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History of the US PGA Championship

The US PGA Championship was initially set up to provide a high profile competition for professional golfers, at a time when the sport was run by wealthy amateurs. The first competition was held at the Siwanoy Country Club in 1916.

The trophy was donated by Department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker and is now known as the Wanamaker Trophy. He also put up the $2,580 purse for the inaugural event.

Here are some key events in the history of the US PGA Championship:

1916: Englishman Jim Barnes won the first event and collected the $500 first place prize money.

1921: Walter Hagen took home the first of five US PGA Championship titles by beating former champion Jim Barnes by 3 and 2.

1936: Denny Shute won the first of two back-to-back titles, a feat not repeated until Tiger Woods won his second successive championship in 2000.

1958: This was a very significant year in the history of the US PGA Championship because the format changed from match play to stroke play. Some say that this was due to the organisers bowing to pressure from TV companies, who wanted to see as many big names playing on the final day as possible.

1963: Jack Nicklaus won the first of five US PGA Championships, a record he shares with Walter Hagen. The twenty three year old made up a three-stroke deficit to beat Bruce Crampton in the final round.

1972: Gary Player won at Oakland Hills after making a ‘miracle' shot on the 16^th hole of the final round. In order to line up the shot, Player had to borrow a seat from the gallery to stand on as it was unsighted. He hit a 9-iron that cleared the trees and a lake to roll within four feet of the hole.

1984: At the age of 44, Lee Trevino won a three-way battle with Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins at Shoal Creek, Alabama to clinch the US PGA Championship title. His 15 under par score gave him a four-stroke victory over Player and Wadkins. Thanks to his performance that day, he is also the first player to have won the competition with four rounds in the 60s.

1999: 23 year old Tiger Woods became the fifth youngest winner at Medina, beating Sergio Garcia by one stroke.

2000: Tiger Woods became the second back-to-back US PGA Champion with his victory at Valhalla Golf Club. Woods had already won The Masters, US Open and the British Open that year, and after tying with Bob May on the 18^th hole, he had to enter a three-hole play off (the first in the championship's history). After Woods hit a tree on the final hole and May narrowly missed a 40-foot putt to birdie, Woods kept his nerve to win by one stroke, making him the first professional golfer to win all four major championships in a row.

2001: The little known David Toms beat the strongest field in golfing history with a 15 under par 265, setting a major championship record for 72 holes.

2004: Vijay Singh took part in a play off with Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard, despite only hitting a four over par 76 on the final day. Despite the slightly underwhelming score, he was able to sink a five-foot putt to score a birdie on the first of the three-hole play-off. Pars at the next two were enough to ensure victory.

2005: Phil Mickelson won his second major in a rainstorm-delayed tournament at Baltusrol. Due to the bad weather Sunday's play had been suspended until Monday, where Mickelson holed a two-foot birdie putt to win the competition from Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn, who were tied at three under.

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