Six great moments at Harding Park

Harding Park (Wikimedia Commons)

As the PGA Championship begins on Thursday, it is time to look back at the six greatest moments from TPC Harding Park, the site of this year’s first major. There is no doubt that golf will look a little different in San Francisco this weekend without spectators, but the drama and fantastic shot-making from many of the game’s greats should still be there in 2020.

6) 1961 Lucky International Open–From 1961 to 1968, TPC Harding Park hosted the Lucky International Open on the PGA Tour. The tournament’s first champion was the great Gary Player of South Africa, who won $9000 in beating George Bayer and Don Whitt by two strokes. Player went on to win his first of nine career majors at the Masters later that year.

5) 1964 & 1965 Lucky International Open–In back-to-back years, the Lucky International Open went to a playoff with the great Chi-Chi Rodriguez winning in 1964, and George Archer winning in 1965. Rodriguez beat 1967 PGA Championship winner Don January, while Archer, the 1969 Masters champion, beat Bob Charles of New Zealand, the 1963 British Open champion.

4) 2013 Charles Schwab Cup Championship–Three times Harding Park was the host site of the final event of the season on the Champions Tour. In 2013, the champion was Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, who posted an impressive score of -17. John Cook won in 2010, and Jay Don Blake won in 2011.

3) 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play–The World Matchplay Championships took place at Harding Park in 2015, with Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland being victorious. McIlroy, the four-time major champion, defeated reigning U.S. Open champion, Gary Woodland in the final, 4&2.

2) 2009 Presidents Cup–The United States came away with a 19.5 to 14.5 victory over the International Team to win their sixth Presidents Cup. It was a stellar performance from Tiger Woods, who won all five of his matches.

1)2005 WGC American Express Championship–Even though Woods is famous for winning 15 majors, one cannot ignore the fact he has won a remarkable 18 World Golf Championship events as well. Woods’s 10th WGC victory came in dramatic fashion, as he beat the colourful John Daly, the 1991 PGA Championship winner, and 1995 British Open champion, in a playoff.

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