1987 PGA Championship


The 1987 PGA Championship was the 69th PGA Championship, held August 6–9 at the Champion Course of PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In hot and windy conditions, Larry Nelson won his second PGA Championship in a sudden-death playoff over 1977 champion Lanny Wadkins. It was Nelson's third and final major title.
D.A. Weibring, a 54-hole co-leader, shot 76 and finished a stroke back at even-par 288. The other co-leader, Mark McCumber, posted 77 and finished in a tie for fifth. Two major champions in contention shot high scores and fell back: Seve Ballesteros and Raymond Floyd.
In the August heat of Florida, the attendance was low. A record high temperature for the day of was recorded on Sunday. It was the second major played in Florida, following the PGA Championship in 1971, played in February at the old PGA National. Through 2016, this is the last major played in the state. The purse was the last under $1 million at the PGA Championship.
With the win, Nelson gained an automatic bid to the Ryder Cup team in 1987, his third, bumping Don Pooley. Nelson's record in that competition in late September was 0–3–1, as the U.S. lost the Cup for the first time on home soil. He lost all three pairs matches and halved his singles match.
The Champion Course hosted the Ryder Cup in 1983 and the Senior PGA Championship for 19 years. Since 2007, it has been the venue of The Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, played in March.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

Source:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 6, 1987
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Bobby Wadkins68−4
T2David Edwards69−3
T2Fred Funk69−3
T4Raymond Floyd70−2
T4Bernard Langer70−2
T4Larry Nelson70−2
T4Curtis Strange70−2
T4Lanny Wadkins70−2
T9Bobby Clampett71−1
T9Bobby Cole71−1
T9Ray Freeman71−1
T9Dan Pohl71−1
T9Mike Reid71−1
T9Tim Simpson71−1
Source:

Second round

Saturday, August 7, 1987
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Raymond Floyd70-70=140−4
T1Lanny Wadkins70-70=140−4
T3Tim Simpson71-70=141−3
T3Jeff Sluman72-69=141−3
T5Seve Ballesteros72-70=142−2
T5Ben Crenshaw72-70=142−2
T5Larry Nelson70-72=142−2
T5Bobby Wadkins68-74=142−2
T9Bobby Clampett71-72=143−1
T9Mark McCumber74-69=143−1
Source:

Third round

Saturday, August 8, 1987
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Mark McCumber74-69-69=212−4
T1D. A. Weibring73-72-67=212−4
T3Raymond Floyd70-70-73=213−3
T3Bobby Wadkins68-74-71=213−3
T5Seve Ballesteros72-70-72=214−2
T5Lanny Wadkins70-70-74=214−2
7Larry Nelson70-72-73=215−1
T8Ben Crenshaw72-70-74=216E
T8David Frost75-70-71=216E
T10Curt Byrum74-75-68=217+1
T10Don Pooley73-71-73=217+1
T10Nick Price76-71-70=217+1
T10Curtis Strange70-76-71=217+1

Source:

Final round

Sunday, August 9, 1987
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
T1Larry Nelson70-72-73-72=287−1Playoff
T1Lanny Wadkins70-70-74-73=287−1Playoff
T3Scott Hoch74-74-71-69=288E58,750
T3D. A. Weibring73-72-67-76=288E58,750
T5Mark McCumber74-69-69-77=289+137,500
T5Don Pooley73-71-73-72=289+137,500
T7Ben Crenshaw72-70-74-74=290+227,500
T7Bobby Wadkins68-74-71-77=290+227,500
9Curtis Strange70-76-71-74=291+322,500
T10Seve Ballesteros72-70-72-78=292+417,000
T10David Frost75-70-71-76=292+417,000
T10Tom Kite72-77-71-72=292+417,000
T10Nick Price76-71-70-75=292+417,000

Source:

Scorecard

Final round
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718
Par445345344454443435
Nelson−1E−1−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−1−1E−1−1
Wadkins−3−1−2−3−3−3−3−2−1−1−2EEE−1−1−1−1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:

Playoff

The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 10th hole, where both missed the green. Nelson chipped to six feet and Wadkins to four. First to putt, Nelson saved par but Wadkins missed his attempt to extend the playoff.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Larry Nelson4E150,000
2Lanny Wadkinsx+190,000