EVENTS
8 players who won the PGA Championship on their first try
In the 101-year history of the PGA Championship, there have been eight players who have won the major on their first try.
Most recently, Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in his debut in 2011.
Here's a closer look at Bradley and the seven other golfers who won the PGA Championship on their first try.
Keegan Bradley (2011)
Three years after graduating from St. John's and turning pro, Bradley won the 93rd PGA Championship by defeating Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff.
After shooting a 1-over 71 in the first round, Bradley shot a 64 on Friday – the second-best round of the PGA Championship – to jump into contention. He went 69-68 over the weekend to finish 72 holes as the co-leader. In the playoff, Bradley birdied the par-4 16th hole at Atlanta Athletic Club, while Dufner parred the hole, to take a one-stroke lead that ultimately won him his first major.
Bradley won PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2011, with his best finish in a major since his PGA Championship victory being a T4 finish at the U.S. Open in 2014.
Shaun Micheel (2003)
Shaun Micheel's 2003 PGA Championship victory at Oak Hill Country Club might be as unlikely of a champion as any in the major's history. Micheel has only one win on the PGA Tour and it came in his inaugural trip to the PGA Championship.
Micheel beat Chad Campbell by two strokes thanks to his tap-in birdie on the 72nd hole. He was the only player to shoot par or better in every round as he went 69-68-69-70 to finish 4-under for the week.
Micheel made two starts on the PGA Tour this season and he missed the cut both times.
John Daly (1991)
John Daly sees Shaun Micheel's name on this list and raises him. Daly was the ninth alternate for the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club.
Daly shot a 3-under 69, two strokes off the lead, before surging into first with a 5-under 67 on Friday. He led after 36 and 54 holes, ultimately winning at 11-under.
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Daly had played in two majors before the 1991 PGA Championship but he missed the cut for the U.S. Open in 1986 at 24-over and he finished T69 at the U.S. Open in 1989.
How did Daly fare on the PGA Tour immediately after winning the PGA Championship? He finished T65 at The International, T40 at the NEC World Series of Golf and he missed the cut at Hardee's Golf Classic.
Daly also won The Open in 1995 and he has five victories on the PGA Tour.
Bob Tway (1986)
Five years after turning pro, Bob Tway won four PGA Tour events, including the PGA Championship, to earn PGA Player of the Year honors. Fueled by a 7-under 64 in the third round, he shot an 8-under overall to beat Greg Norman by two strokes at Inverness Golf Club.
Tway won eight PGA Tour events in his career, capped off with a Bell Canadian Open title in 2003.
Doug Ford (1955)
The late Doug Ford earned 19 PGA Tour victories in his career, headlined by his PGA Championship win in 1955 and the Masters two years later. Ford won the 37th PGA Championship with a 4 and 3 match play victory over Cary Middlecoff at Meadowbrook Country Club.
Bob Hamilton (1944)
In the first PGA Championship after World War II, Hamilton defeated five-time major champion Byron Nelson 1-up in match play thanks to a birdie on the 36th and final hole in the finals. The victory was just Hamilton's second win on the PGA Tour.
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He later recorded a pair of top-five finishes at the Masters but in the match play era of the PGA Championship, he only advanced past the round of 32 just once in his next eight tries after winning in 1944.
Tom Creavy (1931)
Tom Creavy was on his way to coasting to the 1931 PGA Championship victory, leading Denny Shute in the final by four strokes with just six holes left, but he had to hold on for a 2 and 1 victory. At 20 years and seven months old, he became the second-youngest PGA Champion ever.
According to the PGA Championship media guide, Creavy's hero, Bobby Jones, who refereed the match, told him, "It was one of the finest matches I think that was ever played."
Creavy beat seven-time major winner Gene Sarazen 5 and 3 in the semifinals. His 1931 PGA Championship victory was his only win in a major but he returned to the semifinals and quarterfinals in 1932 and 1933, respectively, before finishing in eighth at the U.S. Open and playing in the inaugural Masters in 1934.
Jim Barnes (1916)
Englishman Jim Barnes won the inaugural PGA Championship in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York. He defeated Jock Hutchinson with a score of 1-up. Hutchinson led by three in the first nine holes but Barnes was able to tie the match at 77 strokes through 18.
"I always do better after lunch," Barnes told the crowd after the golfers took a break after the first 18 holes, according to the PGA Championship media guide. Barnes eventually won on the final hole when he sank a five-foot putt, winning $500 and a diamond medal.
After Barnes' victory, the PGA Championship was put on hold for two years due to World War I.