The 1996 PGA Championship was the 78th PGA Championship, held August 8–11 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Mark Brooks won his only major championship with a birdie at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Kentucky native Kenny Perry.[2][3][4][5] Defending champion Steve Elkington was a stroke out of the playoff, in a tie for third. It was the second consecutive and final sudden-death playoff at the PGA Championship, which changed to a three-hole aggregate format, first used in 2000 at Valhalla.

1996 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 8–11, 1996
LocationLouisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Course(s)Valhalla Golf Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,144 yards (6,532 m)
Field150 players, 81 after cut[1]
Cut145 ( 1)
Prize fund$2.4 million
Winner's share$430,000
Champion
United States Mark Brooks
277 (−11), playoff
← 1995
1997 →
Valhalla Golf Club is located in the United States
Valhalla Golf Club
Valhalla
Golf Club

It was the second major played in Kentucky and the first in 44 years; the PGA Championship, a match play event through 1957, was played in Louisville in 1952 at Big Spring Country Club. The championship returned to Valhalla just four years later in 2000, and again in 2014 after hosting the Ryder Cup in 2008.

Course designer and five-time champion Jack Nicklaus missed the cut by a single stroke at age 56. He also missed the cut by one stroke in 2000 at age 60, his final appearance in the PGA Championship.

Course layout

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Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 425 515 199 355 460 415 605 165 415 3,554 565 165 470 350 208 410 450 432 540 3,590 7,144
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 3 4 36 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 36 72

Source:[6]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, August 8, 1996
Friday, August 9, 1996

Kenny Perry shot a first round 66 (−6) to take the lead, finishing in the dark. Weather delayed play for nearly four hours and sixty players completed their first rounds on Friday morning.[7]

Place Player Score To par
1   Kenny Perry 66 −6
T2   Steve Elkington 67 −5
  Phil Mickelson
T4   Mark Brooks 68 −4
  Russ Cochran
  Joel Edwards
  Lee Janzen
  Greg Norman
  Nick Price
  Ian Woosnam

Second round

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Friday, August 9, 1996

Phil Mickelson, age 26, played 24 holes on Friday and carded consecutive rounds of 67 to take a three stroke lead at 134 (−10).[8][9]

Place Player Score To par
1   Phil Mickelson 67-67=134 −10
2   Justin Leonard 71-66=137 −7
T3   Mark Brooks 68-70=138 −6
  Kenny Perry 66-72=138
  Vijay Singh 69-69=138
T6   Lee Janzen 68-71=139 −5
  Nick Price 68-71=139
T8   Mike Brisky 71-69=140 −4
  Russ Cochran 68-72=140
  David Edwards 69-71=140
  Brad Faxon 72-68=140
  Jim Furyk 70-70=140
  Greg Norman 68-72=140
  Jesper Parnevik 73-67=140
  Tommy Tolles 69-71=140
  Tom Watson 69-71=140
  Ian Woosnam 68-72=140

Third round

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Saturday, August 10, 1996

Kentucky native Russ Cochran shot a course record 65 (−7) to take the 54-hole lead, two strokes ahead of Mark Brooks and Vijay Singh. Brooks eagled the par-4 15th, holing out from the fairway.[10] Seeking his first major title, Mickelson fell three strokes back after a 74 ( 2).

Place Player Score To par
1   Russ Cochran 68-72-65=205 −11
T2   Mark Brooks 68-70-69=207 −9
  Vijay Singh 69-69-69=207
T4   Steve Elkington 67-74-67=208 −8
  Phil Mickelson 67-67-74=208
  Nick Price 68-71-69=208
T7   Mike Brisky 71-69-69=209 −7
  Justin Leonard 71-66-72=209
  Greg Norman 68-72-69=209
  Jesper Parnevik 73-67-69=209
  Kenny Perry 66-72-71=209

Source:[10]

Final round

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Sunday, August 11, 1996

Native sons of Kentucky had different results on Sunday as Cochran shot 77 ( 5) in the final pairing and faded while Perry had a 68 (−4) and waited as the clubhouse leader at 277 (−11). Playing with Cochran, Brooks birdied the par-5 final hole to force a playoff. Perry bogeyed the same hole after a hooked tee shot and was in the television booth with CBS-TV, not hitting balls.[11] The second shot of defending champion Steve Elkington found a greenside bunker; he had a 10-foot (3 m) birdie putt to join the playoff, but could not convert. Tolles had a long eagle putt to tie but missed, while Singh also needed a birdie to join the playoff but made bogey to finish 2 behind.

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
T1   Mark Brooks 68-70-69-70=277 −11 Playoff
  Kenny Perry 66-72-71-68=277
T3   Steve Elkington 67-74-67-70=278 −10 140,000
  Tommy Tolles 69-71-71-67=278
T5   Justin Leonard 71-66-72-70=279 −9 86,667
  Jesper Parnevik 73-67-69-70=279
  Vijay Singh 69-69-69-72=279
T8   Lee Janzen 68-71-71-70=280 −8 57,500
  Per-Ulrik Johansson 73-72-66-69=280
  Phil Mickelson 67-67-74-72=280
  Larry Mize 71-70-69-70=280
  Frank Nobilo 69-72-71-68=280
  Nick Price 68-71-69-72=280

Source:[1][2][3][12]

Scorecard

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Birdie Bogey

Final round

Hole   1   2   3     4     5   6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 3 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 5
  Brooks −9 −10 −9 −9 −9 −10 −11 −12 −12 −12 −11 −10 −10 −9 −10 −10 −10 −11
  Perry −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −8 −9 −9 −10 −10 −11 −12 −12 −12 −12 −11

Source:[13]

Playoff

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The sudden-death playoff began on the 540-yard (494 m) 18th hole; the par-5 was the course's second-easiest hole on Sunday.[11] Brooks reached the green in two and birdied while Perry's tee shot again found the rough on the left and his fourth was a chip that did not reach the green,[14] ending the playoff.[1][2] It was Brooks' second birdie at the hole in twenty minutes; in regulation he hit his third shot from the greenside sand to within four feet (1.3 m).[3]

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Mark Brooks 4 −1 430,000
2   Kenny Perry x 260,000

Source:[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Tournament Info for: 1996 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Parascenzo, Marino (August 12, 1996). "Brooks snatches crown". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B1.
  3. ^ a b c d "PGA ends in a photo finish". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. August 12, 1996. p. C1.
  4. ^ Diaz, Jaime (August 19, 1996). "Victor at Valhalla". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
  5. ^ Parascenzo, Mario (August 12, 1996). "Brooks snatches crown". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B-1.
  6. ^ Rogers, Phil (August 8, 1996). "On untested course, anyone could win". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (Dallas Morning News). p. 1C.
  7. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 9, 1996). "Perry storms into lead". Toledo Blade. Block news alliance. p. 31.
  8. ^ "Mickelson's major challenge". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. August 10, 1996. p. C1.
  9. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 10, 1996). "Tips help Mickelson". Toledo Blade. Block news alliance.
  10. ^ a b Bonk, Thomas (August 11, 1996). "Cochran now lefty at PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1G.
  11. ^ a b Bonk, Thomas (August 12, 1996). "Playoff putt earns Brooks a major title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.
  12. ^ "1996 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  13. ^ "PGA Leaders' Cards". Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. August 12, 1996. p. 2B.
  14. ^ Weinreb, Michael (August 12, 1996). "Brooks corrals first major". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (Akron Beacon Journal). p. 1C.
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38°14′31″N 85°28′19″W / 38.242°N 85.472°W / 38.242; -85.472