For a lengthy spell, from the 1960s until 2019, the PGA Championship proudly took its place as the final Major of the year – capping off the four big events on the men's golfing calendar. This earned it the moniker of 'Glory's Last Shot', and while the slogan was catchy, it wasn't quite enough to boost its profile as the least revered – by some distance – of all the Majors.

Of course, nobody in their right mind would turn down the chance to lift the Wanamaker Trophy. It's just that, given the choice, most – if not all – golfers would prefer to win The Masters, the US Open or the Open Championship. Not necessarily in that order.

Yet the PGA Championship has – statistically speaking – the strongest field of the four Majors. While other Majors feature limited fields or open qualifying, the PGA is more of a closed book, generally inviting the top 100 players in the world ranking, past winners and recent Major champions, and a handful of PGA professionals, whose main aim would be to make the 36-hole cut.

In South African terms, the PGA has also been the hardest to conquer. Gary Player is the only South African to have lifted the Wanamaker Trophy (twice), although perhaps an honourable mention should go to Louis Oosthuizen, who twice finished as runner up.

For some, there's an argument that the event is so much like a regular PGA Tour event that a greater spread of players has a chance of winning. A look at the list of past champions – with the exception of the early 2000s – dispels this myth.

So why does the PGA Championship fall short of the remaining three Majors?

Perhaps the PGA's struggle with identity harks back to its early days as a matchplay contest. From 1916 to 1957, the PGA was played as a knockout – a form that many still consider to be the purest form of the game. Yet the power of television determined that the event should evolve into strokeplay in 1958.

Rightly or wrongly, organisers reasoned that the biggest stars of the game had a better chance of being around for the duration of a 72-hole strokeplay event, whereas one bad day in matchplay could see them making an early exit.

Co-incidentally, Player's first PGA Championship win came at the same course that players will be taking on this month, Aronimink, in 1962. Now, some 64 years on from Player's milestone win – where he achieved the third leg of his Grand Slam at the age of 26, the course will host only its second men's Major championship.

Player recalls coming into the 1962 event out of form, having missed the cut the week prior in the Open Championship.

The South African took a two-stroke lead into the final round, but was visibly nervous, carrying scars from his playoff loss to Arnold Palmer at the Masters earlier in the year, where he blew a three-stroke lead with nine holes to play.

'I kept remembering that Masters playoff, and I began to worry,' he said. 'I didn't want to be known as a choker. Bob Goalby and I battled during the final round on Sunday. I knew that Goalby was a wonderful competitor and I had to keep focused on playing well. I will never forget the shot I hit on the 18th hole during the final round. I hit my drive to the right in the trees and for my second shot I took a 3-wood and aimed it 100 yards to the left of the green. I hit a massive slice around the corner onto the green to set up for a par.'

Player finished the week on two-under-par, a stroke ahead of Goalby – and the pair were the only players in red numbers for the tournament.

WINNERS OF THE WANAMAKER
Gary Player talks about the mentality that helped propel him to two PGA Championships.