Arnold Palmer was a first-timer in many golf milestones, such as being the first golfer to earn $1 million in career PGA Tour earnings, but on this date in 1969, he was the first winner of the now titled RBC Heritage Classic. Palmer, then 40, had been winless for 14 months when he put together rounds of 68-71-70-74 -- 283 to win by three shots and first prize of $20,000. It was the inaugural playing of the Heritage, which we are used to see being held the week after the Masters. But the '69 event was held on Thanksgiving week. Winning at Harbour Town was so new that in a photo of Palmer being given the winner's plaque from tournament chairman Charles Fraser the still-under-construction lighthouse can be seen in the background (see photo).
It seems as if the age progression for the oldest male acer advances every two or three decades. The present record-holder is Gus Andreone, 103, who had a hole-in-one on the 113-yard, 14th hole of the Lakes Course at Palm Aire in Sarasota, Fla., on December 17, 2014. Before him, Otto Bucher, 99, Geneva, Switzerland, aced the 130-yard 12th hole at the La Manga (Spain) Club in January 1985. And prior to him was T.S. South, 91, who had a hole-in-one on this date in 1952 on the 110-yard seventh hole at Highcliffe Castle Golf Club in England.
The Titleholders Ch. was a major tournament on the LPGA Tour that was played from 1937 to 1966 and in 1972. Part of its prestige was that it was played at Augusta Country Club, next door to Augusta National. On this date in 1965 it was won by Kathy Whitworth by a startling 10 shots. It capped a season in which she led the tour in money, $28,658, and stroke average with 72.61.
Even the casual golf fan is fairly astute about what Arnold Palmer did in 1960. Won the Masters and U.S. Open, nearly won the Open Championship at St. Andrews, upped the interest big-time in his persona as well as in the game. But on this date, he won the Mobile Sertoma Open. Don't worry, most people haven't heard of it, either. It was a PGA Tour event that was only around a few years, played on Mobile, Alabama's municipal golf course. Arnie shot 68-67-74-65—274, for first place and $2,000. It topped off a year in which he entered 27 events, won eight times and $75,263, and had a scoring average of 69.95.
The late fall and early winter have been known as golf's Silly Season for a few decades now, referring to the gorging tour pros do on rich, limited-field, little-pressure events. It all began with the Skins Game, which was played for the first time in 1983. On this date at Desert Highlands in Arizona, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson played the front nine, and finished the back the following day. Player won the most cash with $170,000 and Palmer was second with $140,000.
Art Wall, who is credited with making 40 holes-in-one in his career, was born on this date in 1923 in Honesdale, Pa. He was a steady player on the PGA Tour with 14 victories. His major claim to fame, besides making all those aces, is winning the 1959 Masters. Wall passed away in 2001.
Simone Thion de la Chaume, aka Madame Rene Lacoste, was born on this date in 1908. She was an accomplished French amateur, won the French Ladies Open six times in the 1920s and '30s, and won the British Girls Amateur in 1924 and British Ladies Amateur in 1927, the first foreigner to do so in both. The wife of tennis champion Rene, she was the mother of Catherine Lacoste, who would improve upon her mother's record in golf in the 1960s and '70s.
Every so often, an event is devised that tries to capture the feel of the Ryder Cup. Such a senior event was the UBS Warburg Cup, held for a few years in the early 2000s. It was a U.S. versus Rest of the World team match. On this date in 2003, that year's event wrapped up in a 12-12 tie. The U.S. retained the cup because it had won the previous playing. Arnold Palmer was the U.S. captain, and he lost in the final-day singles, 1 down, to Tony Jacklin.
One of the most enigmatic talents in golf was born on this date in 1911. Ralph Guldahl, born in Dallas, went from a promising player, to dormant, back to dominant, then down again in a matter of 8 to 10 years. He could have won the 1933 U.S. Open, stopped playing for a few years, then won the 1937 and 1938 U.S. Open, the 1939 Masters, and the 1936 to 1938 Western Open, which was a major title back then. In the 1940s, he lost his nerve and skill and wasn't a factor again. But what he did do in that stretch earned him a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Today's entry allows this lifelong Cardinal fan to get a mention in of Stan Musial, Mr. Cardinal himself, onto his website. Stan the Man was born on this date in 1920 in Donora, Pa., which is in the western half of the state and in the vicinity of Arnold Palmer and Jimmy Stewart's birthplaces. The Palmer reference is not the golf hook here; Musial was a golfer, but I mention him because upon his retirement, he professed his desire to commit to golf. In the issue of Golf World dated Nov. 22, 1963, an infamous day in world history, Musial said he had turned to golf. Famed teacher Bob Toski said that Musial was a 90s shooter but had the potential to be in the 70s and "thinks he'll be good."
