1956 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesJuly 20–24, 1956
LocationCanton, Massachusetts
Course(s)Blue Hill Country Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatMatch play - 7 rounds
Statistics
Par71
Length6,634 yards (6,066 m)[1][2]
Field128 players (all match play)
Prize fund$40,000[3]
Winner's share$5,000
Champion
United States Jack Burke Jr.
def. Ted Kroll, 3 & 2
Blue Hill CC is located in the United States
Blue Hill CC
Blue Hill CC
Location in the United States
Blue Hill CC  is located in Massachusetts
Blue Hill CC 
Blue Hill CC 
Location in Massachusetts

The 1956 PGA Championship was the 38th edition of the professional golf competition, held at Blue Hill Country Club in Canton, Massachusetts, a suburb southwest of Boston. Jack Burke Jr. won his second major championship of 1956, a 3 & 2 victory over Ted Kroll;[2][4] Burke had won the Masters in April.[5] It was the penultimate PGA Championship as a match play competition; stroke play was introduced two years later in 1958. This was the tenth and final year the PGA Championship was scheduled for a Tuesday finish.

Defending champion Doug Ford was stopped in the third round by 1953 champion Walter Burkemo, 5 & 3.[6]

Blue Hill was not highly regarded as a championship venue and calls increased for a change in format to stroke play.[7][8] Also, a five-year membership in the PGA of America was necessary to compete in the PGA Championship at the time; this excluded young professionals Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Gene Littler, and Mike Souchak.[7][8]

This remains the only time the PGA Championship has been played in Massachusetts. It was the 8th major championship played in the state and the first in over 30 years, since the 1925 U.S. Open. The next major held in the state would be the 1963 U.S. Open.

Burke was the second to win the Masters and PGA Championship in the same calendar year, following Sam Snead in 1949. Through 2016, it has only been accomplished four times, with the latter two by Jack Nicklaus in 1963 and 1975.

The Open Championship was held two weeks earlier in England at Royal Liverpool Golf Club; neither Burke nor Kroll played in 1956 (or ever).

In the skills competitions held on Thursday, Joe Kraak won the long driving contest at 300 yards (274 m).[9]

Format

The match play format at the PGA Championship was modified in 1956 and called for 9 rounds (162 holes) in five days, Friday through Tuesday. Previously, a two-day stroke play qualifying segment (36 holes) on Wednesday and Thursday preceded the match play competition to narrow the field to 64 competitors. This year, 128 players were entered in the single-elimination bracket. The first five rounds were 18-hole matches contested over the first three days, which reduced the field to four players. The semifinals and finals were 36-hole matches played on the final two days, Monday and Tuesday.[1][3]

  • Friday – first round, 18 holes
  • Saturday – second and third rounds, 18 holes each
  • Sunday – fourth round and quarterfinals, 18 holes each
  • Monday – semifinals – 36 holes
  • Tuesday – final – 36 holes

Final results

Tuesday, July 24, 1956

PlacePlayerMoney ($)
1United States Jack Burke Jr.5,000
2United States Ted Kroll3,000
T3United States Ed Furgol1,000
United States Bill Johnston
T5United States Sam Snead500
United States Fred Hawkins
United States Terl Johnson
United States Henry Ransom

Final eight bracket

In the Sunday quarterfinals, Ted Kroll defeated favorite Sam Snead 2 & 1.[10] In the semifinals, Kroll needed only 28 holes to handily defeat Bill Johnston 10 & 8, but Burke's match went 37 holes, extended to an extra hole to stop Ed Furgol, the 1954 U.S. Open champion.[11] In the final on Tuesday, Burke was three holes down to Kroll after 19 holes, then won five of the next seven holes. The two then halved the next seven holes and Kroll's bogey at the par-3 34th hole ended the match at 3 & 2.[2][4]

Quarter-finals
July 22 		Semi-finals
July 23 		Finals
July 24
         
Jack Burke Jr. 4&2
Fred Hawkins
Jack Burke Jr. 37h
Ed Furgol
Ed Furgol 1up
Terl Johnson
Jack Burke Jr. 3&2
Ted Kroll
Ted Kroll 2&1
Sam Snead
Ted Kroll 10&8
Bill Johnston
Bill Johnston 3&2
Henry Ransom

Final match scorecards

Morning

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par444344355444344345
United States Burke444255354445344334
United States Kroll444344354344344434
Leader–––B1–K1K1K1K1K2K2K3K3K3K3K2K2K2

Afternoon

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par444344355444344345
United States Burke5442432444453442Burke
wins
3 & 2
United States Kroll4543443544453444
LeaderK3K2K2K1K1–B1B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B3

Source:[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ford Confident of Retaining His PGA Title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 20, 1956. p. 19. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bartlett, Charles (July 25, 1956). "Burke's rally beats Kroll for P.G.A. title, 3 and 2". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  3. 1 2 "Tournament Info for: 1956 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Burkes's blazing putter wins PGA, 3 and 2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 25, 1956. p. 15.
  5. ↑ Wind, Herbert Warren (August 6, 1956). "Duluth playoff". Sports Illustrated. p. 46.
  6. ↑ Bartlett, Charles (July 22, 1956). "Burkemo ousts Ford from P.G.A., 5 and 3". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  7. 1 2 "Events & Discoveries". Sports Illustrated. August 6, 1956. p. 17.
  8. 1 2 Wind, Herbert Warren (August 5, 1957). "The PGA comes back". Sports Illustrated. p. 54.
  9. ↑ Bartlett, Charles (July 20, 1956). "Kraak's blast wins driving title in P.G.A." Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3, sec. 3.
  10. ↑ "Kroll defeats Snead to gain semifinals". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. July 23, 1956. p. 2B.
  11. ↑ "Kroll, Burke gain PGA title round". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 24, 1956. p. 14.

42°11′24″N 71°08′13″W / 42.190°N 71.137°W / 42.190; -71.137

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