1970 PGA Championship: Dave Stockton wins at Southern Hills Country Club
Dave Stockton won the 1970 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma with 279 (−1), by 2 strokes over Arnold Palmer and Bob Murphy.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1970 in Wanamaker Avenue, the PGA Championship room, or every year on the PGA Championship winners list.
- Dates
- August 13, 1970 to August 16, 1970
- Course
- Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Edition
- 52nd PGA Championship
- Format
- stroke play
- Par
- 70 · 6,962 yards
- Field
- 136
- Made the cut
- 70 (cut at 150)
- Purse
- $200,000 · winner's share $40,000
- Champion
- Dave Stockton · age 28 · United States · born San Bernardino, California
- Champion's title
- 1st PGA Championship
- Winning score
- 70-70-66-73 = 279 (−1) · won by 2 strokes
- Runners-up
- Arnold Palmer, Bob Murphy
- 54-hole leader
- Dave Stockton (206)
- Low club professional
- Bob Menne (292)
Winner and runners-up
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Stockton | 70 | 70 | 66 | 73 | 279 | −1 |
| T2 | Arnold Palmer | 70 | 72 | 69 | 70 | 281 | +1 |
| T2 | Bob Murphy | 71 | 73 | 71 | 66 | 281 | +1 |
What happened at the 1970 PGA Championship
Dave Stockton seized control with a third-round 66 at Southern Hills and held on with 73, despite a ball in the water at the 13th.
Arnold Palmer, 40, finished second again (tied with Bob Murphy, who closed with 66 from nine back). It was his last top-10 in the only major he never won.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's PGA Championship data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: pga.json (the PGA Championship room's data: Tables 1A–1H).