1955 PGA Championship

1955 PGA Championship

Tournament information
Dates	July 20–26, 1955
Location	Northville Twp, Michigan
Course(s)	Meadowbrook Country Club
Organized by	PGA of America
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Match play - 6 rounds
Statistics
Par	71
Length	6,701 yards (6,127 m)[1]
Field	135 players,[3] 64 to match play
Cut	147 (+5), playoff
Prize fund	$20,700[2]
Winner's share	$5,000
Champion
Doug Ford
def. Cary Middlecoff, 4 and 3
← 1954 1956 →

Meadowbrook
Country Club

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Location in the United States

Meadowbrook
Country Club

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Location in Michigan

The 1955 PGA Championship was the 37th PGA Championship, held July 20–26 in Michigan at Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville Township, northwest of nearby Detroit. Doug Ford won the match play championship, 4 and 3 over Cary Middlecoff in the Tuesday final; the winner's share was $5,000 and the runner-up earned $3,000.^[4][5][6] This was the first of two major titles for Ford, who won the Masters in 1957.

Ford was also the medalist in the stroke-play qualifying with a 135 (−7), worth $250 and the Alex Smith trophy.^[7][8] He was the fourth to win the final match after winning the qualifier, joining Walter Hagen (1926), Olin Dutra (1932), and Byron Nelson (1945). Ford was the last medalist, as the format was changed in 1956 to seven rounds without a qualifier for two years, then to 72-hole stroke play in 1958.

Defending champion Chick Harbert, a local resident, was defeated in the second round by Johnny Palmer, 1 up. No former champion advanced past the second round.

This was second time in three years the PGA Championship was played near Detroit; the 1953 event was played at Birmingham Country Club in Birmingham, about 20 miles (30 km) northeast. The 1947 edition, in which Harbert was runner-up, was also held in the Detroit area.

The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1955 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in seven days:^[2]

• Wednesday and Thursday – 36-hole stroke play qualifier, 18 holes per day;
  • defending champion Chick Harbert and the top 63 professionals advanced to match play
• Friday – first two rounds, 18 holes each
• Saturday – third round – 36 holes
• Sunday – quarterfinals – 36 holes
• Monday – semifinals – 36 holes
• Tuesday – final – 36 holes

Tuesday, July 26, 1955

Place	Player	Money ($)
1	Doug Ford	5,000
2	Cary Middlecoff	3,000
T3	Tommy Bolt	750
	Shelley Mayfield
T5	Jack Burke Jr.	500
	Don Fairfield
	Fred Hawkins
	Lew Worsham

w/o = won by walkover

Source:^[9]

July 26, Morning

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	4	3	5	3	4	4	4	5	4
Ford	4	5	4	4	4	2	4	3	4	4	3	4	2	4	5	4	4	4
Middlecoff	3	5	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	4	3	5	3	3	4	4	5	4
Leader	M1	M1	M1	M1	M1	–	M1	M1	M2	M2	M2	M1	–	M1	M2	M2	M1	M1

Afternoon

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	4	3	5	3	4	4	4	5	4
Ford	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	2	4	4	2	4	4	3	4	Ford wins 4 and 3
Middlecoff	5	4	4	5	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	5	3	4	5
Leader	–	M1	M1	–	–	–	–	F1	F1	F1	F2	F3	F2	F3	F4

Source:^[5]

• PGA Media Guide 2012
• GolfCompendium.com – 1955 PGA Championship
• PGA.com Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine – 1955 PGA Championship

42°26′13″N 83°26′49″W / 42.437°N 83.447°W / 42.437; -83.447