# 1971 PGA Championship

The 1971 PGA Championship was the 53rd PGA Championship, played February 25–28 at the original PGA National Golf Club, presently known as BallenIsles Country Club (East Course) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Jack Nicklaus won the second of his five PGA Championships, two strokes ahead of Billy Casper, the reigning Masters champion. Nicklaus led wire-to-wire, and held a four-stroke lead over Gary Player after 54 holes, with Casper seven shots back. The two were pre-tournament favorites, along with Arnold Palmer, who shot an opening round 75 and finished at 289 (+1), eight strokes back.
Nicklaus became the first in history to complete the modern career Grand Slam for a second time; two victories in each of the four major championships. He completed his third career grand slam at the 1978 Open Championship.
The championship was played in February rather than August, due to anticipated oppressive summer weather in Florida. The rescheduling changed the PGA Championship from the fourth and final major of the calendar year to the first in 1971, and the 1970 and 1971 editions were consecutive majors. It returned to August in 1972 at Oakland Hills in Michigan.

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, February 25, 1971
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Bob Charles | 70 | −2 |
| T2 | Bob Goalby | 70 | −2 |
| T2 | Bobby Mitchell | 70 | −2 |
| T5 | Bradley Anderson | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Deane Beman | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Julius Boros | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Billy Casper | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Bruce Devlin | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Larry Hinson | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Johnny Miller | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Gary Player | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Sam Snead | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Lee Trevino | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Bert Yancey | 71 | −1 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, February 26, 1971
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 69-69=138 | −6 |
| 2 | Miller Barber | 72-68=140 | −4 |
| 3 | Gibby Gilbert | 74-67=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Gene Borek | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T4 | Bruce Devlin | 71-71=142 | −2 |
| T4 | Lionel Hebert | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T4 | Bob Lunn | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T4 | Bob Murphy | 74-68=142 | −2 |
| T4 | Tom Weiskopf | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T4 | Larry Ziegler | 74-68=142 | −2 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, February 27, 1971
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 69-69-70=208 | −8 |
| 2 | Gary Player | 71-73-68=212 | −4 |
| 3 | Gibby Gilbert | 74-67-72=213 | −3 |
| T4 | Miller Barber | 72-68-75=215 | −1 |
| T4 | Tommy Bolt | 72-74-69=215 | −1 |
| T4 | Gene Borek | 72-70-73=215 | −1 |
| T4 | Billy Casper | 71-73-71=215 | −1 |
| T4 | Bob Charles | 70-75-70=215 | −1 |
| T4 | Bob Lunn | 72-70-73=215 | −1 |
| T4 | Bert Yancey | 71-74-70=215 | −1 |
Source:

### Final leaderboard

Sunday, February 28, 1971
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 69-69-70-73=281 | −7 | 40,000 |
| 2 | Billy Casper | 71-73-71-68=283 | −5 | 22,800 |
| 3 | Tommy Bolt | 72-74-69-69=284 | −4 | 14,200 |
| T4 | Miller Barber | 72-68-75-70=285 | −3 | 8,800 |
| T4 | Gary Player | 71-73-68-73=285 | −3 | 8,800 |
| T6 | Gibby Gilbert | 74-67-72-73=286 | −2 | 6,500 |
| T6 | Dave Hill | 74-71-71-70=286 | −2 | 6,500 |
| T6 | Jim Jamieson | 72-72-72-70=286 | −2 | 6,500 |
| T9 | Jerry Heard | 73-71-72-71=287 | −1 | 4,800 |
| T9 | Bob Lunn | 72-70-73-72=287 | −1 | 4,800 |
| T9 | Fred Marti | 72-71-74-70=287 | −1 | 4,800 |
| T9 | Bob Rosburg | 74-72-70-71=287 | −1 | 4,800 |
Source: