1959 PGA Championship


The 1959 PGA Championship was the 41st PGA Championship played from July 30 to August 2 at Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb west of Minneapolis.
Six strokes back at the start of the final round, Bob Rosburg shot a 66 to win his only major championship at one stroke ahead of runners-up Jerry Barber and Doug Sanders. Rosburg had managed only five birdies in the first three rounds, but had five in the first nine on Sunday to go out in 30, then a record. Barber shot a 65 on Friday and was the 36-hole and 54-hole leader at 205, with Sanders a stroke back. Barber won the title two years later, in a Monday playoff in 1961. Tied for fourteenth at 286 was
This was the second year of stroke play at the PGA Championship, a match play event through 1957. Daily admission was three dollars on Thursday and Friday, and five dollars per day on the weekend. The winner's share was increased fifty per cent to $8,250; two years earlier, it was $8,000 for the final match play competition.
The Open Championship was played several weeks earlier in Scotland at Muirfield; only four Americans were in the field and none made the cut.

Past champions in the field

Made both cuts

Missed the second cut

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, July 30, 1959
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Jerry Barber69−1
T1Jackson Bradley69−1
T1Walter Burkemo69−1
T1Billy Casper69−1
T1Dick Hart69−1
T1Chuck Klein69−1
T1Mike Krak69−1
T1Gene Littler69−1
T1Mike Souchak69−1
T10Jack Burke Jr.70E
T10Buster Cupit70E
T10Don Fairfield70E
T10Al Feminelli70E
T10Billy Maxwell70E
T10Herman Scharlau70E
T10Don Shock70E
T10Ken Venturi70E
T10Art Wall Jr.70E

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Second round

Friday, July 31, 1959
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Jerry Barber69-65=134−6
2Mike Souchak69-67=136−4
3Doug Sanders72-66=138−2
T4Dow Finsterwald71-68=139−1
T4Gene Littler69-70=139−1
T6Billy Casper69-71=140E
T6Lionel Hebert71-69=140E
T6Cary Middlecoff72-68=140E
T9Walter Burkemo69-71=141+1
T9Fred Hawkins72-69=141+1
T9Bob Goalby72-69=141+1

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Third round

Saturday, August 1, 1959
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Jerry Barber69-65-71=205−5
2Doug Sanders72-66-68=206−4
3Mike Souchak69-67-71=207−3
T4Dow Finsterwald71-68-71=210E
T4Cary Middlecoff72-68-70=210E
T6Jay Hebert72-70-69=211+1
T6Gene Littler69-70-72=211+1
T6Bob Rosburg71-72-68=211+1
T9Tommy Jacobs73-71-68=212+2
T9Sam Snead71-73-68=212+2
T9Ken Venturi70-72-70=212+2

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Final round

Sunday, August 2, 1959
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Bob Rosburg71-72-68-66=277−38,250
T2Jerry Barber69-65-71-73=278−23,563
T2Doug Sanders72-66-68-72=278−23,563
4Dow Finsterwald71-68-71-70=280E2,500
T5Bob Goalby72-69-72-68=281+12,000
T5Mike Souchak69-67-71-74=281+12,000
T5Ken Venturi70-72-70-69=281+12,000
T8Cary Middlecoff72-68-70-72=282+21,600
T8Sam Snead71-73-68-70=282+21,600
10Gene Littler69-70-72-73=284+41,450

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Scorecard

Final round
Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par445343444344445344
Rosburg+1E−1−1−2−2−2−3−4−4−4−3−3−3−3−3−3−3
Barber−5−5−5−5−5−5−5−4−4−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−3−2
Sanders−4−4−4−3−2−2−2−2−3−3−3−2−2−2−2−2−1−2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
BirdieBogeyDouble bogey

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