In line with the other majors, winning the PGA gives a golfer several privileges which make his career much more secure, if he is not already one of the elite of the sport. PGA champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (The Masters, US Open and British Open) for the next five years, and are exempt from qualifying for the PGA Championship for life. They also receive membership on the PGA TOUR for the following five seasons and invitations to THE PLAYERS Championship for five years.

The Championship has been held at a large number of venues, some of the early ones now quite obscure, but nowadays it is usually staged by one of a small group of celebrated courses, each of which has also hosted several other leading events.

History

The first PGA Championship was in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York. The trophy was donated by Rodman Wanamaker, and is known as the Wanamaker Trophy. It was initially a match play event, and it moved to a stroke play format in 1958. It is sometimes said that this was a result of pressure from televsion, which prefers to see as many famous players as possible in contention on the final day. The first winner, Jim Barnes, received $500 (US) in 1916, while 2005 winner Phil Mickelson received $1.17 million (US).

Qualification

The PGA Championship was established for the purpose of providing a high profile tournament specifically for professional golfers at a time when they were generally not held in high esteem in a sport that was largely run by wealthy amateurs. This origin is still reflected in the entry system for the Championship. It is the only major which does not invite leading amateurs to compete, and the only one which reserves a large number of places, 25 out of 150, for club professionals. The PGA Tour is now independent of the PGA of America, and it is an elite organisation of tournament professionals, but the PGA Championship is still run by the PGA of America, which is mainly a body for club and teaching professionals. The PGA Championship is the only major that does not explicitly grant entry to the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, although it invariably invites all top-50 players who are not already qualified.

List of qualification criteria:

* All former PGA Champions.
* Winners of the last five U.S. Opens.
* Winners of the last five Masters.
* Winners of the last five British Opens.
* The last Senior PGA Champion.
* The low 15 scorers and ties in the previous PGA Championship.
* The 25 low scorers in the last PGA Club Professional Championship.
* The 70 leaders in official money standings.
* Members of the last United States Ryder Cup Team.
* Winners of tournaments co-sponsored or approved by the PGA Tour since the previous PGA Championship (does not include pro-am and team competitions).
* The PGA of America reserves the right to invite additional players not included in the categories listed above.
* The total field is a maximum of 150 players. Vacancies are filled by the first available player from the list of alternates (those below 70th place in official money standings).

PGA Championship winners

Strokeplay era winners
Year Champion Country Venue Location of venue
2005 Phil Mickelson United States Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course Springfield, New Jersey
2004 Vijay Singh[1] Fiji Whistling Straits, Straits Course Sheboygan, Wisconsin
2003 Shaun Micheel United States Oak Hill Country Club, East Course Pittsford, New York
2002 Rich Beem United States Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, Minnesota
2001 David Toms United States Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course Duluth, Georgia
2000 Tiger Woods[2] United States Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, Kentucky
1999 Tiger Woods United States Medinah Country Club, Course No. 3 Medinah, Illinois
1998 Vijay Singh Fiji Sahalee Country Club Sammamish, Washington
1997 Davis Love III United States Winged Foot Golf Club Mamaroneck, New York
1996 Mark Brooks[3] United States Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, Kentucky
1995 Steve Elkington[4] Australia The Riviera Country Club Pacific Palisades, California
1994 Nick Price Zimbabwe Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, Oklahoma
1993 Paul Azinger[5] United States Inverness Club Toledo, Ohio
1992 Nick Price Zimbabwe Bellerive Country Club St. Louis, Missouri
1991 John Daly United States Crooked Stick Golf Club Carmel, Indiana
1990 Wayne Grady Australia Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club Birmingham, Alabama
1989 Payne Stewart United States Kemper Lakes Golf Club Long Grove, Illinois
1988 Jeff Sluman United States Oak Tree Golf Club Edmond, Oklahoma
1987 Larry Nelson[6] United States PGA National Resort & Spa Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
1986 Bob Tway United States Inverness Club Toledo, Ohio
1985 Hubert Green United States Cherry Hills Country Club Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
1984 Lee Trevino United States Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club Birmingham, Alabama
1983 Hal Sutton United States The Riviera Country Club Pacific Palisades, California
1982 Ray Floyd United States Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, Oklahoma
1981 Larry Nelson United States Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course Duluth, Georgia
1980 Jack Nicklaus United States Oak Hill Country Club, East Course Rochester, New York