The Senior PGA Championship
| Tournament Info for: 1979 Senior PGA Championship | ||
| Date: | December 13 - 16, 1979 |
|
| Site: | Turnberry Isle Country Club Aventura | |
| Champion: | Don January | |
| Purse: | $100,000.00 | |
| Field: | 73 | |
| Cut at: | 73 | |
| Par: | 36 - 36 - 72 (6,800 yards) |
|
| Players Advanced: | 154 | |
The PGA Seniors' Championship jump-started the Senior PGA Tour with $100,000 tournament just before Christmas at Turnberry Isle CC in North Miami. This doubled the purse of the previous five years and signaled the start of what became one of the biggest success stories in the 1980s, the Senior PGA Tour. Don January, just 26 days past his 50th birthday, and with earnings of $80,000 on the "regular" Tour during the year, led all the way, with an 18-under-par 270 total on the South Course. This became the second-lowest total in PGA Seniors' history. He finished eight shots ahead of runner-up George Bayer of Detroit.
| Results | |||||||
| Course Average | Under Par | At Par | Over Par | Low Rounds | Round Leader | Don January | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1: | 74.52 | 12 | 8 | 53 | 68 Don January | 68 Don January | 68 |
| Round 2: | 73.82 | 15 | 4 | 54 | 67 Bill Johnston, Chick Harbert, George Bayer | 136 Don January | 136 |
| Round 3: | 75.37 | 8 | 4 | 61 | 67 Don January | 203 Don January | 203 |
| Round 4: | 76.37 | 4 | 3 | 66 | 67 Don January | 270 Don January | 270 |
| Totals: | 75.02 | 39 | 19 | 234 | |||
