Ranking The 11 Biggest Chokes And Most Clutch Performances In PGA Championship History

The best golfers in the world tee off today at Quail Hollow Club in pursuit of the Wanamaker Trophy and golf’s second major championship of the season, the coveted PGA Championship. Before we look ahead to who might win the 108th PGA Championship we first look back at the golfers who shot some of the lowest scores in PGA Championship history but choked and couldn’t win, and golfers who fired record-setting scores and went on to win.

All eyes are on the Quail Hollow Club this week for the 108th PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy will seek to win back-to-back major championships. Jordan Spieth is trying to complete the career grand slam. And Scottie Scheffler continues his dominance as the #1 golfer in the world.

Before the action really heats up, let us first look at the 11 biggest chokes and most clutch performances in PGA Championship history, the golfers who fired the lowest single-round scores and either failed to win or went on to win it all.

Choke: Bruce Crampton, 1975 PGA Championship, Firestone Country Club

Bruce Crampton struggled in Round 1 of the 1975 PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. The entire purse that week was just $225,000 with the eventual champion (Jack Nicklaus) taking home $45,000.

After shooting a +1 score of 71 in Round 1, Bruce Crampton shot a -7 round of 63 in Round 2, the lowest score in a PGA Championship to date at that point. Crampton held a 3-shot lead going into Round 3 but couldn’t hold onto it and fired off a 75 on Saturday and on Sunday found himself sitting 4 stores back (-1) from eventual champion Jack Nicklaus who himself shot a +1 (71) in the final round.

Choke: Gary Player, 1984 PGA Champoinship at Shoal Creek

At the 1984 PGA Championship at the Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in Alabama, one of two PGA’s held at that course, Gary Player was nowhere to be seen on Page 1 of the leaderboard after the first round where he finished with a +2 round of 74. But things changed on Day 2.

Gary Player came out and shot a score of -9 (63) on Day 2 and found himself tied for the lead alongside Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins. But Player’s competition proved to be hungrier for the win than he was with Trevino shooting 67, Wadkins shooting 68, and Player shooting 69 in Round 3. Player would eventually finish tied for 2nd with Wadkins while Lee Trevino opened up a 4-shot lead for the championship and Gary Player’s record-setting 63 was all for naught.

Choke: Vijay Singh, 1993 PGA Championship At Inverness Club

The 1993 PGA Championship held at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio featured multiple chokes. Notably, Tom Watson was seeking his first PGA title (which he would never win) and was only 1 stroke back going into Sunday but bogeyed 3 of his first 5 holes and finished in 5th place and 4 strokes off the lead.

But it was Vijay Singh who squandered the most. The Fijian golfer shot first two round scores of 68-63 and had a 2-stroke lead heading into the weekend but he couldn’t hold on. A 73 on Saturday dropped Vijay to a 6-way tie for 2nd a stroked behind Greg Norman and a -1 round of 70 on Sunday saw Vijay finish in solo 4th place behind Nick Faldo and Greg Norman who lost to Paul Azinger in a playoff.

Choke: Michael Bradley, 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera Country Club

Round 1 leader of the 1995 PGA Championship, Michael Bradley, came out blazing hot with a first round score of 63 (-8). But the field was on fire that week and Bradley only held a 1-stroke lead going into Round 2, a lead he wasn’t able to protect.

Bradley first round was the only highlight of his week at Riviera and a +2 round of 73 in Round 2 followed by 73 and 74 found Bradley finishing in a tie for 54 and a whopping 16 strokes behind the leaders, Steve Elkington and Colin Montgomerie, who would duel it out in a sudden-death playoff where Elkington sank a 20-foot putt to win.

Choke: Robert Streb, 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club

Baltusrol Golf Club hosted the 2016 PGA Championship, a week that will always be bittersweet for Robert Streb. With a solid first round score of 68, Streb was in a 12-way tie for 9th place going into Friday. The Chickasha, Oklahoma golfer came out guns blazing in round 2 and shot a record-setting 63 (-7) to put 2 strokes between him and the field.

