# 1972 PGA Championship

The 1972 PGA Championship was the 54th PGA Championship, played August 3–6 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Gary Player won his second PGA Championship with a total of 281 (+1), two strokes ahead of runners-up Tommy Aaron and Jim Jamieson. It was the sixth of Player's nine major titles, but his first in over four years.
The PGA Championship returned to the month of August in 1972 after being played in late February in 1971 in Florida.
Defending champion Jack Nicklaus, winner of the year's Masters and U.S. Open and runner-up in the British Open, finished six strokes back in a tie for thirteenth place. He regained the title the following year.
It was the fifth major championship held on the South Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, 1951, and 1961. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1979 and 2008, the U.S. Open in 1985 and 1996, and the Ryder Cup in 2004.

## Course layout

| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | 446 | 521 | 202 | 439 | 442 | 368 | 408 | 458 | 227 | 3,511 | 459 | 420 | 567 | 173 | 468 | 388 | 408 | 201 | 459 | 3,543 | 7,054 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 70 |

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, August 3, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Buddy Allin | 68 | −2 |
| T1 | Stan Thirsk | 68 | −2 |
| T3 | Raymond Floyd | 69 | −1 |
| T3 | Larry Gilbert | 69 | −1 |
| T3 | Jerry Heard | 69 | −1 |
| T3 | Jim Jamieson | 69 | −1 |
| T3 | Arnold Palmer | 69 | −1 |
| T8 | Richard Crawford | 70 | E |
| T8 | Rod Funseth | 70 | E |
| T8 | Johnny Miller | 70 | E |
| T8 | Dan Sikes | 70 | E |
| T8 | Sam Snead | 70 | E |
| T8 | Jim Wiechers | 70 | E |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, August 4, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jerry Heard | 69-70=139 | −1 |
| T2 | Raymond Floyd | 69-71=140 | E |
| T2 | Hale Irwin | 71-69=140 | E |
| T4 | Gay Brewer | 71-70=141 | +1 |
| T4 | Jim Jamieson | 69-72=141 | +1 |
| T4 | Bob Smith | 69-72=141 | +1 |
| T7 | Gary Player | 71-71=142 | +2 |
| T7 | Dan Sikes | 70-72=142 | +2 |
| T7 | Lanny Wadkins | 74-68=142 | +2 |
| T10 | Billy Casper | 73-70=143 | +3 |
| T10 | Phil Rodgers | 71-72=143 | +3 |
| T10 | Art Wall Jr. | 72-71=143 | +3 |
| T10 | Jim Wiechers | 70-73=143 | +3 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, August 5, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Gary Player | 71-71-67=209 | −1 |
| 2 | Billy Casper | 73-70-67=210 | E |
| T3 | Gay Brewer | 71-70-70=211 | +1 |
| T3 | Jerry Heard | 69-70-72=211 | +1 |
| T3 | Phil Rodgers | 71-72-68=211 | +1 |
| T6 | Tommy Aaron | 71-71-70=212 | +2 |
| T6 | Doug Sanders | 72-72-68=212 | +2 |
| T6 | Jim Wiechers | 70-73-69=212 | +2 |
| T6 | Larry Wise | 74-71-67=212 | +2 |
| 10 | Jim Jamieson | 69-72-72=213 | +3 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, August 6, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Gary Player | 71-71-67-72=281 | +1 | 45,000 |
| T2 | Tommy Aaron | 71-71-70-71=283 | +3 | 20,850 |
| T2 | Jim Jamieson | 69-72-72-70=283 | +3 | 20,850 |
| T4 | Billy Casper | 73-70-67-74=284 | +4 | 9,275 |
| T4 | Raymond Floyd | 69-71-74-70=284 | +4 | 9,275 |
| T4 | Sam Snead | 70-74-71-69=284 | +4 | 9,275 |
| T7 | Gay Brewer | 71-70-70-74=285 | +5 | 6,383 |
| T7 | Jerry Heard | 69-70-72-74=285 | +5 | 6,383 |
| T7 | Phil Rodgers | 71-72-68-74=285 | +5 | 6,383 |
| T7 | Doug Sanders | 72-72-68-73=285 | +5 | 6,383 |
Source: