Remembering the first PGA Championship in Michigan:

The 90th PGA Championship, Aug. 4-10, at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich., marks the sixth visit of the season's final major to the state of Michigan. It will also be the third PGA Championship conducted on Oakland Hills' South Course.

The first PGA Champion to be crowned in Michigan was Australian Jim Ferrier, who resorted to a well-placed insurance policy when he defeated a Michigan favorite son, Chick Harbert, in the final match in 1947 at Plum Hollow Country Club in Detroit.

It was the first time in a decade that the PGA Championship's final match did not involve a Hogan, Nelson or Snead. The lack of a legend didn't deter 7,000 spectators from the gate, which presented a problem for Ferrier.

He spent the evening planning his strategy in dealing with the crowd that would follow his opponent, Harbert, a Michigan State University graduate. During this time, galleries weren't restrained by ropes, and Ferrier worried that the partisans would aid Harbert. Ferrier put his mind to rest by hiring two policemen for $100, putting one on each side of the fairway to guard against overzealous fans.

Whether his precautions helped or not, Ferrier defeated Harbert, 2 and 1. Afterward, he said, "That was the best $100 that I have ever spent."

The real key to Ferrier's victory was his putting, not the security guards. He needed only 52 strokes on the greens in the 35-hole match, finishing 6-under-par. He was 27-under-par for the 243 holes he played that week in becoming the fourth internationally-born PGA Champion.

Ferrier won 25 championships as an amateur in Australia, including two pre-World War II Australian Opens titles.

He went on to win 18 PGA Tour events in his career, including the 1950 and 1951 Canadian Opens. He also proved his skill at stroke play, finishing runner-up in the 1950 Masters and 1960 PGA Championship. He had six top-10 finishes in the Masters, and his share of sixth place in 1947 and 1950 were his best performances in the U.S. Open.