Completed Edition

1971 PGA Championship

PGA Championship February 25–February 28, 1971

The 1971 PGA Championship came first in the year’s major calendar. Played February 25-28 on the original PGA National’s East Course, now part of BallenIsles Country Club, it ended with Jack Nicklaus two strokes ahead of Billy Casper.¹²³

Results

Published results

Recorded score

Won byJack Nicklaus
281

Venue

Primary venueEast Course
Hosted by Ballenisles Country Club

Major Golf in February

The timing reflected the place. In his 2011 retrospective for Golf Digest, Bill Fields traced the February dates to the course agreement and the PGA’s wish for a more visible event. The PGA’s executive director, Robert Creasey, had pointed to Florida’s winter visitors as the expected gallery. In summer, that audience would be elsewhere.²

Nicklaus later credited Deane Beman with a useful putting reminder: finish the backswing before starting forward. He recorded twenty-nine one-putt greens that week. His partner for the first two rounds was sixty-eight-year-old Gene Sarazen, playing his fiftieth PGA Championship.²

Rounds of 69, 69 and 70 put Nicklaus at 208, four strokes ahead of Gary Player. His final 73 left a total of 281. Casper closed with 68 for 283; Tommy Bolt finished another stroke back. Nicklaus had now won each of the four professional majors at least twice. That was a second career Grand Slam, accumulated across several seasons.³²

Nearby editions

Sources and record notes

Archive note

The 1971 edition was won by Jack Nicklaus. Verified venue assignments are published in this record.

Record sources

2026 PGA Championship Media Guide
- 1971 PGA Championship · Championship identity
  The official Media Guide directly enumerates the 53rd playing, champion, site, and its year-page date span. The recorded venue and champion preserve the official PGA Championship History entry’s published text.
  Verified 2026-08-20
PGA dated host record and researched venue identity
- East Course
  The 1971 PGA record names PGA National. The owner documents the old PGA National identity, its later BallenIsles name and the continuing East Course. It must not be assigned to the separate current PGA National Resort. Dated PGA host authority: https://www.pgachampionship.com/news-media/articles/pga-championship-winners-venues
  Verified 2026-09-10
PGA official Championship result
- Jack Nicklaus
  The official detailed result and four published rounds corroborate the regulation total and relative score. Playoff status is checked against the Guide playoff table and detailed tied scores.
  Verified 2026-09-10

Sources for this history

BallenIsles: A Year to RememberBallenIsles Country Club
1971 section: the original PGA National and its East Course.
Consulted 2026-10-16
Recalling the 1971 PGA, The Year It Was Glory’s First ShotGolf Digest / Bill Fields
February 27, 2011: winter scheduling, Deane Beman’s putting advice and Nicklaus’s recollections.
Consulted 2026-10-16
1971 PGA Championship LeaderboardPGA of America
Round-by-round scores and final totals.
Consulted 2026-10-16