The 1957 PGA Championship was the 39th PGA Championship, held July 17–21 at Miami Valley Golf Club in Dayton, Ohio. In the last PGA Championship played under the match play format, Lionel Hebert won 2 and 1 over Dow Finsterwald,[1][3][4] who won the following year, the first as a 72-hole stroke play event.

1957 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesJuly 17–21, 1957
LocationDayton, Ohio
Course(s)Miami Valley Golf Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatMatch play - 7 rounds
Statistics
Par71
Length6,773 yards (6,193 m)[1]
Field128 players (all match play)
Prize fund$42,100[2]
Winner's share$8,000
Champion
United States Lionel Hebert
def. Dow Finsterwald, 2 and 1[1]
← 1956
1958 →
Dayton  is located in the United States
Dayton 
Dayton 
Miami Valley Golf Club is located in Ohio
Miami Valley Golf Club
Miami Valley Golf Club

Defending champion Jack Burke Jr. lost in the second round to Milon Marusic, 2 and 1.[5]

At the time, it was not yet known that this was the last at match play,[4] the decision to switch to stroke play was announced during the November meetings.[6][7]

The Open Championship was held two weeks earlier in Scotland at St Andrews; neither Hebert nor Finsterwald played in 1957 (or ever).

Format

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The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1957 called for nine rounds (162 holes) in five days. As in 1956, the two-day stroke play qualifying segment (36 holes) was eliminated; 128 players were entered in the single-elimination bracket.[8] The PGA Championship had concluded on Tuesday since 1947; this year's schedule was modified for a Sunday final, with match play beginning on Wednesday. The first five rounds were 18-hole matches contested over the first three days, which reduced the field to four players for the weekend. The semifinals and finals were 36-hole matches played on the final two days, Saturday and Sunday.[2]

  • Wednesday – first round, 18 holes
  • Thursday – second and third rounds, 18 holes each
  • Friday – fourth round and quarterfinals, 18 holes each
  • Saturday – semifinals – 36 holes
  • Sunday – final – 36 holes

Consolation matches at 18 holes were held on the weekend to determine third to eighth places.[9][10]

Final results

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Sunday, July 21, 1957

Place Player Money ($)
1   Lionel Hebert 8,000
2   Dow Finsterwald 5,000
3   Walter Burkemo 3,500
4   Don Whitt 3,000
5   Dick Mayer 2,500
6   Claude Harmon 2,000
7   Jay Hebert 1,500
8   Charles Sheppard 1,000

Final eight bracket

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In the 18-hole quarterfinals Friday, a clash of the Hebert brothers was avoided when Walter Burkemo defeated Jay Hebert 2&1, while Lionel Hebert defeated Claude Harmon by the same score. On the other side of the bracket, Dow Finsterwald defeated Charles Sheppard, 2 up, and Don Whitt defeated Dick Mayer, 2&1.[11] In the 36-hole semifinals on Saturday, Finsterwald defeated Whitt, 2 up, and Hebert prevailed over Burkemo, 3&1.[12]

The final match on Sunday was all-square after the first 18 holes in the morning. Hebert won the first three holes in the afternoon with birdies, but the match was back to all square after thirty holes. Hebert birdied the next three and Finsterwald matched two of them, but then bogeyed the 34th and was two down with two to play; the par-3 35th was halved with pars to end the match. Hebert earned $8,000 for the victory and Finsterwald received $5,000 as runner-up.[1] Burkemo, the 1953 champion, defeated Whitt 3&1 to claim third place and $3,500.[10] Finsterwald captured the title the following year in the new stroke play format; Hebert's older brother Jay won in 1960.

Quarter-finals
July 19
Semi-finals
July 20
Finals
July 21
      
Lionel Hebert 2&1
Claude Harmon
Lionel Hebert 3&1
Walter Burkemo
Walter Burkemo 2&1
Jay Hebert
Lionel Hebert 2&1
Dow Finsterwald
Dow Finsterwald 2up
Charles Sheppard
Dow Finsterwald 2up Third place
Don Whitt
Don Whitt 2&1 Walter Burkemo 3&1
Dick Mayer Don Whitt

Consolation brackets

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Consolation match
July 20
Fifth place
July 21
    
Claude Harmon 20h
Jay Hebert
Claude Harmon
Dick Mayer w/o
Charles Sheppard
Dick Mayer 2&1 Seventh place
Jay Hebert 5&3
Charles Sheppard

Final match scorecards

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Morning

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 5 4 5 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4
  Hebert 4 4 6 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4
  Finsterwald 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 5 3 3 4
Leader F1 F1 F1 F1 F1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1

Afternoon

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 5 4 5 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4
  Hebert 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 2 3 4 4 3  
  Finsterwald 5 4 5 3 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 5 3
Leader H1 H2 H3 H2 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H1 H2 H2

Source:[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Hebert beats Finsterwald in PGA final, 2-1". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 22, 1957. p. 21.
  2. ^ a b "Tournament Info for: 1957 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Bartlett, Charles (July 22, 1957). "Hebert wins pro golf title, 2 and 1". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  4. ^ a b Wind, Herbert Warren (August 5, 1957). "The PGA comes back". Sports Illustrated. p. 54.
  5. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 19, 1957). "Burke eliminated from P.G.A." Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3, sec. 4.
  6. ^ "Medal play in pro golf slated". Time-News. (Hendersonville, North Carolina). United Press. November 15, 1957. p. 8.
  7. ^ "P.G.A. swings from match to medal play". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 15, 1957. p. 1, part 4.
  8. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 17, 1957). "128 open P.G.A. today". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 6, sec. 3.
  9. ^ "Lionel Hebert succeeds in his quest to 'make a name,' wins PGA crown". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. July 22, 1957. pp. Part 2–9, 12.
  10. ^ a b "Burkemo wins third-place cash". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 22, 1957. p. 21.
  11. ^ "Have nots meet the Haves as match into semi-finals". Fort Scott Tribune. (Kansas). July 20, 1957. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Finsterwald, Hebert seek PGA crown". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. July 21, 1957. pp. Part 3–1, 5.
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39°47′31″N 84°14′31″W / 39.792°N 84.242°W / 39.792; -84.242