The 1931 PGA Championship was the 14th PGA Championship, held September 14âÂÂ19 at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island, northeast of Providence. Then a match play championship, Tom Creavy, age 20, defeated Gene Sarazen 5 and 3 in the semifinals and Denny Shute 2 and 1 in the finals.
This was the first year the defending champion was exempt from qualifying; Tommy Armour lost in the quarterfinals to Shute, 3 and 1. Sarazen was the medalist in the qualifying with 145 (+5).
Through 2016, Sarazen remains the youngest winner of a modern major title at age 20 (in 1922) and Creavy was just 2 months older. Finalist Shute won consecutive titles in 1936 and 1937.
The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1931 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in six days:
Saturday, September 19, 1931
Morning
Afternoon