1968 PGA Championship: Winners and Scores
Winner: Julius Boros, 281
Where it was played: Pecan Valley Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas
Tournament dates: July 18-21, 1968
Leader after first round: Marty Fleckman, 66
Leader after second round: Frank Beard and Marty Fleckman, 138
Leader after third round: Frank Beard and Marty Fleckman, 210
What Happened in the 1968 PGA Championship
The 1968 PGA Championship was the 50th PGA Championship played and a golfer almost as old as the tournament won it. It was the runner-up who garnered many of the headlines, however. That's because the runner-up was Arnold Palmer. The PGA Championship proved to be the only one of the four majors that Arnie never won, and his finish here was one of three second-place showings in this tournament for him.Palmer nearly pulled off the victory, despite battling putting problems throughout the final round. Palmer, Bob Charles and Julius Boros began the final round two strokes off the lead shared by Frank Beard and Marty Fleckman. Beard and Fleckman melted in the scorching Texas summer, but the other three didn't.
Palmer reached the final hole needing birdie to take the lead, then hooked his tee shot into the rough and among the trees left of the fairway. He had 230 yards uphill to a two-tiered green, but striped a 3-wood to birdie distance (variously described as from eight to 12 feet) from the cup. But then he missed the birdie putt. Palmer still, though, got into the clubhouse at 281, tied with Charles, the 1963 British Open winner, for the clubhouse lead.
But Boros was still on the course. And he reached the final hole one stroke ahead of Palmer and Charles. That lead appeared in danger, however, when Boros missed the green on his approach. But he pitched to within a few feet and rolled in the par putt for the victory.
Boros was 48 years and four months old, making him, at the time, the oldest winner not just of the PGA Championship but of any of the four professional majors. He held both those records all the way until the 2021 PGA Championship, when Phil Mickelson, at age 50, won. For Boros, the 1968 PGA was his third win in a major, and the second in his 40s. At age 43, he won the 1963 U.S. Open.
While the 48-year-old Boros handled the heat, the 20-years-younger Jack Nicklaus didn't. Nicklaus shot 71-79 and missed the cut in a PGA Championship for the first time in his career. Two golfers who went on to win two PGA Championships each made their tournament debuts this year: Lee Trevino and Dave Stockton. Stockton tied for 17th, Trevino tied for 23rd.
The host golf course, Pecan Valley in San Antonio, is one of a small number of 20th-century major championship venues that no longer exist.
1968 PGA Championship Final Scores
| Julius Boros | 71-71-70-69—281 |
| Bob Charles | 72-70-70-70—282 |
| Arnold Palmer | 71-69-72-70—282 |
| George Archer | 71-69-74-69—283 |
| Marty Fleckman | 66-72-72-73—283 |
| Frank Beard | 68-70-72-74—284 |
| Billy Casper | 74-70-70-70—284 |
| Miller Barber | 70-70-72-73—285 |
| Frank Boynton | 70-73-72-70—285 |
| Charles Coody | 70-77-70-68—285 |
| Al Geiberger | 70-73-71-71—285 |
| Bob Goalby | 73-72-70-70—285 |
| Lou Graham | 73-70-70-72—285 |
| Doug Sanders | 72-67-73-73—285 |
| Dan Sikes | 70-72-73-70—285 |
| Kermit Zarley | 72-75-68-70—285 |
| Dave Hill | 72-74-69-71—286 |
| Mason Rudolph | 69-75-70-72—286 |
| Dave Stockton | 75-71-68-72—286 |
| Gay Brewer | 71-72-72-72—287 |
| Al Mengert | 71-73-70-73—287 |
| Dick Rhyan | 72-72-68-75—287 |
| Bruce Crampton | 71-75-70-72—288 |
| Lee Trevino | 69-71-72-76—288 |
| Bert Yancey | 75-71-70-72—288 |
| Tommy Aaron | 73-73-73-70—289 |
| Don Bies | 69-73-74-73—289 |
| Dick Crawford | 71-75-73-70—289 |
| Steve Reid | 73-73-71-72—289 |
| Gardner Dickinson | 74-69-76-71—290 |
| Lionel Hebert | 75-71-70-74—290 |
| Gene Littler | 73-74-74-69—290 |
| Bob Lunn | 72-75-72-71—290 |
| Johnny Pott | 70-70-75-76—291 |
| Sam Snead | 75-71-72-73—291 |
| Terry Wilcox | 74-73-71-73—291 |
| Mac Hunter | 71-72-73-76—292 |
| John Lively | 74-74-72-72—292 |
| Jerry Pittman | 74-71-74-73—292 |
| Bill Sporre | 73-73-76-70—292 |
| Tim Debaufre | 72-75-73-73—293 |
| Raymond Floyd | 79-70-73-71—293 |
| Earl Jacobson | 73-74-74-72—293 |
| Tom Shaw | 76-71-77-69—293 |
| Harold Henning | 73-74-76-71—294 |
| Robert Stone | 74-72-72-76—294 |
| Larry Wise | 75-71-74-74—294 |
| Al Chandler | 72-74-77-72—295 |
| Dow Finsterwald | 71-75-75-74—295 |
| Ken Venturi | 74-71-75-75—295 |
| Tommy Aycock | 73-74-71-78—296 |
| Sam Carmichael | 73-73-78-72—296 |
| Don January | 78-71-75-72—296 |
| Jim Mooney | 75-74-73-75—297 |
| Stan Mosel | 76-73-77-71—297 |
| Don Whitt T | 75-71-74-77—297 |
| Laurie Hammer | 70-78-78-72—298 |
| Bobby Nichols | 75-72-76-75—298 |
| Ross Coon | 72-76-76-75—299 |
| Bob Hamilton | 78-71-74-76—299 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 74-75-72-78—299 |
| Horace Moore | 72-76-77-74—299 |
| Charles Sifford | 73-74-77-75—299 |
| Bob Benning | 76-71-79-74—300 |
| Bill Collins | 76-73-74-77—300 |
| Pat Rea | 76-73-76-75—300 |
| Joe Cardenas | 73-74-80-75—302 |
| Bob Crowley | 77-71-77-77—302 |
| Jim Picard | 77-70-77-79—303 |
| Gene Mitchell | 75-70-82-79—306 |
| Robert Schoener | 79-70-79-78—306 |
| Gene Webb | 76-73-79-78—306 |
| Manuel De La Torre | 73-76-80-78—307 |
| Larry Ziegler | 75-73-76-83—307 |
Previous and next:
1967 PGA Championship - 1969 PGA Championship