This Day in Golf History: January 25

With the PGA Tour on the West Coast, it’s appropriate to observe that on this day in 1959, Arnold Palmer won the Thunderbird Invitational after rounds of 67-70-67-62—266 at Thunderbird Country Club (71, 6,680) in Palm Springs, California. The Thunderbird was a predecessor to The American Express event being completed this day. In 1959, first place was worth just $1,500. It was Arnold’s 11th PGA Tour victory. Also, on this date in 1997, we hearken back to Tiger Woods’ youthful burst into stardom when he made a hole-in-one in grand style in front of the boisterous 16th-hole crowd in Round 3 of the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.