1931 PGA Championship

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1931 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesSeptember 14–19, 1931
LocationRumford, Rhode Island
Course(s)Wannamoisett Country Club
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatMatch play - 5 rounds
Statistics
Par70 [1][2]
Field32 to match play
Cut153 (+13), playoff
Prize fund$7,200[3]
Winner's share$1,000
Champion
United States Tom Creavy
def. Denny Shute, 2 & 1
← 1930
1932 →
Rumford  is located in the United States
Rumford 
Rumford 
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Location in the United States
Wannamoisett  Country Club is located in Rhode Island
Wannamoisett  Country Club
Wannamoisett 
Country Club
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Location in Rhode Island

The 1931 PGA Championship was the 14th PGA Championship, held September 14–19 at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island, northeast of Providence. Then a match play championship, Tom Creavy, age 20, defeated Gene Sarazen 5 & 3 in the semifinals[4] and Denny Shute 2 & 1 in the finals.[3][5][6][7]

This was the first year the defending champion was exempt from qualifying; Tommy Armour lost in the quarterfinals to Shute, 3 & 1.[8] Sarazen was the medalist in the qualifying with 145 (+5).[9][10]

Through 2016, Sarazen remains the youngest winner of a modern major title at age 20 (in 1922) and Creavy was just 2 months older.[11][12] Finalist Shute won consecutive titles in 1936 and 1937.

Format[]

The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1931 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in six days:[3]

  • Monday – 36-hole stroke play qualifier
    • defending champion Tommy Armour and top 31 professionals advanced to match play
  • Tuesday – first round – 36 holes
  • Wednesday – second round – 36 holes
  • Thursday – quarterfinals – 36 holes
  • Friday – semifinals – 36 holes
  • Saturday – final – 36 holes

Past champions in the field[]

Player Country Year(s) won Record Advanced to Finish
Gene Sarazen  United States 1922, 1923 3–1 Semifinals T3
Tommy Armour  Scotland
 United States		 1930 2–1 Quarterfinals T5
Leo Diegel  United States 1928, 1929 0–1 First round T17
Walter Hagen  United States 1921, 1924,
1925, 1926, 1927		 0–1 First round T17

Final results[]

Saturday, September 19, 1931

Place Player Country Money ($)
1 Tom Creavy  United States 1,000
2 Denny Shute  United States 500
T3 Billy Burke  United States 250
Gene Sarazen  United States
T5 Tommy Armour  Scotland
 United States		 200
Abe Espinosa  United States
Horton Smith  United States
Cyril Walker  England
 United States

Final eight bracket[]

Quarter-finals
September 17 		Semi-finals
September 18 		Finals
September 19
         
Tom Creavy 3&1
Cyril Walker
Tom Creavy 5&3
Gene Sarazen
Gene Sarazen 5&4
Horton Smith
Tom Creavy 2&1
Denny Shute
Denny Shute 3&1
Tommy Armour
Denny Shute 1up
Billy Burke
Billy Burke 5&3
Abe Espinosa

Final match scorecards[]

Morning

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 4
United States Creavy 4 4 2 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 5 6
United States Shute 4 4 3 5 4 6 4 3 5 4 4 3 3 4 5 4 5 6
Leader – – C1 C1 C1 C2 C2 C1 C2 C2 C3 C2 C1 C1 C2 C2 C2 C2

Afternoon

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 4
United States Creavy 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 5 5 3 6 5
United States Shute 4 4 3 4 4 5 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 2 4 6
Leader C2 C1 C1 C1 C1 C2 C1 C1 C1 C2 C3 C4 C3 C3 C2 C1 C2

References[]

  1. ^ "97 pros begin play today in national meet". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. September 14, 1931. p. 21.
  2. ^ "Sarazen P.G.A. tourney medalist with 145". Milwaukee Sentinel. September 15, 1931. p. 13. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Tournament Info for: 1931 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Retrieved May 6, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Shute faces Creavy today". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. September 19, 1931. p. 7. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Creavy whips Shute, 2 and 1, for pro golf title". Chicago Sunday Tribune. September 20, 1931. p. 1, sec. 2.
  6. ^ "Creavy brings new style to paid brigade". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. United News. September 22, 1931. p. 12. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  7. ^ a b King, Bill (September 20, 1931). "Tom Creavy, 20-year-old Albany pro, downs Denny Shute for P.G.A. title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. C-2. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  8. ^ "Sarazen plays Creavy, Burke meets Shute in P.G.A. semi-finals". Miami News. Associated Press. September 18, 1931. p. 13. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  9. ^ "Sarazen takes PGA medal with 145 total". Chicago Daily Tribune. September 15, 1931. p. 17.
  10. ^ "Gene Sarazen cards 145 to lead pros in qualifying round at Providence". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. September 15, 1931. p. 10.
  11. ^ Fields, Bill (August 10, 2011). "A forgotten champion's PGA triumph". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 6, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Diaz, Jaime (August 28, 2000). "Notebook: Paul Creavy". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 6, 2013.

External links[]

Coordinates: 41°50′42″N 71°21′32″W / 41.845°N 71.359°W / 41.845; -71.359

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