By the TC Golf Center Editorial Team ยท Updated
The PGA Championship has been around since 1916. Over 100+ years, it has piled up some wild stats, strange firsts, and great stories. Here are 15 facts worth knowing about one of golf's four majors.
- The PGA Championship is one of the four major championships in men's golf, alongside The Masters, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship (also known as the British Open).
- The tournament was first held in 1916 and has been contested annually ever since, except for 1917-1918 due to World War I and 1943 due to World War II.
- The winner of the PGA Championship receives the Wanamaker Trophy, which was first awarded in 1916 and is named after Rodman Wanamaker, a department store magnate who helped establish the tournament.
- Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen share the record for most PGA Championships, with five victories each.
- The youngest player to win the PGA Championship is Gene Sarazen, who was 20 years, 5 months, and 22 days old when he won in 1922.
- The oldest player to win the PGA Championship is Phil Mickelson, who was 50 years and 11 months old when he won in 2021.
- In 1991, John Daly became the first alternate to win the PGA Championship, after Nick Price withdrew due to the birth of his child.
- Charlie Sifford, who helped break the PGA's color barrier in 1961, won the 1975 Senior PGA Championship.
- The first Asian-born player to win the PGA Championship was Y.E. Yang of South Korea, who defeated Tiger Woods in the 2009 tournament.
- In 1977, Lanny Wadkins became the first player to win the PGA Championship in sudden death playoff format.
- In 2020, the PGA Championship was held without fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In 2023, Brooks Koepka became the first LIV Golf member to win a major, taking his third PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
- The 2022 PGA Championship was held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Justin Thomas won in a playoff over Will Zalatoris.
- The PGA Championship has been won by players from 10 different countries, with the United States having the most wins at 89.
- The PGA Championship has been played at a variety of venues across the United States, with the most frequent host being the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has hosted the tournament five times.
From match play to stroke play, from Gene Sarazen to Justin Thomas, the PGA Championship keeps producing moments worth remembering. The Wanamaker Trophy is one of the heaviest lifts in golf, in more ways than one.