A look at some of the key anniversaries this year at the PGA Championship:
75 years ago (1940): Byron Nelson became the fifth player to capture the three American majors with a 1-up victory over Sam Snead at Hershey Country Club in Pennsylvania. In a tight match, Nelson went 1 up with a wedge to 2 feet on the 17th hole, while Snead missed a 6-foot birdie attempt. Snead missed the 18th green and failed to chip in, and Nelson two-putted from 10 feet for par and his first PGA Championship. It was a remarkable run for Nelson at the PGA Championship. He reached the final match five times in six tries (winning the title twice), and lost in the semifinals the other year.
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50 years ago (1965): Dave Marr won his only major at Laurel Valley when he pulled away from Tommy Aaron on the front nine, and then held off Jack Nicklaus and Billy Casper on the back nine. Marr and Aaron were tied for the lead, and Aaron went out in 40 to fall from contention. Nicklaus and Casper each closed with a 71. Marr was clinging to a two-shot lead on the final hole when he hooked his tee shot into three, laid up short of a lake and hit 9-iron to 3 feet for par. He shot 71 and won by two shots.
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25 years ago (1990): The PGA Championship at Shoal Creek is remembered as much for racial discrimination at the Alabama Club as Wayne Grady winning his first major. In the months leading to the final major of the year, club founder Hall Thompson was quoted as saying Shoal Creek does not discriminate "in every other area except blacks." Thompson said he was misquoted and apologized, and the club quickly added a black member. The PGA Tour, PGA of America and USGA adopted policies that prohibited their tournaments being played at clubs that discriminate. As for the tournament, Grady played bogey-free on the back nine for a 71 to hold off Fred Couples for a three-shot win.
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20 years ago (1995): In low scoring conditions at Riviera, Steve Elkington closed with a 64 and passed a fading Ernie Els. Colin Montgomerie finished with three straight birdies for a 65 to force a sudden-death playoff. Returning to the 18th hole, Elkington made a 25-foot birdie to capture his first (and only) major. Elkington and Montgomerie finished at 267, which tied Greg Norman's major record score set two years earlier in the British Open (Royal St. George's), and stood until David Toms won the PGA at soft Atlanta Athletic Club in 2001.
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10 years ago (2005): Phil Mickelson won his second major in as many years with a birdie on the par-5 18th at Baltusrol for a one-shot victory over Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn. Mickelson went from three shots ahead to two shots behind on a wild Sunday until storms forced a Monday finish for 12 players. Tied for the lead, Mickelson found the 18th fairway. He tapped a plaque in the fairway that commemorates Jack Nicklaus hitting 1-iron when he won the 1967 U.S. Open, and then Lefty put his second shot just off the green. He chipped to 2 feet for birdie and the win.
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