| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 10–16, 1938 |
| Location | Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Course(s) | Shawnee Country Club |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Match play - 6 rounds |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72[1] |
| Length | 6,656 yards (6,086 m) |
| Field | 107 players,[1] 64 to match play |
| Cut | 151 (+7), playoff |
| Prize fund | $10,000[2] |
| Winner's share | $1,100 |
| Champion | |
 Paul Runyan | |
| def. Sam Snead, 8 and 7 | |
The 1938 PGA Championship was the 21st PGA Championship, held July 10–16 at Shawnee Country Club in Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania.
Then a match play championship, Paul Runyan won his second PGA Championship, defeating the favored Sam Snead 8 and 7.[3] Nicknamed "Little Poison," Runyan was one of the shorter hitters on tour, while Snead was one of the longest. Runyan was five holes up after the morning round, then needed just eleven holes to finish off Snead, the largest victory margin ever in the match play finals of the PGA Championship.[4] Snead won only one of the 29 holes, the 24th, which Runyan bogeyed. Runyan's victory four years earlier in 1934 took 38 holes to decide.
Two-time defending champion Denny Shute lost in the third round to semifinalist Jimmy Hines.
The course, now The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, is on an island in the Delaware River, east of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
- ^ a b "Frank Moore wins qualifying medal". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 12, 1938. p. 13. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ "Tournament Info for: 1938 PGA Championship". PGA of America. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 17, 1938). "Runyan crushes Snead 8-and-7 for PGA title". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ McLemore, Henry (July 17, 1938). "Runyan trounces Snead 8-7, for P.G.A. title". Miami News. United Press. p. 1C. Retrieved April 26, 2013.