| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | September 21–26, 1925 |
| Location | Olympia Fields, Illinois |
| Course(s) |
Olympia Fields Country Club Courses 3 and 4 [1] [2] |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Match play - 5 rounds |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 [3] |
| Length | 6,448 yards (5,896 m) 6,490 yards (5,934 m) [3] |
| Field | 67 players,
[3] [ dead link] 32 to match play |
| Cut | 157 (+17) |
| Prize fund | $6,330 [4] |
| Champion | |
Walter Hagen | |
| def. Bill Mehlhorn, 6 and 5 | |
Fields
Fields
The 1925 PGA Championship was the eighth PGA Championship, held September 21–26 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. Then a match play championship, defending champion Walter Hagen defeated Bill Mehlhorn 6 and 5 in the finals on Courses 3 and 4 to win his second consecutive PGA Championship, his third overall, and the seventh of his eleven major titles.
The victory ran Hagen's match record at the PGA Championship in the 1920s to 20–1 (.952), falling only to Gene Sarazen in 38 holes in the 1923 finals. With his second consecutive title, his winning streak stood at ten matches. This was the second of four consecutive PGA Championships for Hagen; through 2013, no other player was won more than two consecutive titles.
Hagen had close calls in this event; his first round match with low qualifier Al Watrous went to 39 holes [5] and the quarterfinal match with future two-time champion Leo Diegel went to 40 holes after Diegel built an early lead. [2] Hagen defeated Diegel the following year in the finals, then Diegel beat Hagen on the way to his two titles in 1928 and 1929.
The four 18-hole courses at Olympia Fields were reduced to two in the 1940s when the club sold half of its property. Course No. 4 became the North course, and the South course is a composite of holes form the other three. [6]
Format
The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1925 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in six days: [4]
- Monday – 36-hole
stroke play qualifier
- top 32 professionals advanced to match play
- Tuesday – first round – 36 holes
- Wednesday – second round – 36 holes
- Thursday – quarterfinals – 36 holes
- Friday – semifinals – 36 holes
- Saturday – final – 36 holes
Final results
Saturday, September 26, 1925
| Place | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 |
Walter Hagen
|
| 2 |
Bill Mehlhorn
|
| T3 |
Harry Cooper
|
|
Mortie Dutra
| |
| T5 |
Tommy Armour
|
|
Leo Diegel
| |
|
Johnny Farrell
| |
|
Tom Kerrigan
|
Final eight bracket
| Quarter-finals September 24 | Semi-finals September 25 | Finals September 26 | ||||||||||||
| Walter Hagen | 40h | |||||||||||||
| Leo Diegel | ||||||||||||||
| Walter Hagen | 3&1 | |||||||||||||
| Harry Cooper | ||||||||||||||
| Harry Cooper | 2&1 | |||||||||||||
| Johnny Farrell | ||||||||||||||
| Walter Hagen | 6&5 | |||||||||||||
| Bill Mehlhorn | ||||||||||||||
| Bill Mehlhorn | 7&6 | |||||||||||||
| Tom Kerrigan | ||||||||||||||
| Bill Mehlhorn | 8&6 | |||||||||||||
| Mortie Dutra | ||||||||||||||
| Mortie Dutra | 2up | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Armour | ||||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Al Watrous led qualifying field". Montreal Gazette. September 22, 1925. p. 18.
- ^ a b "Hagen beats Diegel on 40th hole". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 25, 1925. p. 11. [ dead link]
- ^ a b c "P.G.A. tourney opens today; Watrous has 69". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 21, 1925. p. 9.
- ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1925 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ "Hagen beats Watrous on 39th". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 23, 1925. p. 9.
- ^ Chase, Al (June 23, 1946). "Olympia Fields acres expected to be homesites". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. B, part 3.
External links
- PGA Media Guide 2012
- PGA.com Archived 2005-02-05 at the Wayback Machine – 1925 PGA Championship