Jim Turnesa won the match play championship, 1 up over Chick Harbert in the Wednesday final;[4] the winner's share was $3,500 and the runner-up's was $1,500.

Battling an ailing back, defending champion Snead lost in the first round to Lew Worsham, who had defeated him in a playoff five years earlier at the 1947 U.S.

[2] Following his win at the U.S. Open, Boros was invited to play by the PGA executive committee,[9] but sensing resentment and dissension among some of the other participants, he withdrew prior to his start time of the two-day qualifier on Wednesday.

[6] Turnesa's older brother Joe (1901–1991) was the runner-up in this championship a quarter century earlier in 1927, when Walter Hagen won his fourth consecutive, 1 up, and fifth overall.

The PGA Championship returned to the state 44 years later in 1996, at Valhalla Golf Club east of Louisville.