Valhalla Golf Club is located in the United States
Location in the United States

The 1996 PGA Championship was the 78th PGA Championship, held August 8–11 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Mark Brooks won his only major championship with a birdie at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Kentucky native Kenny Perry. Defending champion Steve Elkington was a stroke out of the playoff, in a tie for third. It was the second consecutive and final sudden-death playoff at the PGA Championship, which changed to a three-hole aggregate format, first used in 2000 at Valhalla.

It was the second major played in Kentucky and the first in 44 years; the PGA Championship, a match play event through 1957, was played in Louisville in 1952 at Big Spring Country Club. The championship returned to Valhalla just four years later in 2000, and again in 2014 and 2024, and after hosting the Ryder Cup in 2008.

Course designer and five-time champion Jack Nicklaus missed the cut by a single stroke at age 56. He also missed the cut by one stroke in 2000 at age 60, his final appearance in the PGA Championship.

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4255151993554604156051654153,5545651654703502084104504325403,5907,144
Par453444534365344344453672

Source:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 8, 1996 Friday, August 9, 1996

Kenny Perry shot a first round 66 (−6) to take the lead, finishing in the dark. Weather delayed play for nearly four hours and sixty players completed their first rounds on Friday morning.

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1United States Kenny Perry66−6
T2Australia Steve Elkington67−5
United States Phil Mickelson
T4United States Mark Brooks68−4
United States Russ Cochran
United States Joel Edwards
United States Lee Janzen
Australia Greg Norman
Zimbabwe Nick Price
Wales Ian Woosnam

Second round

Friday, August 9, 1996

Phil Mickelson, age 26, played 24 holes on Friday and carded consecutive rounds of 67 to take a three stroke lead at 134 (−10).

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1United States Phil Mickelson67-67=134−10
2United States Justin Leonard71-66=137−7
T3United States Mark Brooks68-70=138−6
United States Kenny Perry66-72=138
Fiji Vijay Singh69-69=138
T6United States Lee Janzen68-71=139−5
Zimbabwe Nick Price68-71=139
T8United States Mike Brisky71-69=140−4
United States Russ Cochran68-72=140
United States David Edwards69-71=140
United States Brad Faxon72-68=140
United States Jim Furyk70-70=140
Australia Greg Norman68-72=140
Sweden Jesper Parnevik73-67=140
United States Tommy Tolles69-71=140
United States Tom Watson69-71=140
Wales Ian Woosnam68-72=140

Third round

Saturday, August 10, 1996

Kentucky native Russ Cochran shot a course record 65 (−7) to take the 54-hole lead, two strokes ahead of Mark Brooks and Vijay Singh. Brooks eagled the par-4 15th, holing out from the fairway. Seeking his first major title, Mickelson fell three strokes back after a 74 (+2).

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1United States Russ Cochran68-72-65=205−11
T2United States Mark Brooks68-70-69=207−9
Fiji Vijay Singh69-69-69=207
T4Australia Steve Elkington67-74-67=208−8
United States Phil Mickelson67-67-74=208
Zimbabwe Nick Price68-71-69=208
T7United States Mike Brisky71-69-69=209−7
United States Justin Leonard71-66-72=209
Australia Greg Norman68-72-69=209
Sweden Jesper Parnevik73-67-69=209
United States Kenny Perry66-72-71=209

Source:

Final round

Sunday, August 11, 1996

Native sons of Kentucky had different results on Sunday as Cochran shot 77 (+5) in the final pairing and faded while Perry had a 68 (−4) and waited as the clubhouse leader at 277 (−11). Playing with Cochran, Brooks birdied the par-5 final hole to force a playoff. Perry bogeyed the same hole after a hooked tee shot and was in the television booth with CBS-TV, not hitting balls. The second shot of defending champion Steve Elkington found a greenside bunker; he had a 10-foot (3 m) birdie putt to join the playoff, but could not convert. Tolles had a long eagle putt to tie but missed, while Singh also needed a birdie to join the playoff but made bogey to finish 2 behind.

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
T1United States Mark Brooks68-70-69-70=277−11Playoff
United States Kenny Perry66-72-71-68=277
T3Australia Steve Elkington67-74-67-70=278−10140,000
United States Tommy Tolles69-71-71-67=278
T5United States Justin Leonard71-66-72-70=279−986,667
Sweden Jesper Parnevik73-67-69-70=279
Fiji Vijay Singh69-69-69-72=279
T8United States Lee Janzen68-71-71-70=280−857,500
Sweden Per-Ulrik Johansson73-72-66-69=280
United States Phil Mickelson67-67-74-72=280
United States Larry Mize71-70-69-70=280
New Zealand Frank Nobilo69-72-71-68=280
Zimbabwe Nick Price68-71-69-72=280

Source:

Scorecard

BirdieBogey

Final round

Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par453444534534434445
United States Brooks−9−10−9−9−9−10−11−12−12−12−11−10−10−9−10−10−10−11
United States Perry−7−7−7−7−7−7−7−8−9−9−10−10−11−12−12−12−12−11

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Playoff

The sudden-death playoff began on the 540-yard (494 m) 18th hole; the par-5 was the course's second-easiest hole on Sunday. Brooks reached the green in two and birdied while Perry's tee shot again found the rough on the left and his fourth was a chip that did not reach the green, ending the playoff. It was Brooks' second birdie at the hole in twenty minutes; in regulation he hit his third shot from the greenside sand to within four feet (1.3 m).

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1United States Mark Brooks4−1430,000
2United States Kenny Perryx−260,000

Source:

External links

  • – 1996 PGA Championship

38°14′31″N 85°28′19″W/38.242°N 85.472°W/ 38.242; -85.472