| 1931 PGA Championship | |
| Course: | Wannamoisett Country Club |
| Location: | Rumford, Rhode Island |
| Dates: | September 14–19, 1931 |
| Par: | 70 [1] [2] |
| Org: | PGA of America |
| Tour: | PGA Tour |
| Field: | 32 to match play |
| Cut: | 153 (+13), playoff |
| Format: | Match play - 5 rounds |
| Purse: | $7,200[3] |
| Winners Share: | $1,000 |
| Champion: |  Tom Creavy |
| Score: | def. Denny Shute, 2 and 1 |
| Previous: | 1930 |
| Next: | 1932 |
The 1931 PGA Championship was the 14th PGA Championship, held September 14–19 at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island, northeast of Providence. Then a match play championship, Tom Creavy, age 20, defeated Gene Sarazen 5 and 3 in the semifinals[4] and Denny Shute 2 and 1 in the finals.[3] [5] [6] [7]
This was the first year the defending champion was exempt from qualifying; Tommy Armour lost in the quarterfinals to Shute, 3 and 1.[8] Sarazen was the medalist in the qualifying with 145 (+5).[9] [10]
Through 2016, Sarazen remains the youngest winner of a modern major title at age 20 (in 1922) and Creavy was just 2 months older.[11] [12] Finalist Shute won consecutive titles in 1936 and 1937.
The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1931 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in six days:[3]
Saturday, September 19, 1931
| Place | Player | Money ($) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Creavy | 1,000 | ||
| 2 | 500 | |||
| align=center rowspan=2 | T3 | align=center rowspan=2 | 250 | |
| Gene Sarazen | ||||
| align=center rowspan=4 | T5 | align=center rowspan=4 | 200 | |
| Abe Espinosa | ||||
| Cyril Walker |
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 | |
| Creavy | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 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 |
| Creavy | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | |
| 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 |