Long after he was a factor in PGA Tour events, Arnold Palmer--and others--recognized his formidable value as a fan favorite and would invite him to play in special events. One such event was the Fred Meyer Challenge, Peter Jacobsen's two-day, small-field deal in Oregon, a state that didn't get much tour action. "Peter's Party" was a popular crowd favorite. Arnie played in it 18 times, the first in 1986, and was paired with Jacobsen 16 times. (AP played with Tom Watson in '86 and Greg Norman in '87.) Arnie and Jake'sbest finish was third place, done four times, including on this date in 1989.
Walter Hagen won the U.S. Open twice. Once in 1919 at Brae Burn Country Club and the first on this date in 1914. He edged Chick Evans by a shot at Midlothian Country Club in Blue Island, Illinois, in the Chicago area. Evans had the best score in the final round with 70 to nearly tie Hagen, who had 73.
On the day the U.S. Amateur concludes, the 1954 champion, Arnold Palmer, is in today's special golf date. On Aug. 20, 1955, Palmer shot a final-round 70 to go with previous rounds of 64-67-64 to win the Canadian Open, the first PGA Tour victory of his career. In a sign of the times, the top prize was worth just $2,400.
On this week of a major women's golf event with the Solheim Cup, today's date is a milestone for girls junior golf. On this date in 1949, Marlene Bauer won the first U.S. Girls' Junior, 2 up, over Barbara Bruning on the Bala Course at Philadelphia Country Club.
There have been many things said about the character of the golf-writing brethren, and often it’s the scribes themselves taking shots at fellow writers. Most commonly it is good-natured ribbing about the ravenous press needing to be fed as it covers events. But today is a day to speak nice about the people who report on the golf world with their words. The day is an important milestone in golf-media history: Aug. 18, 1946, is credited as the birth of the Golf Writers Association of America, so, Happy 71st birthday, GWAA!
JoAnne Gunderson Carner won the U.S. Women's Amateur on this date in 1968, beating Anne Quast Sander, 5 and 4, at Birmingham (Mich.) Country Club. It was Carner's fifth and final Amateur victory before she went to play the LPGA Tour. Glenna Collett Vare holds the record with six victories. Carner is also second to Vare in "most times in the final" with seven, one behind Vare.
Catherine Lacoste of France was the fifth foreign-born winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur, doing so on this date in 1969. She defeated Shelley Hamlin, 3 and 2, at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas. Lacoste had previously won the 1967 U.S. Women's Open.
A short-lived international competition ended its first event on this date in 1952. The Americas Golf Cup Match, pitting United States, Canadian and Mexican amateur teams against each other, concluded at Seattle Golf Club. The U.S. won with 12 points, Canada came in second with 10 and Mexico had 5. Ken Venturi andCharlie Coe were among the American players. The event was played every other year but by June 1970 it had been discontinued.
Lanny Wadkins spoiled the sentimental hope of seeing Gene Littler win the PGA on this date in 1977 at Pebble Beach when he won the first sudden-death playoff in a major championship. Littler was playing flawlessly through three rounds and led by four shots, but stumbled in with a final-round 76 to be tied by Wadkins. On the third playoff hole, Wadkins won with a six-foot par putt. Other PGAs to end on this date include 1988, 1994, 2005 and 2011.
The great Eugenio Saraceni, aka Gene Sarazen, won the 1933 PGA Championship on this date. He beat Willie Goggin, 5 and 4, in the final at Blue Mound Country Club in Wauwatosa, Wis. It was The Squire's third PGA and sixth of seven majors in his career. Other PGAs to finish on Aug. 13 were in 1989, 1995 and, of course, today in 2017.
On July 12, 1930, Bobby Jones won the U.S. Open, the third leg of the Grand Slam. It also gave him 12 majors and the lead in lifetime majors (including amateur majors), moving ahead of Walter Hagen. On today's date in 1973, Jack Nicklaus won the PGA at Canterbury Golf Club by four shots over Bruce Crampton. It was Jack's 14th major and gave him the lifetime lead, which has been challenged by Tiger Woods but not yet passed. Other PGAs to end on Aug. 12 were in 1990, 2007 and 2012.
