Five P.G.A. Championships to Remember

The P.G.A. Championship, which gets underway Thursday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., might not be as popular or prestigious as the game’s other three majors, but there have been plenty of magical moments and striking duels.

That includes from its inception in 1916 through 1957, when it featured a match play format — one competitor pitted against another — as well as since 1958 when the tournament switched to medal play, the winner being the one with the fewest total strokes.

Among the high-profile champions: Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen, who each captured the title a record five times, and Tiger Woods who has four victories.

Here, in chronological order, are five P.G.A. Championships that stand out:

1923: Pelham Country Club, Pelham Manor, N.Y.

The battle in the 36-hole final was between two of the greatest players in the game: Hagen and Gene Sarazen. They would go on to win a combined 18 major championships. And the fight delivered from start to finish.

Sarazen, the defending champion, appeared in control down the stretch, up by two holes with just three to go. He bogeyed 16 and 17, however, and the match was suddenly all square. Both players made pars on the final hole of regulation to set up a sudden-death playoff.

Which was when things really got interesting. After each birdied the first extra hole, Sarazen hooked his tee shot on the second. Fortunate that it didn’t go out of bounds, he hit his next shot to within two feet of the hole and knocked in the putt for the victory.