Then a match play championship, Byron Nelson won 4 and 3 in the final over Sam Byrd,[4] a former major league baseball player.

[5] It was Nelson's fifth and final major title and his second win at the PGA Championship; he also won in 1940 and was a runner-up three times (1939, 1941, 1944).

Defending champion Bob Hamilton was defeated in the first round by Jack Grout, 4 and 3.

Due to World War II, the PGA Championship was the sole major played in 1945 (and 1944).

The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1945 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in seven days:[1] Sunday, July 15, 1945 Morning Afternoon