One of Lee Trevino's greatest moments was on this date in 1974 at the PGA held at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, N.C. He won with a 4-under-par score, edging Jack Nicklaus by a shot to once again foil the Golden Bear at a major as he had done at the U.S. Open and Open Championship already in his career. Trevino took a one-shot lead after Round 3, and both he and Jack matched 69s in the final round. Other Aug. 11 PGA conclusions came in 1985 (Hubert Green edged Trevino by 2 in that one), 1991, 1996 and 2013.
Like Larry Nelson in yesterday's entry, today's date in PGA history was doubly kind to Jack Nicklaus. He won the 1975 and 1980 PGAs on Aug. 10 each year. In '75, it was Jack on top at Firestone Country Club, where he led by four after Round 3 and was 2 shots up on Bruce Crampton at the end. In 1980, Nicklaus was a bigger winner, at Oak Hill. Up by three heading into the last round, he shot 69, finished six under, and won by seven, the only player under par for the week. Other Aug. 10 PGA finishes include years 1986, 2008 and 2014.
Hall of Fame member Larry Nelson won two PGA championships, and they both were won on Aug. 9. The first one came in 1981 at Atlanta Athleltic Club. Nelson led Fuzzy Zoeller by four after three rounds and won by that many after he and Zoeller shot final-round 71s. The second PGA was won in 1987 when Nelson beat Lanny Wadkins in a sudden-death playoff at the steamy Champion Course at PGA National. The playoff began on the par-4 10th. Both players missed the green, but Nelson chipped to six feet and made his putt and Wadkins chipped to four feet and missed his par putt. It was the final major win for Nelson, who had also won the 1983 U.S. Open.
Leading by five heading into the final round, Raymond Floyd cruised home with a 72 on this date in 1982 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, still winning his second PGA title by 3 shots over Lanny Wadkins, the 1977 champion, despite a double bogey on 18. The first two rounds were played in temperatures more than 100 degrees.
In the wake of the Champions Tour's 3M Championship over the weekend, today's golf date in history recognizes New Prague, Minn., native Les Bolstad, one of the state's legendary golf figures. On this date in 1926, at just age 18, Bolstad won the fifth U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Grover Cleveland Park in Buffalo, N.Y. Later, while playing for the University of Minnesota, Bolstad won the 1927 and 1929 Big Ten titles and he won many state events. Bolstad coached the Golden Gophers golf team from 1947 to 1976. He was a mentor and teacher to countless players, including Patty Berg and Tom Lehman, and was eventually inducted into the Collegiate Golf Coaches Hall of Fame.
It’s hard to celebrate being the oldest at something when society/the business world seems to hold an age bias against the experienced set among us. But this is a pretty good “old” honor: Doug Ford turns 95 today; he ranks as the oldest living winner of a major championship. Ford, the winner of the 1955 PGA and 1957 Masters, is nearly six months older than the next oldest, Jack Burke, the 1956 Masters and PGA champion. Many happy returns to them both.
World Golf Hall of Fame member Chick Evans was one of the greatest amateurs in history, never more-so than in his adopted home of Chicago. He won the Chicago City Amateur four times, the first in 1907 as a teenager, and the last on this date in 1944 when he was 54 years old! On the national stage, he was the first player to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year, 1916.
“Lighthorse” Harry Cooper was born on this date in 1904 in Leatherhead, England. You may have heard him mentioned as one of the alltime “greatest players to never win a major.” That is true, but in his day, he won 31 tour events, including two Los Angeles opens, two Canadian opens, and the Western Open, all three of which were near major status. He was good enough to be elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Mentor and student Stan Thirsk and Tom Watson, respectively, shared milestone first rounds on this date in PGA Championship history, but sadly they both ultimately faded from the top spot. In 1972 at Oakland Hills, Thirsk, the Kansas City club pro who was Watson’s teacher, shared the first-round lead with a 68. He fell back into the pack, however, and tied for 72nd. In 1978 at Oakmont, Watson had the first-round lead with a 67, but a poor back nine in Round 4 dropped him into a tie, and he lost in a sudden-death playoff to John Mahaffey. It was the closest Watson ever got to winning the PGA.