1956 PGA Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 20–24, 1956 |
| Location | Canton, Massachusetts |
| Course(s) | Blue Hill Country Club |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Match play - 7 rounds |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,634 yards (6,066 m)[1] |
| Field | 128 players (all match play) |
| Prize fund | $40,000[2] |
| Winner's share | $5,000 |
| Champion | |
 Jack Burke Jr. | |
| def. Ted Kroll, 3 & 2 | |
|
«1955 1957» | |
The 1956 PGA Championship was the 38th edition of the professional golf competition, held at Blue Hill Country Club in Canton, Massachusetts, a suburb southwest of Boston. Jack Burke Jr. won his second major championship of 1956, a 3 & 2 victory over Ted Kroll; Burke won the Masters in April.[3] It was the penultimate PGA Championship as a match play competition; stroke play was introduced two years later in 1958. This was the tenth and final year the PGA Championship was scheduled for a Tuesday finish.
Defending champion Doug Ford was stopped in the third round by 1953 champion Walter Burkemo, 5 & 3.
Blue Hill was not highly regarded as a championship venue and calls increased for a change in format to stroke play.[4][5] Also, a five-year membership in the PGA of America was necessary to compete in the PGA Championship at the time; this excluded young professionals Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Gene Littler, and Mike Souchak.[4][5]
Burke was the second to win the Masters and PGA Championship in the same calendar year, following Sam Snead in 1949. Through 2015, it has only been accomplished four times, with the latter two by Jack Nicklaus in 1963 and 1975.
Format
The match play format at the PGA Championship was modified in 1956 and called for 9 rounds (162 holes) in five days, Friday through Tuesday. Previously, a two-day stroke play qualifying segment (36 holes) on Wednesday and Thursday preceded the match play competition to narrow the field to 64 competitors. This year, 128 players were entered in the single-elimination bracket. The first five rounds were 18-hole matches contested over the first three days, which reduced the field to four players. The semifinals and finals were 36-hole matches played on the final two days, Monday and Tuesday.[1][2]
- Friday – first round, 18 holes
- Saturday – second and third rounds, 18 holes each
- Sunday – fourth round and quarterfinals, 18 holes each
- Monday – semifinals – 36 holes
- Tuesday – final – 36 holes
Past champions in the field
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | Record | Advanced to | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Snead | United States | 1942, 1949, 1951 | 4–1 | Quarterfinals | T5 |
| Walter Burkemo | United States | 1953 | 3–1 | Fourth round | T9 |
| Chandler Harper | United States | 1950 | 3–1 | Fourth round | T9 |
| Jim Turnesa | United States | 1952 | 3–1 | Fourth round | T9 |
| Gene Sarazen | United States | 1922, 1923, 1933 | 3–1 | Fourth round | T9 |
| Doug Ford | United States | 1955 | 2–1 | Third round | T17 |
| Chick Harbert | United States | 1954 | 1–1 | Second round | T33 |
| Johnny Revolta | United States | 1935 | 0–1 | First round | T65 |
| Vic Ghezzi | United States | 1941 | 0–1 | First round | T65 |
Final results
Tuesday, July 24, 1956
| Place | Player | Country | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Burke, Jr. | United States | 5,000 |
| 2 | Ted Kroll | United States | 3,000 |
| T3 | Ed Furgol | United States | 1,000 |
| Bill Johnston | United States | ||
| T5 | Sam Snead | United States | 500 |
| Fred Hawkins | United States | ||
| Terl Johnson | United States | ||
| Henry Ransom | United States |
Final eight bracket
In the Sunday quarterfinals, Ted Kroll defeated favorite Sam Snead 2 & 1.[6] In the semifinals, Kroll needed only 28 holes to handily defeat Bill Johnston 10 & 8, but Burke's match went 37 holes, extended to an extra hole to stop Ed Furgol, the 1954 U.S. Open champion.[7] In the final on Tuesday, Burke was three holes down to Kroll after 19 holes, then won five of the next seven holes. The two then halved the next seven holes and Kroll's bogey at the par-3 34th hole ended the match at 3 & 2.[8]
| Quarter-finals July 22 | Semi-finals July 23 | Finals July 24 | ||||||||||||
| Jack Burke, Jr. | 4&2 | |||||||||||||
| Fred Hawkins | ||||||||||||||
| Jack Burke, Jr. | 37h | |||||||||||||
| Ed Furgol | ||||||||||||||
| Ed Furgol | 1up | |||||||||||||
| Terl Johnson | ||||||||||||||
| Jack Burke, Jr. | 3&2 | |||||||||||||
| Ted Kroll | ||||||||||||||
| Ted Kroll | 2&1 | |||||||||||||
| Sam Snead | ||||||||||||||
| Ted Kroll | 10&8 | |||||||||||||
| Bill Johnston | ||||||||||||||
| Bill Johnston | 3&2 | |||||||||||||
| Henry Ransom | ||||||||||||||
References
- 1 2 "Ford Confident of Retaining His PGA Title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 20, 1956. p. 19. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- 1 2 "Tournament Info for: 1956 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- ↑ Wind, Herbert Warren (August 6, 1956). "Duluth playoff". Sports Illustrated. p. 46.
- 1 2 "Events & Discoveries". Sports Illustrated. August 6, 1956. p. 17.
- 1 2 Wind, Herbert Warren (August 5, 1957). "The PGA comes back". Sports Illustrated. p. 54.
- ↑ "Kroll defeats Snead to gain semifinals". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. July 23, 1956. p. 2B.
- ↑ "Kroll, Burke gain PGA title round". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 24, 1956. p. 14.
- ↑ "Burkes's blazing putter wins PGA, 3 and 2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 25, 1956. p. 15.
External links
- PGA Media Guide 2012
- About.com – 1956 PGA Championship
- PGA.com – 1956 PGA Championship
Coordinates: 42°11′24″N 71°08′13″W / 42.190°N 71.137°W