The 1940 PGA Championship was the 23rd PGA Championship, held August 26 to September 2 at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania, east of Harrisburg. Then a match play championship, Byron Nelson won his first PGA Championship, defeating Sam Snead 1 up in the 36-hole final. It was the fourth of Nelson's five major titles; he won the PGA Championship again in 1945. From 1939 to 1945, Nelson made five of the six finals, missing only in 1942 (not held in 1943).