The Senior PGA Championship
| Tournament Info for: 1997 Senior PGA Championship | ||
| Date: | April 17 - 20, 1997 |
|
| Site: | PGA National Golf Club (Champion Course) | |
| Champion: | Hale Irwin | |
| Purse: | $1,200,000.00 | |
| Field: | 134 | |
| Cut at: | 74 | |
| Par: | 36 - 36 - 72 (6,702 yards) |
|
| Players Advanced: | 152 | |
| Sponsors: | Advil | |
Hale Irwin arrived at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on a mission to repeat as PGA Seniors' Champion and sustain momentum throughout the year. He opened with a methodical 4-under-par 68 and coasted to a 12-stroke victory and a second consecutive title in the 58th PGA Seniors' Championship presented by Advil. It was the largest victory margin for any Senior PGA Tour professional and the second-highest margin in PGA Seniors' Championship history. Sam Snead won by 15 strokes in 1973, seven years before the Senior PGA Tour began. The 51-year old Irwin became the first back-to-back winner in Championship history since Snead in 1972 and 1973, and the fifth player to win consecutive PGA Seniors' Championship titles. Irwin is the 12th multiple champion in event history. His 14-under-par 274 total were his third victory of the year, and Irwin went on to do what he had planned - finishing a year in style. He tied the Senior PGA Tour record with nine victories, became golf's first $2 million season money-winner and was named Senior PGA Tour Player of the Year. Dale Douglass and 1991 Champion Jack Nicklaus, Irwin's closest pursuers, each birdied the 18th hole in the final round to share second place at 286. Douglass matched his all-time best PGA Seniors' Championship performance, having tied for second in 1987. Nicklaus recorded his seventh top-10 finish in eight appearances. Irwin opened the final round with a seven-stroke lead and left no doubt that he wouldn't sit on the lead. He attacked the Champion Course, increasing his lead over the field by holing out for an eagle from a greenside bunker on the third hole. He followed with birdies on the fourth, 10th and 16th holes to offset a three-putt bogey on the 11th.
| Results | |||||||
| Course Average | Under Par | At Par | Over Par | Low Rounds | Round Leader | Hale Irwin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1: | 76.16 | 11 | 9 | 114 | 69 Gibby Gilbert, Hale Irwin | 69 Gibby Gilbert, Hale Irwin | 69 |
| Round 2: | 77.37 | 8 | 6 | 118 | 65 Hale Irwin | 134 Hale Irwin | 134 |
| Round 3: | 75.12 | 9 | 5 | 52 | 70 DeWitt Weaver, Isao Aoki, Vicente Fernandez | 206 Hale Irwin | 206 |
| Round 4: | 74.5 | 14 | 4 | 48 | 67 Kermit Zarley | 274 Hale Irwin | 274 |
| Totals: | 76.11 | 42 | 24 | 332 | |||
