Golf Network News ← Back to the clubhouseClubhouse

Dave Stockton

United States · born , San Bernardino, California, USA

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1970 PGA Championship
  • Last major 1976 PGA Championship
  • Ryder Cup 2 Cups · 3-1-1 · 3.5 points (70.0%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 1991
  • Runner-up in majors 2 times

Wins

  1. 1970 PGA Championship Southern Hills Country Club · 279 (-1) · by 2 strokes from Arnold Palmer and Bob Murphy
  2. 1976 PGA Championship Congressional Country Club (Blue Course) · 281 (+1) · by 1 stroke from Don January and Raymond Floyd

Near misses

  1. 1974 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Gary Player · 280
  2. 1978 U.S. Open Cherry Hills C.C. · runner-up to Andy North

Ryder Cup

2 Cups, 5 matches: 3 won, 1 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points. Foursomes 1-1-0, four-ball 1-0-0, singles 1-0-1.

  1. 1971 Old Warson Country Club USA · USA won 18.5–13.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points
  2. 1977 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club USA · USA won 12.5–7.5 · 2-0-0, 2 points
  3. 1991 Captain USA · won 14.5–13.5

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Gary Player's rivals →

Moments

  1. 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.
  2. 1970 PGA Championship 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.
  3. 1976 PGA Championship Rain pushed the final round to Monday, and Dave Stockton holed a 15-foot par putt on the 72nd hole to win by one.
  4. 1976 PGA Championship Stockton's 281 (+1) was the highest winning score in tournament history to that point, and he trailed by 10 after 36 holes.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1970 PGA Championship

    Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma · 279 (-1) · by 2 strokes from Arnold Palmer and Bob Murphy

    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.

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1970.

    Career line, 1970–1978

    Masters
    1974 Masters: runner-up to Gary Player
    PGA Championship
    1970 PGA Championship: won1976 PGA Championship: won
    U.S. Open
    1978 U.S. Open: runner-up to Andy North
    Ryder Cup
    1971 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-1-11977 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-0-0
    19701972197419761978

    6 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Dave Stockton was born on November 2, 1941, in San Bernardino, California, USA. Stockton won 2 major championships: 2 PGA Championships (1970, 1976). Stockton played in 2 Ryder Cups for USA (1971, 1977), winning 3, losing 1 and halving 1 of 5 matches for 3.5 points, and captained the side in 1991.

    See Dave Stockton in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1970 PGA Championship Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma · 279 (-1) · by 2 strokes from Arnold Palmer and Bob Murphy
    2. 1976 PGA Championship Congressional Country Club (Blue Course), Bethesda, Maryland · 281 (+1) · by 1 stroke from Don January and Raymond Floyd

    Near misses

    1. 1974 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Gary Player · 280
    2. 1978 U.S. Open Cherry Hills C.C. · runner-up to Andy North

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 2 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Stockton played 2 Ryder Cups for USA: 5 matches, 3 won, 1 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points (70.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-1-0, four-ball 1-0-0, singles 1-0-1 (won-lost-halved). Vice-captain: 2008.

    1. 1971 Old Warson Country Club USA · USA won 18.5–13.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points
    2. 1977 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club USA · USA won 12.5–7.5 · 2-0-0, 2 points
    3. 1991 Captain USA · won 14.5–13.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Jack Nicklaus (1), Jerry McGee (1), Dave Hill (1).

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
    3. Golf Compendium winners list
    4. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    5. rydercup.com — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://rydercup.com/news-media/usa/ryder-cup-team-usa-past-captains
    6. Golf Compendium
    7. Golf Compendium
    8. Golf Compendium 1970
    9. PGA of America 2012 media guide
    10. The Golf News Net history table (2026)
    11. Today's Golfer purse history
    12. PGA of America 1970 leaderboard
    13. Golf Monthly, club pros at the PGA
    14. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 60
    15. Golf Compendium 1976
    16. PGA of America 1976 leaderboard
    17. GC: 1971 ryder cup
    18. WP 1971
    19. GC: 1977 ryder cup
    20. WP 1977