The 1964 PGA Championship was the 46th PGA Championship, played July 16–19 at Columbus Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Bobby Nichols won his only major title, three strokes ahead of runners-up Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Nichols led wire-to-wire after a first round 64 in the hometown of Nicklaus, who shot a 64 in the final round to gain his third runner-up finish in majors in 1964.
Ben Hogan, age 51, competed at the PGA Championship for the first time since 1960. Tied for fifth place after a third round 68, he finished tied for ninth for his penultimate top ten in a major. His final top ten came at the 1967 Masters.
Nichols' winning score of 271 was the lowest to date at the PGA Championship, the seventh as a 72-hole stroke play championship. It stood as the record for thirty years, until Nick Price's 269 in 1994.
Nichols' win marked the third time that all of the professional major championships were won by Americans in a calendar year.
1964 was the last time that a cut was made after three rounds in the PGA championship - the previous third round cuts were 1958, 1959, 1960 & 1962.
The British Open was played the previous week in St Andrews, Scotland, one of five times in the 1960s that these two majors were played in consecutive weeks in July. The PGA Championship moved to August in 1969 (except 1971, when it was played in late February) until 2019, when it moved to mid-May.
Round summaries First round Thursday, July 16, 1964 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bobby Nichols 64 −6 T2 Jack Nicklaus 67 −3 Mike Souchak T4 Billy Casper 68 −2 Bob Charles Paul Haviland Don January Tom Nieporte Arnold Palmer T10 Joe Conrad 69 −1 Jon Gustin Bob Keller Bo Wininger
Second round Friday, July 17, 1964 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bobby Nichols 64-71=135 −5 2 Arnold Palmer 68-68=136 −4 T3 Ken Venturi 72-65=137 −3 Bo Wininger 69-68=137 T5 Bob Charles 68-71=139 −1 Tony Lema 71-68=139 Tom Nieporte 68-71=139 Mason Rudolph 73-66=139 T9 Billy Casper 68-72=140 E Ed Furgol 71-69=140 Jack Nicklaus 67-73=140 Mike Souchak 67-73=140
Third round Saturday, July 18, 1964 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bobby Nichols 64-71-69=204 −6 2 Arnold Palmer 68-68-69=205 −5 T3 Tom Nieporte 68-71-68=207 −3 Mason Rudolph 73-66-68=207 T5 Billy Casper 68-72-70=210 E Ben Hogan 70-72-68=210 Jack Nicklaus 67-73-70=210 Ken Venturi 72-65-73=210 Bo Wininger 69-68-73=210 T10 Tony Lema 71-68-72=211 +1 Mike Souchak 67-73-71=211
Final round Sunday, July 19, 1964 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Bobby Nichols 64-71-69-67=271 −9 18,000T2 Jack Nicklaus 67-73-70-64=274 −6 9,000 Arnold Palmer 68-68-69-69=2744 Mason Rudolph 73-66-68-69=276 −4 5,000T5 Tom Nieporte 68-71-68-72=279 −1 3,850 Ken Venturi 72-65-73-69=2797 Bo Wininger 69-68-73-70=280 E 3,2008 Gay Brewer 72-71-71-67=281 +1 2,900T9 Billy Casper 68-72-70-72=282 +2 2,300 Jon Gustin 69-76-71-66=282 Ben Hogan 70-72-68-72=282 Tony Lema 71-68-72-71=282
References
External links PGA Media Guide 2012 PGA.com – 1964 PGA Championship