Taking a pause this week to highlight special dates in Masters history, with a focus on four-time winner Arnold Palmer: One of Arnie’s biggest career regrets was the 25th Masters, played in 1961 on April 6-10. Leading by a shot with one hole to play, Palmer let his mind wander after a great drive and made a double bogey to place one shot behind Gary Player. Palmer had scores of 68-69-73-71—281 to tie for second.
Taking a pause this week to highlight special dates in Masters history, with a focus on four-time winner Arnold Palmer: In 1960, Arnie won his second Masters on April 7-10, shooting 282, including a 67 in Round 1. His first-place money was $17,500. Ten weeks later, he won the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills in an epic comeback in the final round.
Pausing from the normal history date, this week I focus on the Masters with an emphasis on Arnold Palmer: In 1958, Arnie won his first Masters green jacket on April 3-6, in the 22nd Masters. His scores were 70-73-68-73—284. His first-place money was $11,250.
Taking a pause this week to highlight special dates in Masters history, with a focus on Arnold Palmer, four-time winner: Arnie’s first Masters was April 7-10, 1955, his rookie season. He had scores of 76-76-72-69—293, tied for 10th and picking up $695.83, a nice paycheck for someone still in a six-month moratorium against accepting tour money.
One of the most talented golfers of all-time, Tom Weiskopf, was born on this date in 1942 in Massillon, Ohio. Weiskopf’s most well-known victory was the 1973 Open Championship.
One of the greatest names in golf, Chandler Harper, belonged to the 1950 PGA Championship winner. The Virginia native lived to age 90, dying on this date in 2004.
On this date in 1959, the biennial Ryder Cup Match finished at Eldorado Golf Club in Indian Wells, California. The U.S. took an easy 8½-3½ win behind its captain Sam Snead.
The Ryder Cup Match of 1955 ended on this date at Thunderbird Ranch & Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. The result was an 8-4 U.S. victory, with Chick Harbert captaining a seventh straight American victory.
The Open Championship of 1886 ended on this date at Musselburgh Links in East Lothian, Scotland, with David Brown winning by two shots over Willie Campbell. It was the 26th Open., with 42 golfers playing four nine-hole rounds.
The 9th Ryder Cup ended on this date in 1951 at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 Course with the United States defeating Great Britain, 9½-2½, under the guidance of playing captain Sam Snead.
On this national Election Day, a little politics with golf. Jack Westland, a U.S. House of Representatives member from 1953 to 1965, died on this date in 1982 at Pebble Beach, California, at age 77. Westland won the U.S. Amateur in 1952 in a strong amateur career.
The 1947 Ryder Cup Match ended on this date at Portland Golf Club, resuming the series that had been on hold for 10 years due to world conflict. The U.S. won the match, 11-1. Ben Hogan was the U.S. captain, going up against Henry Cotton, a three-time Open Championship winner.
On this date in 1935, nine-time major champion Gary Player was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. If plans play out, he will join Jack Nicklaus in hitting the ceremonial tee shot at the Masters on November 12 in the first round.
On this date in 1968, Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 70 at the Australian PGA. On the next three days he added rounds of 77-75-71—293 to tie for sixth.
On this date in 1965, Clifford Ann Creed won the LPGA Las Cruces Golf Open at Las Cruces Country Club in New Mexico. She shot three under par and beat Donna Caponi by two shots. And in another finish on this date in 1988, Beth Daniel won the Nichirei Ladies Cup U.S.-Japan Team Golf Championship.
It would be interesting to see how Scottish-born Jimmy Thomson would do in today’s big hitter’s era. Born on this date in 1908, Thomson was stocky in the mode of today’s J.B. Holmes and was one of the long hitters on tour, just as Holmes is today. Thomson notably finished runner-up in both the 1935 U.S. Open at Oakmont and 1936 PGA at Pinehurst No. 2.
One of the most celebrated woman golfers in the game’s history was born on this date in 1921. Peggy Kirk was born in Findlay, Ohio. Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2019 in the lifetime achievement category, Kirk experienced success as a player before becoming well known as a teacher, resort owner and golf ambassador. She married Warren Bell in 1953 and was known as Peggy Kirk Bell from then on. A charter member of the LPGA, Bell also received the prestigious Bob Jones Award in 1990 from the USGA.
One of the big LPGA stars of the 1980s and 1990s, Patty Sheehan, was born on this date in 1956 in Middlebury, Vermont. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, two of Sheehan’s major victories were the 1992 and 1994 U.S. Women’s Open.
On this date in 1975, Mary Bea Porter completed a wire-to-wire victory with a final-round, three-over-par 76 and a 72-hole total of 287 in the Golf Inns of America tournament at the Whispering Palms course. She finished five under par for four rounds and three strokes ahead of runnerup Donna Young. Porter's first-place money of $5,700 more than doubled the $4,935 she had won In 22 events in 1975 to that point.
One of the most shocking tragedies in golf history took place on this day in 1999 when three-time major champion Payne Stewart—who had more championships to be won at just age 42—died in a private plane crash when the plane’s occupants were deprived of oxygen in a structural failure.