursome not to have walked 36 holes the day before in a rain-marred Inverarry Classic in Lauderhill, Fla. Nelson wasn’t entered in the event and drove to Palm Beach Gardens from Daytona Beach. “I’ve played a lot of rounds on courses I’ve never seen,” said Rogers. “I like the course, and I love the greens and fairways. We were lucky today we didn’t see it in the wind.” The Champion Course, initially designed by George and Tom Fazio, would host the 1983 Ryder Cup Matches and later the 1987 PGA Championship.
1986 Norman conquers Kemper Lakes from the tips
Sept. 1 — Kemper Lakes Golf Club, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.
After a three-year hiatus, a dormant PGA Grand Slam of Golf was resurrected at Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Hawthorn Woods, Ill. The Michael W. Lewis Foundation, a Chicago philanthropic organization which also administers other charitable, educational, religious and scientific programs, set up the PGA Grand Slam of Golf to run through 1990 at Kemper Lakes. On the course, 1986 British Open Champion Greg Norman became the first player to break par from the back tees on the 7,500-plus yard championship course, finishing with a 2-under-par 70. Fuzzy Zoeller, the 1979 Masters Champion, was next at 72, while 1986 Masters Champion Jack Nicklaus and 1986 PGA Champion Bob Tway each had a 75. The event raised $125,000 for junior golf. During the round, Norman clowned with Zoeller, planting a flagstick in a greenside bunker on the 18th hole, while awaiting his partner’s arrival. Zoeller responded by playing his approach to within 12 feet of the empty hole. The PGA Grand Slam of Golf was postponed in 1987 because the winners of golf’s major championships could not clear schedules for the planned date.
1988 Larry Nelson makes an impact
May 30 — Kemper Lakes Golf Club, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.
Reigning PGA Champion Larry Nelson fired a course record, 3-under-par 69 to win the sixth PGA Grand Slam of Golf, a victory coming in 93-degree weather and before a gallery of 6,000. Masters Champion Larry Mize and U.S. Open Champion Scott Simpson tied for runner-up honors with 70s, and Greg Norman, the 1986 British Open Champion, had a 73. Norman substituted for 1987 British Open Champion Nick Faldo. Norman owned the previous course record of 70. “This in one of the best courses to host a PGA Championship,” said Nelson. “This is one of the best tests I’ve ever seen. The course is in great shape, and I’m very pleased that the PGA Championship will be here next year.” Norman delighted the gallery by cutting the doglegged 18th fairway with a mammoth drive, 325 yards over water. The ball came to rest 43 feet from the cup on the 433-yard par-4 hole. Later, trees were planted along the left-hand side of the fairway to prevent players from attempting the same shot in the PGA Championship.
Meanwhile, the PGA Junior Golf Foundation received a gift of $100,000 from the Michael W. Louis Foundation. “I’ll give all the time I have in the world for juniors,” said Norman, who had taken leukemia-stricken Jamie Hutton of Wisconsin under his wing earlier in the year. “They’re the next generation and we have to help them as much as we can. You have to set an example for the young kids. Many kids waste their lives on drugs, but golf has an image that is very clean.”
1989 Strange survives Kemper gusts
May 29 — Kemper Lakes Golf Club, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.
With the 71st PGA Championship only 2½ months away at Kemper Lakes Golf Club, four major champions played the course under perhaps its most difficult conditions. Winds whipped around the layout at 25 miles per hour and gusted to 35, as a gallery of 5,200 watched two-time defending U.S. Open Champion Curtis Strange post a winning 1-over-par 73. Craig Stadler had three of the foursome’s four total birdies, yet finished with a 75. Ian Baker-Finch had a 76 and Greg Norman did not report his score. Baker-Finch replaced 1988 PGA Champion Jeff Sluman, who withdrew while recovering from an appendectomy. The PGA Junior Foundation was the big winner, with a $100,000 donation from the Michael W. Louis Foundation.
1990 Iron Mike joins in as North posts a win
May 28 — Kemper Lakes Golf Club, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.
