1996 PGA Championship
The 1996 PGA Championship was the 78th PGA Championship, held August 8–11 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Mark Brooks won his only major championship with a birdie at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Kentucky native Kenny Perry. Defending champion Steve Elkington was a stroke out of the playoff, in a tie for third. It was the second consecutive and final sudden-death playoff at the PGA Championship, which changed to a three-hole aggregate format, first used in 2000 at Valhalla.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 8–11, 1996 |
| Location | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Course(s) | Valhalla Golf Club |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,144 yards (6,532 m) |
| Field | 150 players, 81 after cut |
| Cut | 145 (+1) |
| Prize fund | $2.4 million |
| Winner's share | $430,000 |
| Champion | |
| Mark Brooks | |
| 277 (−11), playoff | |
Golf Club
It was the second major played in Kentucky and the first in 44 years; the PGA Championship, a match play event through 1957, was played in Louisville in 1952 at Big Spring Country Club. The championship returned to Valhalla just four years later in 2000, and again in 2014 after hosting the Ryder Cup in 2008.
Course designer and five-time champion Jack Nicklaus missed the cut by a single stroke at age 56. He also missed the cut by one stroke in 2000 at age 60, his final appearance in the PGA Championship.