The 1967 PGA Championship was the 49th PGA Championship, played July 20–24 at Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver. Don January won his only major title in an 18-hole playoff over Don Massengale (69–71). Both had overtaken the leaders with low scores in the fourth round on Sunday.
Columbine was scheduled to host the championship in 1966, but flooding of the course by the South Platte River caused a postponement of a year. Firestone Country Club in Ohio, scheduled to host in 1967, swapped years with Columbine and was the site of the tournament in 1966.
There was a possibility of a boycott of the championship by the top tournament players, due to grievances with the PGA of America. An understanding was achieved several weeks before and the top players entered.
At the time, Columbine was the longest course in major championship history at . The elevation of the course is over above sea level, additionally dry and fast conditions shortened its effective length. Tommy Aaron carded a course record 65 in the second round to take a four-stroke lead, but a 76 on Saturday dropped him two back and he fell out of contention on Sunday with a 78. The 54-hole leader was Dan Sikes, the chairman of the tournament players committee, who shot a final round 73 and finished a stroke out of the playoff, in a tie for third with Jack Nicklaus.
This was the second and final 18-hole Monday playoff at the PGA Championship, formerly a match play event through 1957. The next playoff was ten years later in 1977 and the format was changed to sudden-death, immediately following the fourth round. It was later changed to a three-hole aggregate format, first used in 2000.
The Open Championship was played the previous week near Liverpool, England, one of five times in the 1960s that these two majors were played in consecutive weeks in July. The PGA Championship moved permanently to August in 1969, where it remained through 2018 (except 1971, when it was played in late February). In 2019, the tournament moved to the weekend before Memorial Day.
Round summaries
First round Thursday, July 20, 1967 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Dave Hill 66−62 Jack Nicklaus 67 −5T3 Don Bies 69 −3 Julius Boros Davis Love Jr. Dan Sikes T7 Tommy Aaron 70 −2 Rich Bassett Bob Goalby Don Massengale Arnold Palmer Mike Souchak
Second round Friday, July 21, 1967 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Tommy Aaron 70-65=135 −9 T2 Don Bies 69-70=139 −5 Dave Hill 66-73=139 Dan Sikes 69-70=139 5 Arnold Palmer 70-71=141 −36 Jack Nicklaus 67-75=142 −2T7 Bill Bisdorf 72-71=143 −1 Raymond Floyd 74-69=143 Don January 71-72=143 R. H. Sikes 72-71=143 Mike Souchak 70-73=143 Dudley Wysong 73-70=143 Source:
Third round Saturday, July 22, 1967 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Dan Sikes 69-70-70=209 −7 T2 Tommy Aaron 70-65-76=211 −5 Jack Nicklaus 67-75-69=2114 Bob Goalby 70-74-68=212−4T5 Al Geiberger 73-71-69=213 −3 Dave Hill 66-73-74=213 Don January 71-72-70=213 Arnold Palmer 70-71-72=213 R. H. Sikes 71-71-71=213 Mike Souchak 70-73-70=213 Source:
Final round Sunday, July 23, 1967 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T1 Don January 71-72-70-68=281 −7 Playoff Don Massengale 70-75-70-66=281T3 Jack Nicklaus 67-75-69-71=282 −6 9,000 Dan Sikes 69-70-70-73=282T5 Julius Boros 69-76-70-68=283 −5 6,500 Al Geiberger 73-71-69-70=283T7 Frank Beard 71-74-70-70=285 −3 4,750 Don Bies 69-70-76-70=285 Bob Goalby 70-74-68-73=285 Gene Littler 73-72-71-69=285 Source:
Playoff Monday, July 24, 1967 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Don January 36-33=69−325,0002 Don Massengale 36-35=71−115,000
Scorecard Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718Par453444354 345544344 JanuaryEEE+1+1+1+1EE−1−1−2−2−3−4−4−3−3 MassengaleEEEE−1−1EEEEE−1−1−2−2−2−1−1 Double EagleEagle -->BirdieBogey Source:
References
External links PGA Media Guide 2012 GolfCompendium.com: 1967 PGA Championship PGA.com – 1967 PGA Championship