The 1987 PGA Championship was the 69th PGA Championship, held August 6–9 at the Champion Course of PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In hot and windy conditions, Larry Nelson won his second PGA Championship in a sudden-death playoff over 1977 champion Lanny Wadkins. It was Nelson's third and final major title.

D.A. Weibring, a 54-hole co-leader, shot 76 (+4) and finished a stroke back at even-par 288. The other co-leader, Mark McCumber, posted 77 and finished in a tie for fifth. Two major champions in contention shot high scores and fell back: Seve Ballesteros (78) and Raymond Floyd (80).

In the August heat of Florida, the attendance was low. A record high temperature for the day of was recorded on Sunday. It was the second major played in Florida, following the PGA Championship in 1971, played in February at the old PGA National. Through 2021, this is the last major played in the state. The purse was the last under $1 million at the PGA Championship.

With the win, Nelson gained an automatic bid to the Ryder Cup team in 1987, his third, bumping Don Pooley. Nelson's record in that competition in late September was 0–3–1, as the U.S. lost the Cup for the first time on home soil. He lost all three pairs matches and halved his singles match.

The Champion Course hosted the Ryder Cup in 1983 and the Senior PGA Championship for 19 years (1982–2000). Since 2007, it has been the venue of The Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, played in March.

Round summaries First round Thursday, August 6, 1987 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bobby Wadkins 68 −4 T2 David Edwards 69 −3 Fred FunkT4 Raymond Floyd 70 −2 Bernhard Langer Larry Nelson Curtis Strange Lanny Wadkins T9 Bobby Clampett 71 −1 Bobby Cole Ray Freeman Dan Pohl Mike Reid Tim Simpson Source:

Second round Saturday, August 7, 1987 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Raymond Floyd 70-70=140 −4 Lanny Wadkins 70-70=140 T3 Tim Simpson 71-70=141 −3 Jeff Sluman 72-69=141T5 Seve Ballesteros 72-70=142 −2 Ben Crenshaw 72-70=142 Larry Nelson 70-72=142 Bobby Wadkins 68-74=142 T9 Bobby Clampett 71-72=143 −1 Mark McCumber 74-69=143 Source:

Third round Saturday, August 8, 1987 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Mark McCumber 74-69-69=212 −4 D. A. Weibring 73-72-67=212T3 Raymond Floyd 70-70-73=213 −3 Bobby Wadkins 68-74-71=213 T5 Seve Ballesteros 72-70-72=214 −2 Lanny Wadkins 70-70-74=214 7 Larry Nelson 70-72-73=215 −1T8 Ben Crenshaw 72-70-74=216 E David Frost 75-70-71=216T10 Curt Byrum 74-75-68=217 +1 Don Pooley 73-71-73=217 Nick Price 76-71-70=217 Curtis Strange 70-76-71=217 Source:

Final round Sunday, August 9, 1987 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T1 Larry Nelson 70-72-73-72=287 −1 Playoff Lanny Wadkins 70-70-74-73=287 T3 Scott Hoch 74-74-71-69=288 E 58,750 D. A. Weibring 73-72-67-76=288T5 Mark McCumber 74-69-69-77=289 +1 37,500 Don Pooley 73-71-73-72=289T7 Ben Crenshaw 72-70-74-74=290 +2 27,500 Bobby Wadkins 68-74-71-77=2909 Curtis Strange 70-76-71-74=291 +3 22,500T10 Seve Ballesteros 72-70-72-78=292 +4 17,000 David Frost 75-70-71-76=292 Tom Kite 72-77-71-72=292 Nick Price 76-71-70-75=292 Source:

Scorecard BirdieBogeyDouble bogey Final round Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718Par445345344 454443435 Nelson −1E−1−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−1−1E−1−1 Wadkins −3−1−2−3−3−3−3−2−1−1−2EEE−1−1−1−1 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par Source:

Playoff The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 10th hole, where both missed the green. Nelson chipped to six feet (1.8 m) and Wadkins to four. First to putt, Nelson saved par but Wadkins missed his attempt to extend the playoff. PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Larry Nelson 4E150,0002 Lanny Wadkins x +190,000

References

External links PGA.com – 1987 PGA Championship