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PGA Championship: A look back at 100 years of tournament history

By Bill Felber

ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 12: Brooks Koepka of the United States walks to the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on August 12, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 12: Brooks Koepka of the United States walks to the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on August 12, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /
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1938 Walter Runyan PGA Championship
June 1937: From left to right, Densmore Shute, Byron Nelson, Horton Smith and Edward Dudley, members of the American golf team at the 1937 Ryder Cup. Shute and Nelson were among favorites at the 1938 PGA, won by Paul Runyan. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) /

1938: The match play romp

Due to the 1958 format change from match to medal play, there’s no all-encompassing record for margin of victory. For the match play era, however, the holder is Paul Runyan, the runaway champion of 1938.

Two-time defending champion Denny Shute, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead probably reigned as the co-favorites as the 64 qualifiers convened at Shawnee Country Club in Delaware, Pa. Snead showed strong early form, winning his first three matches 4 & 3, then defeating Jimmy Hines 1-up to get to the final. Snead made 3s on all of the match’s final four holes to overtake Hines.

Hines had been the tournament’s giant killer, taking out both Shute in the third round and Nelson in the quarter-final.

On the other side of the bracket, Henry Picard won three matches and then took out Gene Sarazen 3 & 2.  That threw him up against Runyan, who counted 1937 U.S. Open champion Tony Manero and a young Lloyd Mangrum among his victims. Runyan won the match 4 & 3 to earn the right to face Snead.

The lesser-known New York club professional raced out to a morning 67 that gave him a five-hole lead. He was seven ahead by the afternoon round’s turn, won the 10th and closed it out on the 11th with a halve.

Officials estimated that Runyan had played his 196 tournament holes in 24-under par.

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