Two distinctive players from golf's past were born on this date. South African Bobby Locke, who won four Open Championships, was born in 1917 and died in 1987. Noted as one of the greatest putters of all time, his technique allowed him to hook his putts into the hole. Texan Don January was born in 1929. Thin as a rail, the 1967 PGA champion was a spirited competitor, and had previously lost a playoff for the 1961 PGA to Jerry Barber. January was one of the Champions Tour's earliest and most dominant and successful players with 22 victories.
The time for the so-called Silly Season is approaching. That was the end of the season period where limited-field events were played, in which there was often a lot of money in the purse for a small amount of players who didn't have to play a whole lot of golf to get their check. The Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (now The QBE Shootout) is one such event. Arnold Palmer partnered with Peter Jacobsen in the event several times, among many events they played, and on today's date in 1995, the pair finished eighth, shooting a 59 in the final round.
Depending on the source, British amateur great Joyce Wethered, who was celebrated in yesterday's This Day in Golf for being born on Nov. 17, 1901, died in 1997 either on Nov. 17 or Nov. 18. The New York Times says it was the 18th. Either way she died at age 96, and the consecutive-day start and finish to her life allows another day of remarking on her supreme prowess as a player, which included a few battles with American star Glenna Collett. Wethered's brother, Roger, was an accomplished player who was runner-up in the 1921 Open Championship.
While the LPGA Tour wraps up its season this week, a prominent woman golfer from long ago is the focus today and tomorrow. Joyce Wethered was born on this date in 1901. Still in the main discussion today as the greatest British female golfer of all time, Wethered won the English Ladies' championship five years in a row, 1920-1924, and won the British Ladies Amateur four times during the 1920s. Bobby Jones played exhibition golf with Wethered and proclaimed her one of the best he'd seen. Her career only lasted into her 30s; she married in 1937. In 1975 she was entered into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Chances are you've heard Bobby Cruickshank's nickname before you learned anything about his golf skill. Wee Bobby was around 5-feet-5, born in Scotland on this date in 1894. He never won a major, but he was sixth or better in all of them, and won 17 PGA Tour events. Like most golfers of his era, he had a successful club pro and teaching career when his playing days were over.
The LPGA Tour wraps up a long season with this week's CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. The women pros have been playing this late into November for a long time. On this date in 1964, for instance, Kathy Whitworth won the San Antonio Civitan Open at Pecan Valley Country Club in San Antonio. She won by three over Marlene Hagge.
There are many contending clubs who challenge for oldest in the United States, but few have the legitimate background that the St. Andrews' Golf Club in Yonkers, N.Y. has. Some history sources credit its start on this date in 1888, founded at a dinner at John Reid's home. Reid is often called the Father of American Golf.
The second consecutive day of recognizing Arnold Palmer's World Cup play is to note that on this date in 1966, Arnie finished fifth in the individual standings with rounds of 66-67-69-73—275 at Yomiuri Country Club, in Tokyo, but he and Jack Nicklaus won the team title. It was the third of four they would win together.
Arnold Palmer's final appearance in the World Cup (first known as the Canada Cup) was a successful one. On this date in 1967 at Club de Golf Mexico, Mexico City, Arnie finished off rounds of 68-70-71-67—276 to take first place individually, and he and partner Jack Nicklaus won the team title for the fourth time. It was the sixth overall team victory for A.P., including two wins with Sam Snead in 1960 and 1962. Here are Arnie's other World Cup showings: 1960, at Portmarnock, tied for third (ind.) and first with Sam Snead in team; 1962, at Jockey Club in Buenos Aires, tied for second (ind.) and first with Snead in team; 1963, in Paris, tied for fifth (ind.) and first with Nicklaus in team; 1964, Royal Kaanapali Golf Course, Maui, Hawaii, second (ind.) and first with Nicklaus in team; 1966, Yomiuri Country Club, Tokyo, fifth (ind.) and first with Nicklaus in team.
Two-time major winner Fuzzy Zoeller turns 66 today. Born in New Albany, Ind., Zoeller won the 1979 Masters on his first try, winning in a playoff over Tom Watson and Ed Sneed. In 1984, he won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in a playoff with Geg Norman. The sportsmanship he showed in that tournament won him the 1985 Bob Jones Award.