1977 PGA Championship Winner and Scores
The 1977 PGA Championship was the 59th time the tournament was played, and was the site of the first-ever sudden-death playoff in one of the four professional majors.
Winner: Lanny Wadkins, 282
Where it was played: Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California
Tournament dates: August 11-14, 1977
Leader after first round: Gene Littler, 67
Leader after second round: Gene Littler, 136
Leader after third round: Gene Littler, 206
What Happened in the 1977 PGA Championship
The 1977 PGA Championship has the distinction of being the first men's professional major decided in a sudden-death playoff. Eighteen-hole, next-day playoffs were the norm in majors until the PGA of America decided to institute the sudden-death format for its championship.And that makes Lanny Wadkins the first golfer ever to win a major in a sudden-death playoff. He beat Gene Littler by making a par on the third extra hole. Years later, Wadkins said that neither he nor Littler realized at the end of the fourth round that the playoff format had changed: Both players were surprised when they were told to get ready for sudden-death holes.
Littler, 47 years old, opened the tournament at Pebble Beach with a 67, taking the lead. He held the lead after the second and third rounds, too. At the start of the final round, Littler led Wadkins by six strokes; Jack Nicklaus was four behind Littler.
Wadkins made a pair of eagles on the front nine of the final round, but Littler still led by five at the turn. However, Littler stumbled badly on the back nine, making bogey on five of the first six holes.
That allowed Nicklaus to tie for the lead by the 15th hole. But the Bear made an uncharacteristic late mistake on Sunday in a major, with a bogey on the par-3 No. 17. Then he missed a 15-foot putt on the final green that would have gotten him into the playoff.
Wadkins, meanwhile, birdied his last hole — his only birdie of the final round. Littler carded a final-round 76 to Wadkins' 70 (Nicklaus shot 73).
So into the first-ever sudden death playoff at major they went. Littler and Wadkins matched 4s on the first hole, and again on the second. But on the third extra hole, after Littler flubbed a chip shot out of thick, greenside rough, Wadkins sank a 6-foot par putt for the victory.
The tournament week started with the grooves in the irons of multiple players being rules non-conforming, including those of major championship winners Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Gary Player, Tom Weiskopf and Tom Watson. Watson had already won the first two majors (Masters, U.S. Open) of 1977. Using a borrowed set of clubs, Watson finished tied for sixth. The PGA Championship was the only one of the majors Watson never won.
Jim Ferrier, winner of the 1947 PGA Championship, withdrew following a first-round 84. It was his final appearance in a major championship. Jay Hebert, 1960 PGA Championship winner, also made his final start in a major. He missed the cut. Dow Finsterwald, 1958 PGA Championship winner, made the cut for the final time in a major, placing 70th. Two other major winners — Charles Coody (1971 Masters) and Al Geiberger (1966 PGA Championship) — recorded their final Top 10 finishes in majors, Coody fourth and Geiberger tied for sixth.
1977 PGA Championship Final Scores
| Lanny Wadkins | 69-71-72-70—282 |
| Gene Littler | 67-69-70-76—282 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 69-71-70-73—283 |
| Charles Coody | 70-71-70-73—284 |
| Jerry Pate | 73-70-69-73—285 |
| Al Geiberger | 71-70-73-72—286 |
| Lou Graham | 71-73-71-71—286 |
| Tom Watson | 68-73-71-74—286 |
| Don January | 75-69-70-72—286 |
| Jerry McGee | 68-70-77-71—286 |
| Joe Inman | 72-69-73-73—287 |
| Johnny Miller | 70-74-73-70—287 |
| Lee Trevino | 71-73-71-73—288 |
| Tom Kite | 73-73-70-72—288 |
| Bruce Lietzke | 74-70-74-71—289 |
| Leonard Thompson | 72-73-69-75—289 |
| George Cadle | 69-73-70-77—289 |
| Gil Morgan | 74-68-70-77—289 |
| Arnold Palmer | 72-73-73-73—291 |
| Mark Hayes | 68-75-74-74—291 |
| George Archer | 70-73-76-72—291 |
| George Burns | 71-76-70-74—291 |
| John Schroeder | 73-76-68-74—291 |
| J.C. Snead | 76-71-72-72—291 |
| Grier Jones | 72-74-72-74—292 |
| Jim Simons | 74-74-69-75—292 |
| Billy Kratzert | 71-76-75-70—292 |
| Bob Murphy | 72-72-72-76—292 |
| Lyn Lott | 76-75-67-74—292 |
| Miller Barber | 77-68-69-78—292 |
| Lon Hinkle | 72-72-74-75—293 |
| Dave Stockton | 75-75-69-74—293 |
| Gary Player | 74-77-68-74—293 |
| Roger Maltbie | 70-79-70-74—293 |
| Billy Casper | 73-71-70-79—293 |
| John Schlee | 73-73-73-75—294 |
| Ed Sneed | 74-73-72-75—294 |
| Danny Edwards | 76-74-67-77—294 |
| Rik Massengale | 77-73-70-74—294 |
| Raymond Floyd | 74-72-73-76—295 |
| Mike McCullough | 77-69-72-77—295 |
| Butch Baird | 75-74-73-74—296 |
| Bud Allin | 77-72-75-72—296 |
| Hale Irwin | 74-75-73-75—297 |
| Steve Melnyk | 71-75-74-77—297 |
| Mike Morley | 71-74-80-72—297 |
| Bob E. Smith | 76-70-77-75—298 |
| Mac McLendon | 75-73-76-75—299 |
| Wally Armstrong | 73-74-77-75—299 |
| Dave Hill | 73-77-74-75—299 |
| Kermit Zarley | 76-75-75-74—300 |
| Bobby Nichols | 72-75-78-75—300 |
| Bruce Devlin | 75-73-74-78—300 |
| Bob Duden | 74-76-79-72—301 |
| Larry Nelson | 77-69-79-76—301 |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | 70-72-79-80—301 |
| Sam Snead | 80-71-71-79—301 |
| Julius Boros | 73-75-77-77—302 |
| Graham Marsh | 74-74-77-77—302 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 77-72-74-79—302 |
| Bob Gilder | 76-74-68-84—302 |
| Hubert Green | 74-77-76-76—303 |
| Bob Payne | 73-76-75-79—303 |
| John Lister | 70-75-80-78—303 |
| Rusty Guernsey | 78-72-77-80—307 |
| Jim Ferriell | 78-71-79-80—308 |
| Tom Jenkins | 78-73-77-80—308 |
| Phil Ferranti | 75-73-79-81—308 |
| Bob Benson | 74-75-75-85—309 |
| Dow Finsterwald | 76-75-84-75—310 |
| Larry Rinker | 77-74-79-85—315 |
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