The 1963 PGA Championship was the 45th PGA Championship, played July 18–21 at the Blue Course of Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas. Jack Nicklaus won the first of his five PGA Championship titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Dave Ragan. It was the second major win of the year for Nicklaus, and the third of his eighteen major titles.

Nicklaus entered the final round in third place, three shots behind 54-hole leader Bruce Crampton. He shot a three-under 68 while Crampton fell back to third with 74 (+3) in the Texas heat, with temperatures over . At the trophy presentation in the bright sunshine, Nicklaus grasped the very hot Wanamaker Trophy with the aid of a towel. The temperature in downtown Dallas on Sunday reached a high of .

With the victory, Nicklaus at age 23 joined Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, and Ben Hogan as the only winners of all three American majors: the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship. Nicklaus completed the first of his three career grand slams three years later at Muirfield in 1966.

The Open Championship was played the previous week in northwest England at Lytham St Annes, one of five times in the 1960s that these two majors were played in consecutive weeks in July. Nicklaus bogeyed the last two holes at Lytham and finished a stroke out of the 36-hole Saturday playoff, won by Bob Charles. The PGA Championship moved permanently to August in 1969 (except 1971, when it was played in late February to avoid Florida's summer). After cool temperatures in Britain, the oppressive July heat in Dallas was difficult for many to

Nicklaus won the Masters in April, the first of his six green jackets, marking only the third time that the Masters champion won the PGA Championship in the same calendar year. He was preceded by Sam Snead in 1949 (May) and Jack Burke Jr. in 1956. Through 2016, it has been accomplished only four times, twice by Nicklaus, most recently in August 1975.

On Wednesday, Nicklaus set a record in the long drive contest at over ; breaking the record set in 1952 by .

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotalYards5214073565732063962294454023,5354744285432064594242163414203,5117,046Par544534344364453443443571

Round summaries First round Thursday, July 18, 1963 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Dick Hart 66 −5T2 Julius Boros 69 −2 Bob Charles Shelley Mayfield Jack Nicklaus Mason Rudolph T7 Charles Congdon 70 −1 Bruce Crampton Doug Ford Bernie Haas Tony Lema Earl Stewart Source:

Second round Friday, July 19, 1963 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Dick Hart 66-72=138 −4T2 Julius Boros 69-72=141 −1 Tony Lema 70-71=141 Shelley Mayfield 69-72=141T5 Manuel de la Torre 71-71=142 E Doug Ford 70-72=142 Jack Nicklaus 69-73=142T8 Bruce Crampton 70-73=143 +1 Bill Johnston 71-72=143 Gene Littler 71-72=143 Doug Sanders 74-69=143 Source:

Third round Saturday, July 20, 1963 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bruce Crampton 70-73-65=208 −52 Dow Finsterwald 72-72-66=210 −33 Jack Nicklaus 69-73-69=211 −2 4 Dave Ragan 75-70-67=212 −1T5 Doug Ford 70-72-71=213 E Billy Maxwell 73-71-69=213 Doug Sanders 74-69-70=213T8 Julius Boros 69-72-73=214 +1 Al Geiberger 72-73-69=214 Dick Hart 66-72-76=214 Dave Hill 73-72-69=214 Sam Snead 71-73-70=214 Source:

Final round Sunday, July 21, 1963 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Jack Nicklaus 69-73-69-68=279 −5 13,0002 Dave Ragan 75-70-67-69=281 −3 7,000T3 Bruce Crampton 70-73-65-74=282 −2 3,750 Dow Finsterwald 72-72-66-72=282T5 Al Geiberger 72-73-69-70=284 E 3,125 Billy Maxwell 73-71-69-71=2847 Jim Ferrier 73-73-70-69=285 +1 2,750T8 Gardner Dickinson 72-74-74-66=286 +2 2,090 Tommy Jacobs 74-72-70-70=286 Bill Johnston 71-72-72-71=286 Gary Player 74-75-67-70=286 Art Wall Jr. 73-76-66-71=286 Source:

References

External links PGA Media Guide 2012 PGA.com – 1963 PGA Championship Golf Channel: 1963 PGA Championship PGA of America   Nicklaus reflects on 1963 PGA Championship