The 1942 PGA Championship was the 25th

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

, held May 25–31 at Seaview Country Club in Galloway Township, New Jersey, just north of

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

. Then a

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

championship,

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...

won 2 & 1 in the final over

Jim Turnesa James R. Turnesa (December 9, 1912 – August 27, 1971) was an American professional golfer and winner of the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final. He was one of seven famous golfing brothers; Phil (1896–198 ...

. It was the first of Snead's seven

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

titles, and he began his service in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

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 The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and had defeated the other pre-tournament favorites,

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and ...

and

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hog ...

, in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

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 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

and

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

. Prior to his match with Nelson, Turnesa defeated Hogan 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals; after the war, Hogan won the title in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. Defending champion

Vic Ghezzi Victor J. Ghezzi (October 19, 1910 – May 30, 1976) was an American professional golfer. (Birth year sometimes listed as 1911 or 1912) Born in Rumson, New Jersey, Ghezzi won 11 times on the PGA Tour, including one major title, the 1941 PGA Champ ...

, a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

native, lost 4 & 3 in the first round to

Jimmy Demaret James Newton Demaret (May 24, 1910 – December 28, 1983) was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters, with titles in 1940, 1947, and ...

, 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 The Seaview is a golf club and resort on the East Coast of the United States, located in Galloway Township, New Jersey, Galloway Township, New Jersey, north of nearby Atlantic City, New Jersey, Atlantic City. The club hosted the ShopRite LPGA Clas ...

, was designed in 1914 by Donald Ross. It hosts an annual event on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

, the

ShopRite LPGA Classic The ShopRite LPGA Classic, known in full for sponsorship reasons as The ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer, is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour in Galloway, New Jersey, near Atlantic City. It took place annually from ...

Format

The

format at the PGA Championship in 1942 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in seven days: * Monday and Tuesday – 36-hole

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

qualifier, 18 holes per day, field of 102 players; **the top 31 professionals advanced to match play, joining defending champion

* Wednesday – first round – 36 holes * Thursday – second round – 36 holes * Friday – quarterfinals – 36 holes * Saturday – semifinals – 36 holes * Sunday – final – 36 holes

Past champions in the field

Failed to qualify

Runyan did not advance in the eight-way playoff for the final five spots in the match play field.
Source:

Final results

''Sunday, May 31, 1942'' Source:

Final eight bracket

Final match scorecards

''Morning'' ''Afternoon'' *Source:

References

External links

PGA Media Guide 2012
– 1942 PGA Championship {{Coord, 39.449, -74.474, type:event, display=title PGA Championship Golf in New Jersey Galloway Township, New Jersey