PGA Championship
PGA Championship: Most memorable moments
The 105th PGA Championship returns to Oak Hill Country Club from the 18th – 21st May and looks set to be a fiercely competitive tournament.
To get in the mood for one of this year’s most hotly anticipated majors, we take a look at some of the most memorable moments in the history of the PGA Championship.
John Daly, 1991, Crooked Stick
When the initial field for the 1991 PGA Championship was comprised, Daly was nowhere to be seen. 24 years old at the time, Daly only played as the ninth alternate after others pulled out. Daly only found a caddy after Nick Price withdrew and his caddy Jeff “Squeaky” Medlin became available.
Starting the tournament as a mere alternate, Daly finished the first round a modest 3 under par, tied for eighth. It was in the second round where Daly really turned up the heat as he shot five under par to move to -8 atop the leaderboard, where he would remain for the rest of the tournament, finishing three shots clear of Bruce Lietzke in second.
Daly’s carefree, ‘grip it and rip it’ style of play captured the imagination of the fans and his 1991 victory at crooked stick will go down in the history books as one of the most unexpected, exciting, and memorable PGA Championship moments.
Sergio Garcia, 1999, Medinah
Sergio Garcia was just emerging on the golf scene as a 19-year-old in 1999 when he produced a moment that will live long in the memory of golf fans.
As he unexpectedly trailed the leader Tiger Woods by just one shot, he found himself stuck behind a tree on the par 4 16th. Rather than playing out, Garcia entertained by taking a six iron, swinging swiftly at the ball, almost with his eyes closed. He chased the ball down the fairway and performed the infamous ‘scissor-kick’ to gain a better view of his ball flying towards the green.
Although Garcia went on to finish one shot behind winner Tiger Woods, this moment will go down in history at the PGA Championships.
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Tiger Woods v Bob May, 2000, Valhalla
Woods had many rivals over the years, with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh providing challenges over the years, but perhaps Tiger’s greatest challenge came from Bob May in 2002.
May shot a PGA Championship record 18 under, even after being level par at the end of the first round. The issue for May was the with two birdies on the final two holes, Woods matched his feat to force a playoff.
Woods birdied the first of the three playoff holes which was enough to see off May, punctuated by Woods striding after the ball and pointing into the cup as it rolled in.
Yang Yong-eun, 2009, Hazeltine
Yang Yong-eun or Y.E. Yang made history in 2009 as he became the first Asian-born player to win a major as he defeated Tiger Woods at Hazeltine.
Woods was still at the peak of his powers in 2009, having won two of the last three PGA Championships, but Y.E. Yang was there to put and end to his invincibility in 2009.
It appeared to be business as usual for Woods as he held the clubhouse lead after the first, second and third rounds, heading into the final round at 8 under, two strokes ahead of Yang.
But it was not to be for Tiger as cracks started to appear, and his dominance looked to be fading as he shot a three over par 75, leaving the door wide open for the chasing pack. Yang didn’t waste his opportunity as he shot a two under par round of 70, which included a chip-in for eagle on the 14th, leaving him top of the leaderboard by three shots to become the first Asian-born winner of a Major Championship.
