| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 27 – July 3, 1951 |
| Location | Oakmont, Pennsylvania, U.S. 40°31′34″N79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W /40.526; -79.827 |
| Course | Oakmont Country Club |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour | PGA Tour |
| Format | Match play - 6 rounds |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,882 yards (6,293 m)[1] |
| Field | 140 players,[1] 64 to match play |
| Cut | 154 (+10), playoff |
| Prize fund | $17,700[2] |
| Winner's share | $3,500 |
| Champion | |
 Sam Snead | |
| def.Walter Burkemo, 7 and 6 | |
| Location map | |
The1951 PGA Championship was the 33rdPGA Championship, held June 27 to July 3 atOakmont Country Club inOakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast ofPittsburgh.Sam Snead won thematch play championship, 7 and 6, overWalter Burkemo in the Tuesday final; the winner's share was$3,500, and the runner-up's was $1,500.[3][4]
It marked the first time the PGA Championship returned to a venue; Oakmont had hosted in1922[2] (at the time, it had also hosted twoU.S. Opens and threeU.S. Amateurs). It was Snead's third and final win in the PGA Championship and the fifth of his sevenmajor titles. At age 39, he was the oldest at the time to win the PGA Championship, passing his old record of two years earlier. Burkemo won the title in1953 and was runner-up again in1954.
Defending championChandler Harper lost in the first round toJim Turnesa in a match that went to 23 holes.[5] Turnesa, the runner-up to Snead in1942, won the title the following year in1952 and displaced Snead as the oldest champion by a few months.
Snead's win was the last by a former champion for twenty years untilJack Nicklaus won his second PGA Championship in1971.
Claude Harmon,Lloyd Mangrum, andPete Cooper tied for the lowest score in the stroke play qualifier at 142 (−2). Harmon won the $250 medalist prize on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.[6]
TheBritish Open in1951 was held in the first week of July inNorthern Ireland. Its mandatory two-day qualifier was held on the same days as the PGA's semifinals and finals, which prevented participation in both events.[7]
Thematch play format at the PGA Championship in 1951 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in seven days:[2]
| Place | Player | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Snead | 3,500 |
| 2 | Walter Burkemo | 1,500 |
| T3 | Charlie Bassler | 750 |
| Ellsworth Vines | ||
| T5 | Al Brosch | 500 |
| Johnny Bulla | ||
| Jack Burke Jr. | ||
| Reggie Myles |
| Quarter-finals July 1 | Semi-finals July 2 | Finals July 3 | ||||||||||||
| Sam Snead | 2&1 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Burke Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Sam Snead | 9&8 | |||||||||||||
| Charlie Bassler | ||||||||||||||
| Charlie Bassler | 1up | |||||||||||||
| Al Brosch | ||||||||||||||
| Sam Snead | 7&6 | |||||||||||||
| Walter Burkemo | ||||||||||||||
| Walter Burkemo | 1up | |||||||||||||
| Reggie Myles | ||||||||||||||
| Walter Burkemo | 37h | |||||||||||||
| Ellsworth Vines | ||||||||||||||
| Ellsworth Vines | 1up | |||||||||||||
| Johnny Bulla | ||||||||||||||
Source:[8]
Morning
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Snead | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Burkemo | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Leader | S1 | S2 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S5 | S5 | S5 | S5 | S4 | S4 | S5 | S4 | S4 | S5 | S4 | S3 |
Afternoon
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Snead | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | Snead wins 7 and 6 | |||||
| Burkemo | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
| Leader | S4 | S5 | S6 | S5 | S5 | S5 | S6 | S7 | S6 | S7 | S7 | S7 | ||||||
| Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey |
Source:[4]