For the first time in its history, The PGA Grand Slam of Golf searched the celebrity ranks to fill a void when a major champion fell ill. Reigning U.S. Open Champion Curtis Strange suffered a stomach disorder before the event at Kemper Lakes Golf Club and had to withdraw. PGA of America President Pat Rielly searched for someone in the Chicago area who wouldn’t disappoint a holiday sports gallery of some 3,000 fans, including 16 who paid $6,500 each to play 18 holes with the professionals. Rielly got a commitment from Bears Coach Mike Ditka, who carried a 7-handicap, and didn’t turn in a scorecard. Meanwhile, two-time U.S. Open Champion Andy North won the title with a 2-under-par 70, while 1982 Masters Champion Craig Stadler had a 74 and reigning PGA Champion Payne Stewart – who had won the major at the course nine months earlier – struggled to a 75. The PGA Grand Slam of Golf, which concluded its four-year stay at Kemper Lakes Golf Club, raised funds to purchase $75,000 worth of golf clubs for juniors.
1991 Ian finished a ‘Woosie’ of a round
Nov. 12-13 — Kauai Lagoons Resort, Kauai, Hawaii
For the first time since the event was introduced in 1979, all four current winners of the golf’s major championships competed in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. The format was expanded to a 36-hole, two-day event. Masters Champion Ian Woosnam, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, knocked in four consecutive birdie putts on the final four holes to post a 9-under-par 135 and win a $400,000 first prize from a $1 million purse. British Open Champion Ian Baker-Finch was four strokes back at 139, while U.S. Open Champion Payne Stewart was a 141 and PGA Champion John Daly fourth at 143.
1992 Price’s putter sinks Kite
Nov. 10-11 — Nicklaus Resort (now Tournament) Course
PGA West, La Quinta, Calif.
Nick Price used his putter to great success to win his first PGA Championship in 1992, and it was his salvation in holding off a sizzling Tom Kite in a playoff in the 10th PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Price dropped birdie putts on the 16th and 18th holes for a bogey-free 67 that tied Kite, who finished the second round with a course record 10-under-par 62 for a 137 total. Kite, who began the day five strokes back of Price, hit a 170-yard, 5-iron approach to the 18th green from a fairway bunker. The ball landed within 14 feet of the hole. Price made his 15-foot birdie, and Kite followed by making his birdie putt. The playoff was concluded unceremoniously. Kite’s approach shot found a steep greenside bunker, from where he failed to get up and down for par. Price two-putted for his winning par. “It’s been a dream year for me,” said Price. “This has really capped off a great year for me. The PGA Championship was by far the biggest. I have an opportunity now to play in all the great events in the world. These events are the icing on the cake. This is what I worked all my life for, to get in all the really great events.”
1993 Like a mackerel in the moonlight
Nov. 16-17 — Nicklaus Resort (now Tournament) Course
PGA West, La Quinta, Calif.
The most difficult tournament there is to earn a berth proved to be the most difficult in which to achieve par. Golf’s four major champions struggled on the 7,126-yard Nicklaus Resort Course. In 36 holes, there were 11 balls hit into the water, two out of bounds and a total of 18 penalty strokes. However, British Open Champion Greg Norman survived long enough to put together rounds of 71 and 74 for a 1-over-par 145 total. PGA Champion Paul Azinger was two strokes back at 147, while Masters Champion Bernhard Langer and U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen shared fourth at 148. Norman’s paycheck of $400,000 was the biggest of his then- 17-year professional career. Janzen came within a stroke of Norman after 35 holes. But he sculled a 4-iron from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole and plopped it into the water. He settled for double bogey. “Sometime you win pretty, sometimes you win ugly,” said Norman. “In fishing terms, this was a mackerel in the moonlight – shining one moment, smelly the next.”
1994 Norman rides trade wins to second victory
Nov. 8-9 — Poipu Bay Golf Course & Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa
The PGA Grand Slam of Golf made its first visit to Poipu Bay Golf Course, and Greg Norman, the first alternate to compete in the event since it reorganized in 1991, became its first back-to-back champion. Norman took advantage of his prodigious driving ability and 20-mile per hour trade winds to become the first back-to-back winner of the event. Norman capped a bogey-free, 6-under-par 66 final round by making a five-foot eagle putt. That gave him a 36-hole total of 136, a stroke off the 1991 record by Ian Woosnam. PGA and British Open winner Nick Price, the PGA Player of the Year, was three strokes back at 139. Price closed to within a stroke of Norman on the 10th hole, but fell two strokes back with a bogey at the 16th. U.S. Open winner Ernie Els was third at 143 and Masters Champion Jose Maria Olazabal fourth at 144. The foursome combined for 28 birdies during the two rounds.