The virtual PGA: The nine favorites
By Bill Felber
Jack Nicklaus, 1963, 1971. 1973, 1975, 1980 (1967-1976), -1.37
Sam Snead, 1942, 1949, 1951 (1951-1960), -1.35
During the 22 championships played between 1962 and 1983, Nicklaus finished fourth or higher 14 times, five of those being victories. Between 1973 and 1977 he never finished worse than fourth. Two of the runners-up, for the record, came by a single stroke – to Lee Trevino in 1974 and to Hal Sutton in 1983.
The 1975 and 1980 victories showed Nicklaus at his best. At Firestone in 1975, Nicklaus led Bruce Crampton by four shots entering Sunday’s final round and laid down a 71 for a comfortable two-stroke win.
Five years later at Oak Hill, Nicklaus shot 274 to set what at the time was a tournament record with a seven-stroke margin over runner-up Andy Bean.
Two of Snead’s three victories came during the 1940s, but he was a more consistent PGA Championship performer one decade later. In addition to his 1951 title, he reached the quarter-finals in 1954 and 1956.
When the championship switched to medal play in 1958, Snead led through three rounds but closed with a 73 and finished third, four strokes behind Dow Finsterwald. In 1960, Snead came in third again, this time two behind Jay Hebert.
When it comes down to the virtual PGA Championship, will Snead or The Golden Bear be able to take down the competition?