The 1987 PGA Championship was the 69th PGA Championship, held August 6–9 at the Champion Course of PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In hot and windy conditions, Larry Nelson won his second PGA Championship in a sudden-death playoff over 1977 champion Lanny Wadkins. It was Nelson's third and final major title.
D.A. Weibring, a 54-hole co-leader, shot 76 (+4) and finished a stroke back at even-par 288. The other co-leader, Mark McCumber, posted 77 and finished in a tie for fifth. Two major champions in contention shot high scores and fell back: Seve Ballesteros (78) and Raymond Floyd (80).
In the August heat of Florida, the attendance was low. A record high temperature for the day of 97 °F (36 °C) was recorded on Sunday. It was the second major played in Florida, following the PGA Championship in 1971, played in February at the old PGA National. Through 2021, this is the last major played in the state. The purse was the last under $1 million at the PGA Championship.
With the win, Nelson gained an automatic bid to the Ryder Cup team in 1987, his third, bumping Don Pooley. Nelson's record in that competition in late September was 0–3–1, as the U.S. lost the Cup for the first time on home soil. He lost all three pairs matches and halved his singles match.
The Champion Course hosted the Ryder Cup in 1983 and the Senior PGA Championship for 19 years (1982–2000). Since 2007, it has been the venue of The Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, played in March.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, August 6, 1987
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Wadkins | 68 | −4 |
| T2 | David Edwards | 69 | −3 |
| Fred Funk | |||
| T4 | Raymond Floyd | 70 | −2 |
| Bernhard Langer | |||
| Larry Nelson | |||
| Curtis Strange | |||
| Lanny Wadkins | |||
| T9 | Bobby Clampett | 71 | −1 |
| Bobby Cole | |||
| Ray Freeman | |||
| Dan Pohl | |||
| Mike Reid | |||
| Tim Simpson |
Source:
Second round
Saturday, August 7, 1987
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Raymond Floyd | 70-70=140 | −4 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 70-70=140 | ||
| T3 | Tim Simpson | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| Jeff Sluman | 72-69=141 | ||
| T5 | Seve Ballesteros | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 72-70=142 | ||
| Larry Nelson | 70-72=142 | ||
| Bobby Wadkins | 68-74=142 | ||
| T9 | Bobby Clampett | 71-72=143 | −1 |
| Mark McCumber | 74-69=143 |
Source:
Third round
Saturday, August 8, 1987
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Mark McCumber | 74-69-69=212 | −4 |
| D. A. Weibring | 73-72-67=212 | ||
| T3 | Raymond Floyd | 70-70-73=213 | −3 |
| Bobby Wadkins | 68-74-71=213 | ||
| T5 | Seve Ballesteros | 72-70-72=214 | −2 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 70-70-74=214 | ||
| 7 | Larry Nelson | 70-72-73=215 | −1 |
| T8 | Ben Crenshaw | 72-70-74=216 | E |
| David Frost | 75-70-71=216 | ||
| T10 | Curt Byrum | 74-75-68=217 | +1 |
| Don Pooley | 73-71-73=217 | ||
| Nick Price | 76-71-70=217 | ||
| Curtis Strange | 70-76-71=217 |
Source:
Final round
Sunday, August 9, 1987
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Larry Nelson | 70-72-73-72=287 | −1 | Playoff |
| Lanny Wadkins | 70-70-74-73=287 | |||
| T3 | Scott Hoch | 74-74-71-69=288 | E | 58,750 |
| D. A. Weibring | 73-72-67-76=288 | |||
| T5 | Mark McCumber | 74-69-69-77=289 | +1 | 37,500 |
| Don Pooley | 73-71-73-72=289 | |||
| T7 | Ben Crenshaw | 72-70-74-74=290 | +2 | 27,500 |
| Bobby Wadkins | 68-74-71-77=290 | |||
| 9 | Curtis Strange | 70-76-71-74=291 | +3 | 22,500 |
| T10 | Seve Ballesteros | 72-70-72-78=292 | +4 | 17,000 |
| David Frost | 75-70-71-76=292 | |||
| Tom Kite | 72-77-71-72=292 | |||
| Nick Price | 76-71-70-75=292 |
Source:
Scorecard
BirdieBogeyDouble bogeyFinal round
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:
Playoff
The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 10th hole, where both missed the green. Nelson chipped to six feet (1.8 m) and Wadkins to four. First to putt, Nelson saved par but Wadkins missed his attempt to extend the playoff.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larry Nelson | 4 | E | 150,000 |
| 2 | Lanny Wadkins | x | +1 | 90,000 |