1949 PGA Championship

1949 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesMay 25–31, 1949
LocationHenrico, Virginia, U.S.
Course(s)Belmont Golf Course (formerly known as Hermitage Country Club)
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatMatch play - 6 rounds
Statistics
Par71
Length6,677 yards (6,105 m)[1]
Field64 to match play
Cut149 (+8), playoff
Prize fund$17,700[2]
Winner's share$3,500
Champion
United States Sam Snead
def. Johnny Palmer, 3 and 2
← 1948
1950 →
Richmond is located in the United States
Richmond
Richmond
Belmont  Golf Course is located in Virginia
Belmont  Golf Course
Belmont 
Golf Course

The 1949 PGA Championship was the 31st PGA Championship, held May 25–31 in Virginia at Belmont Golf Course (formerly known as Hermitage Country Club), north of Richmond. Native Virginian Sam Snead won the match play championship, 3 and 2 over Johnny Palmer in the Tuesday final; the winner's share was $3,500 and the runner-up's was $1,500.[3][4]

It was the second of Snead's three wins in the PGA Championship, and the fourth of his seven major titles. At age 37, Snead was the oldest to win the PGA Championship;[5] he won again two years later in 1951.

The medalist in the stroke play qualifier was unsung Ray Wade Hill of Louisiana,[6] who advanced to the quarterfinals.

Snead won the Masters in April; this was the first time the Masters champion had won the PGA Championship in the same calendar year. This has only been accomplished four times, most recently 49 years ago: Snead was followed by Jack Burke Jr. in 1956 and Jack Nicklaus in 1963 and 1975. Snead's double was in the spring, Burke and Nicklaus completed theirs in the summer.

Defending champion Ben Hogan did not play in any of the majors during the 1949 season, following a near-fatal automobile accident in west Texas in early February.[7][8] In 1948, he won two majors, led the tour in money and wins (ten), and was player of the year; he had won two events in January 1949 (Pebble Beach, Long Beach),[9] with a playoff runner-up in a third (Phoenix).[10] Although Hogan returned to the tour in 1950 on a limited basis and won six more majors (nine total), he did not enter the PGA Championship again until age 48 in 1960, its third year as a stroke play event.

  1. ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (May 25, 1949). "Worsham fires record-tying 63 in PGA tuneup". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 19. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1949 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  3. ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (June 1, 1949). "Snead wins PGA, walloping Palmer in finals, 3 and 2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  4. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 1, 1949). "Snead wins P.G.A. title, 3 and 2". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 3.
  5. ^ "Snead beats Palmer 3-2, takes PGA title". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. June 1, 1949. p. 14-part 2. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  6. ^ Fraley, Oscar (May 27, 1949). "PGA match play begins". Miami News. p. 3B.
  7. ^ "Golfer Ben Hogan injured in car crash". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. February 3, 1949. p. 1, sec. 4.
  8. ^ "Improving Hogan will play again". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. February 4, 1949. p. 1, sec. 3.
  9. ^ "Hogan cards 69 to top Demaret in playoff". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. January 26, 1949. p. 3, sec. 3.
  10. ^ "Demaret beats Hogan by 3 to win playoff". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. February 1, 1949. p. 3, sec. 3.