Jay Hebert won his only major championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up Jim Ferrier, the 1947 champion.

[1][3][4] Only one player broke par in the final round; Wes Ellis shot 69 (−1) and finished in sixth place.

[5] Hebert's younger brother Lionel won the title in 1957, the last PGA Championship contested in match play format.

Arnold Palmer, reigning champion of the Masters and U.S. Open, carded a triple-bogey eight on the 16th hole on Saturday,[6] and finished five strokes back.

At Firestone, Palmer opened with a 67 for the first round lead,[7][8][9] but fell off the pace late on Saturday and tied for seventh; he won seven majors but never a PGA Championship.