1942 PGA Championship
The 1942 PGA Championship was the 25th PGA Championship, held May 25–31 at Seaview Country Club in Galloway Township, New Jersey, just north of Atlantic City. Then a match play championship, Sam Snead won 2 and 1 in the final over Jim Turnesa.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | May 25–31, 1942 |
| Location | Galloway Twp., New Jersey |
| Course(s) | Seaview Country Club |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Match play - 5 rounds |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,750 yards (6,172 m) |
| Field | 102 players, 32 to match play |
| Cut | 147 (+3), playoff |
| Prize fund | $7,550 |
| Winner's share | $2,000 |
| Champion | |
| Sam Snead | |
| def. Jim Turnesa, 2 and 1 | |
It was the first of Snead's seven major titles, and he began his service in the U.S. Navy immediately after the event. Turnesa, from a large family of professional golfers, won the PGA Championship in 1952. He was serving in the U.S. Army and had defeated the other pre-tournament favorites, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Due to World War II, this was the second and final major of the year, following the Masters. None of the majors were played in 1943; the PGA Championship returned in 1944 and the other three in 1946. The field for this PGA Championship was reduced from prior years, with 32 advancing to match play, and all five rounds at 36 holes per match. This format was continued for 1944 and 1945, then returned to the pre-war match play field of 64 in 1946.
In the three previous years, Nelson had advanced to the finals, but was defeated in the 1942 semifinals by Turnesa in 37 holes. Nelson returned to the finals at the next two editions for five finals in six PGA Championships; he won two, in 1940 and 1945. Prior to his match with Nelson, Turnesa defeated Hogan 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals; after the war, Hogan won the title in 1946 and 1948.
Defending champion Vic Ghezzi, a New Jersey native, lost 4 and 3 in the first round to Jimmy Demaret, who fell 3 & 2 to Snead in the semifinals. Harry Cooper was the medalist in the stroke play qualifier at 138 (−6), but lost to Nelson in the quarterfinals on the third extra hole.
The golf course, now known as the Bay Course of the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club, was designed in 1914 by Donald Ross. It hosts an annual event on the LPGA Tour, the ShopRite LPGA Classic.