Completed Edition
1977 PGA Championship
Lanny Wadkins and Gene Littler finished the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach tied on 282. They went straight back onto the course for the championship’s first sudden-death playoff, with the title settled on the third extra hole.32
Results
Published results
Recorded score
- Won byLanny Wadkins282
- Runner-upGene Littler282
Decided by playoff.
Venue
The Playoff Started That Evening
Littler had led from the first round. His 67, 69 and 70 totaled 206, six better than Wadkins’s 212. Littler closed with 76 while Wadkins shot 70, making up the entire difference. A birdie at eighteen brought Wadkins into the tie; Jack Nicklaus finished one stroke outside it.31
In a recollection preserved by Pebble Beach, Wadkins said he had started a beer while waiting to learn whether Littler would birdie the last and win. Then came the reminder that a playoff would begin immediately. The PGA had replaced its previous eighteen-hole playoff with sudden death that year.1
Both men parred the first extra hole and birdied the second. At the third they both missed the green. Wadkins got down in two for par; Littler made bogey. The championship was over that evening, without another full round on Monday.12
Nearby editions
Sources and record notes
Archive note
The 1977 edition was won by Lanny Wadkins. Verified venue assignments are published in this record.
Record sources
- 2026 PGA Championship Media Guide
- 1977 PGA Championship · Championship identity
The official Media Guide directly enumerates the 59th 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
- 1977 PGA Championship · Championship identity
- USGA: 2023 U.S. Women’s Open Fact Sheet
- Pebble Beach Golf Links
USGA’s Pebble Beach course history and championship list identify this event.
Verified 2026-11-12
- Pebble Beach Golf Links
- PGA official Championship result
- Lanny Wadkins
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
- Lanny Wadkins
- PGA official Championship finalist record
- Gene Littler
Guide page 5 corroborates the finalist identity; the detailed official History supplies the explicit stroke total and relative score. The extended final or stroke-play playoff is corroborated in the reviewed champion evidence.
Verified 2026-10-23
- Gene Littler
Sources for this history
- 5 Fun Facts About the 1977 PGA ChampionshipPebble Beach Resorts
September 19, 2019: Wadkins’s recollection and the three-hole playoff; preserved as a readable web extract.
Consulted 2026-10-16 - A Look Back at Every Playoff in PGA Championship HistoryPGA of America
1977 and 1978 entries: participants, playoff format and winning holes.
Consulted 2026-10-16 - 1977 PGA Championship LeaderboardPGA of America
Round-by-round scores and final totals.
Consulted 2026-10-16