Which golfer has won the most PGA Championships? Exploring the record holder and more

Two legends of golf world share the record for most victories in the PGA Championship: Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus. The former did it during the Match Play era (before 1957) and the latter during the stroke play era (1958 onwards).

Jack Nicklaus won the 1963, 71, 73, 75, and 80 editions of the PGA Championship. Walter Hagen, on the other hand, took first place in the 1921, 24, 25, 26, and 27 seasons. This streak of four consecutive victories of Hagen is the longest of any golfer in the history of this tournament.

Other golf stars have won the tournament more than twice, they are Tiger Woods (4), Sam Snead, and Gene Sarazen (3). While as much as 17 golfers have won twice, including Jim Barnes, Leo Diegel, Deny Shute, Paul Runyan, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Dave Stockton, Raymond Floyd, Lee Trevino, Larry Nelson, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and the current defending champion, Justin Thomas.

Brooks Koepka holds the absolute scoring record for the tournament (72 holes) with 264 strokes (69-63-66-66-66) achieved in the 2018 edition, the first of the two won by Koepka.

Brooks Koepka after setting his PGA Championship absolute scorin record. 2018. (Image via Getty).

As for the lowest scoring to PAR record, it is held by Jason Day (-20), corresponding to his 2015 victory. As if this were not enough, this mark of the Australian is the lowest with respect to PAR in the entire history of major golf tournaments.

The lowest stroke mark for an 18-hole round is 63, achieved by 17 different golfers. Brooks Koepka has the honor of being the only one to have achieved it twice: in the second round of the 2018 edition and on the first day of the tournament corresponding to 2019.

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Great moments of the PGA Championship

Given its status as a major tournament, the PGA Championship is always hotly contested. Throughout history, there have been historic performances, considered among the best of all time in the sport.

Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia during one of the most memorable moments on the PGA Tour. 1999. (image via Getty).

One of the most remembered, without a doubt, is the Walter Hagen vs. Gene Sarazen match to define the title in 1923. In that round, Hagen was able to recover from a three-hole deficit to tie and force the first extra hole in the history of the tournament, but was ultimately defeated by Sarazen.

Other memorable performances include Sam Snead's match vs. Johnny Palmer in 1949, Tiger Woods' one-stroke victory over Sergio Garcia in 1999, and Phil Mickelson's one-stroke loss to Rory McIlroy in 2014.

Of course, the best golfers will be present in three days at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, to compete for the PGA Championship title. New feats are sure to add to the rich history of this tournament.