Best of the Players Championship: The 25 Most Dominant Performances

For the first few seasons of its existence, the Players was a wanderer. In 1975 it stopped – for the only time – at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, where Geiberger prevailed over a field laden with his 1960s contemporaries.

Dave Stockton, Bob Murphy, Mason Rudolph, Gene Littler, Bill Casper, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player all gave it their best shot, but none could keep pace with Geiberger, who persevered through triple digit August temperatures.

He was at his most remarkable during Thursday’s first round when he breezed through the final five steamy holes in four-under par to post a 66. A Friday 68 stretched that lead to two strokes, and a strong weekend extended the final margin to three over Dave Stockton. Hubert Green, five back, was the only other player to finish within 11 of Geiberger.

It wasn’t always quite that smooth for Geiberger. Three bogeys on a four-hole front nine stretch momentarily threw him behind Stockton, but he birdied 11 to regain a share of first, then dropped a 12-foot putt on 13 to move back in front. At almost the same moment, Stockton bogeyed 14.

“Very few men could have done as well under pressure as he did,” Stockton said of Geiberger’s round.