Streb went into the weekend strong until dangerous weather conditions suspended the round and he had to resume play early Sunday morning. The nerves may or may not have played a role in him finishing the 3rd round with a 72 (tied for 5th) and he couldn’t get anything going in the afternoon’s final round and finished in a 3-way tie for 7th place.

Clutch: Raymond Floyd, 1982 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club

The 1982 PGA Championship was Ray Floyd’s to win from day 1. He went wire-to-wire after firing off a record-setting first round 63 (-7) to open up a 3-shot over the field.

Greg Norman was nipping at his heels, sitting 3 strokes back after the first and second rounds. But Norman was never able to close the gap and Raymond Floyd opened up a 5-shot gap over the field heading into Sunday (-10). Nerves played a role on Sunday but Floyd endured and finished at -8 and 3 strokes ahead of Lanny Wadkins (-5).

Clutch: Tiger Woods, 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club

With $1,260,000 on the line to the winner, golf was exploding in popularity in 2007 as Tiger Woods was widely regarded to be the most dominant athlete in any sport at the time. So it was odd when Tiger was nowhere to be seen on Page 1 of the leaderboard after Round 1 where Woods shot a +1 score of 71. But that wouldn’t matter after Friday.

In Round 2, Tiger Woods put in a performance for the ages and fired of a -7 (63) to seize first place on the leaderboard, a two shot lead over Scott Verplank, and Tiger would never let up. A 69 in Round 3 opened up a 3-shot lead which Woods followed up with another 69 on Sunday (nice) to beat Woody Austin by 2 strokes and move to 13-0 in Major Championships where he held a 54-shot lead.

Clutch: Jason Dufner, 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club

Jason Dufner had a solid first round of 68 (par 70) at Oak Hill Country Club to start his 2013 PGA Championship but it was the second round where he’d really get hot. Dufner fired off a -7 (63) in the second round to take a two shot lead over the field.

With $1.445 million on the line to first place, Dufner’s nerves must have been frayed but Jason (-8) kept it together even after giving up the lead to Jim Furyk (-9) heading into Sunday. His 68 in the final round gave Dufner the only Major Championship of his career but cemented his place in the annals of golf history forever.

Clutch: Brooks Koepka, 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club

2-time major champion Brooks Koepka came into the 2018 PGA Championship having already won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills earlier in the year, and still newly off wrist surgery in 2017 but not showing any cracks in his foundation.

Brooks was nowhere to be seen on Page 1 of the leaderboard after Day 1 with a 69 but his -7 (63) in Round 2 vaulted him into 3rd place. A 66 on Saturday saw FSU Golf alum Brooks Koepka take sole position of first place and a 2-shot lead over Adam Scott. On Sunday, Brooks sealed the deal with another 66 to win by 2 strokes over Tiger Woods who had the course roaring to life with a 64 on Sunday.

Clutch: Brooks Koepka, 2019 PGA Championship At Beth Page Black

Seeking to defend his 2018 PGA Championship title, Brooks Koepka had as much (if not more) pressure on him than anyone in the field. But the pressure didn’t phase the FSU Golf alumni and he fired off a miraculous -7 (63) at Beth Page Black, one of the toughest golf courses on earth, in Round 1 to take sole possession of the lead.

After that, it was Koepka’s tournament to win (or lose) and he rose to the challenge, going wire-to-wire. Brooks entered Sunday with a 7-stroke lead over the field after recording scores of 63-65-70 but on Sunday, he was shaky and shot a 74 to give some strokes back but still held off Dustin Johnson who finished at -6 and 2 strokes behind Brooks.

Clutch: Xander Schauffele, 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Course

Xander Schauffele came into Valhalla as one of the top players in the world (*that hadn’t won a major) but he changed that with style. In Round 1, Xander set a PGA Championship record with -9 score of 62, the lowest round in PGA Championship history.

Schauffele held a 3-shot lead over the field going into Round 2 where he followed up his 62 with a 68. Morikawa cut it close, just 1 shot back, but Xander finished the tournament with 68-65 on the weekend to beat Bryson DeChambeau by 1 stroke and earn the $3,330,000 first place prize money along with this first major championship title (but not his last).