It was Shute's second major title; his first was at the British Open in 1933 at St. Andrews. He previously made the finals at the PGA Championship in 1931.
Fay Coleman was the medalist in the stroke play qualifier at 143 (−1). Five-time champion Walter Hagen and two-time winner Leo Diegel both shot 157 (+13), one stroke out of the playoff.[6] Defending champion Johnny Revolta lost in the second round to Harold "Jug" McSpaden in 19 holes.
Shute repeated as champion less than seven months later in May 1937. He was the last to successfully defend his title at the PGA Championship until Tiger Woods won consecutive titles twice, in 1999–2000 and 2006–2007.
This was the first major played at Pinehurst and Course No. 2, which had sand greens until 1935.[7] While the PGA Championship has yet to return, the U.S. Open was held at the course in 1999, 2005, and 2014. It hosted the Ryder Cup in 1951 and the U.S. Women's Open was also here in 2014.
Format
The match play format at the PGA Championship in 1936 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in seven days:[2]
Monday and Tuesday – 36-hole stroke play qualifier, 18 holes per day;
defending champion Johnny Revolta and top 63 professionals advanced to match play
