Since the day the PGA Championship turned into a stroke play in 1958, there have been many historical records that have astounded the golf world. From the lowest scores to the highest margin wins, the players have been challenged, and they have proven why they are better than the rest.
Coming to the 2024 PGA Championship, from Brooks Koepka to Rory McIlroy, the hottest players will be coming together once again after the 88th Masters to fight for the highly coveted and interesting Wanamaker trophy. The greens of the PGA Championship have witnessed quite a few historical records; let us take a walk down memory lane!
5. Brooks Koepka’s lowest 72-hole record
In 2018, Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship for the first time at Bellerive Country Club. He went on to win it again in 2019 and 2023, but his 72-hole record wasn’t broken by him or anyone else after that year. In 2018, the 5-time major winner shot four rounds of 69, 63, 66, and 66, finishing with an aggregate of 16 under 264 to hold the record for the lowest score carded in 72 holes in the PGA Championship.
This was one stroke better than the previous record holder, David Toms’s 17 under 265, which was recorded at the 2001 PGA Championship in Atlanta Athletic Club. Koepka also holds the record for the largest 36-hole lead of seven strokes, when he defended his PGA Championship title in 2019.
4. Most victories and runner-up finishes of Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus has 18 majors to his name, the most held by any golfer. Out of 18, the Golden Bear has won the PGA Championship five times; 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, and 1980, tying the most PGA Championship winning record with Walter Hagen, This is the second major he has won the most after the Masters.
At times, when Nicklaus could not win the PGA Championship, he stayed just a few strokes behind to suffice with a runner-up finish. And in that, he is the only player to have four runner-up (1964, 1965, 1974, and 1983) finishes in the record books of the PGA Championship.
3. Justin Thomas’s comeback in 2022
It was a dramatic and epic finish in 2022. Not many expected Justin Thomas to be the winner, and not even the two-time major winner was confident about his victory at Southern Hills. On a moving day, Thomas started with a bogey on the first hole, and he concluded it with another bogey. He made a total of 6 bogeys on Saturday.
His score reflected poor performance, as he finished 4 over 74 and seven strokes off Mito Pereira’s lead. On Sunday, the 15-time PGA Tour winner was 1 over par after playing the first eight holes. There was surely no sign of victory in Thomas’s mind, but he knew things could still change. Surprisingly, he tied the round at 3 under 67 with Will Zalatoris.
The two entered the playoff, and at the third playoff hole, Zalatoris failed to convert a birdie putt. Whereas, Thomas made par and clinched his second major to make a historical comeback from a 7-stroke deficit after 54 holes to be the PGA Championship winner.
2. Rory McIlroy’s win by the largest margin
On Sunday of the 2012 PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy donned the red t-shirt and was prepared for an intense match. He found himself well ahead of anyone in the field. Before hoisting the famed Wanamaker Trophy, McIlroy ran a marathon of bogey-free 23 holes. And when he reached the 18th, it’s like the Northern Irishman knew he was about to make history.
With a seven-stroke lead, McIlroy overlooked the 18th green. He then turned to his then-caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald, and said, “I’m going to win this one by eight as well.” He broke Jack Nicklaus’s record that he made at Oak Hills CC at the 1980 PGA Championship and defeated David Lynn by carding 13 under 257, the largest margin victory made by any golfer.
1. Phil Mickelson’s becoming the oldest major winner
53 years after Julius Boros won the 1968 PGA Championship at the age of 48, in San Antonio, Phil Mickelson broke the record in the most magical way in 2021. At the age of 50, Lefty became the oldest major winner, finishing two strokes ahead of 5-time major winner Brooks Koepka and South African pro Louis Oosthuizen.
Four years ago, Mickelson was 115th in the world ranking, was on a two-year-long winless streak, and the last time he triumphed in any major was at the 2013 British Open. Even when the odds and expectations were against him, the 54-year-old believed he could still win, and he did. At last, Lefty had the moment of his life and had a “slightly unnerving but exceptionally awesome” experience!
