On this date in 1968, Arnold Palmer played his first match of the Piccadilly World Match Play, at Wentworth West in England. It was a quarterfinal battle with Brian Huggett, and Arnie came out on top, 2 up. He lost the next match against Bob Charles, 7 and 6. The matches were 36 holes. And the Senior Players Championship ended in 2010 on this date with Mark O’Meara winning in a one-hole playoff with Michael Allen at TPC Potomac.
This Day in Golf History
A page that will list golf history, and the people and events that comprise it in the form of This Day in Golf or This Week in Golf.
On this date in 1965, the 16th Ryder Cup ended at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in England with the U.S. defeating Great Britain 19½-12½. Byron Nelson was the non-playing American captain and Harry Weetman was his G.B. counterpart. Arnold Palmer, Dave Marr, Julius Boros, Tony Lema and Peter Alliss (G.B.) each won two singles matches on the final day. Also, in 1987, on this date Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 66 at the Pepsi Senior Challenge and eventually finished tied for 5th.
On this date in 1888, the Open Championship wrapped up at the Old Course in St. Andrews with Jack Burns of Scotland winning by a single shot over Ben Sayers and David Anderson Jr. in Burns’ only Open victory. On this date in 1960 Arnold Palmer was named Professional Golfer of the Year, and in 1965, Palmer and Dave Marr went 1-1 at the Ryder Cup in two Four-Ball matches.
On this date in 1891, The Open Championship ended at St. Andrews’ Old Course with Hugh Kirkaldy winning by two strokes over his brother Andrew Kirkaldy and Willie Fernie. This was the last time the Open was played as 36 holes over one day. On this date in 1965, Arnold Palmer and Dave Marr went 1-1 in the 16th Ryder Cup, held at Royal Birkdale, on Day 1 of the competition. Eight foursomes matches were held, four in the a.m. and four in the afternoon. Arnie and Dave traded 6-and-5 matches with Dave Thomas and George Will, the Yanks losing in the a.m. but winning in the second session.
On this date in 1928, the PGA Championship concluded at the East Course at Five Farms Country Club in Lutherville, Maryland, with Leo Diegel dominating Al Espinosa, 6 and 5, in the final. Diegel also won in 1929. Also, the great bon vivant of golf, Walter Hagen, died on this date in 1969 at the age of 76. He won 11 majors but was equally known for his showmanship and man-about-town personality. One of his major admirers and friends, Arnold Palmer, was a pall bearer at his funeral.
On this date in 1957, the 12th Ryder Cup ended at Lindrick Golf Club in Yorkshire, England, with Great Britain defeating the U.S., 7½-4½. The U.S. led 3-1 after the Day 1 Foursomes but it got trounced in singles on Day 2, 6½-1½, to lose for captain Jack Burke, Jr. Dai Rees captained the winning squad, which came out on top for the first time since 1933. On this date in 1963, Arnold Palmer shot a 66 in Round 3 of the Whitemarsh Open.
On this date in 2016, a public memorial service was held at St. Vincent College basilica for Arnold Palmer, televised on Golf Channel. Also, the 2010 Ryder Cup, at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales, ended in a 14.5 to 13.5 victory for Europe. the inaugural U.S. Open was held on this date in 1895 at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. Englishman Horace Rawlins won by two shots over Scotland’s Willie Dunn. Rawlins had a 36-hole score of 173 for first, two ahead of Dunn.
On this date in 1953, the 10th Ryder Cup ended at Wentworth in England, with the Americans coming out ahead 6½-5½ points. Both Jack Burke Jr. and Sam Snead won two matches each to help lead the U.S. to a sixth straight victory over Great Britain. On this date in 1974, Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 73 in the Lancome Trophy, and would finish 4th three days later.
On this date in 1953, the United States took a 3-1 lead over Great Britain after Day 1 of the Ryder Cup. Also, in 1876, the Open Championship concluded at St. Andrews’ Old Course with Bob Martin winning when David Strath, a fellow Scotsman, refused to participate in a playoff after the two had tied at the end of regulation at 176. There were 34 players in the field.
On this date in 2010, at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales, the Ryder Cup was played with just one session due to rain. Only the Four-Ball session was played, with the U.S. leading 2.5 to 1.5 after play concluded. Also on this date, in 1921, the 4th PGA Championship was completed at Inwood CC with Walter Hagen defeating two-time champion Jim Barnes, 3 & 2, in the final. It was the first of Hagen’s legendary five PGA titles.
A pair of Ryder Cups ended on this date. In 2012 at Medinah Country Club, Europe blitzed the singles matches to retain the Cup 14½-13½, and in 2018 at Le Golf National, Europe stomped on the Americans, 17½–10½. In Arnold Palmer history on this date, in 1972 he shot a 74 in the final round of the John Player Classic, at Turnberry in Scotland, to finish off a tournament week of 71-73-73-74—291, and a tie for seventh.
The contentious “War by the Shore” Ryder Cup ended on this date in 1991 at Kiawah Island with the U.S. edging Europe 14½-13½ after Bernhard Langer missed a 6-foot par putt that would have clinched a 14-14 tie. Europe would have kept the cup as the previous winner. On this date in 2016, a private ceremony was held for Arnold Palmer following his death on Sunday, September 25, at age 87.
On this date in 1997, the Ryder Cup ended on continental Europe for the first time, this year at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain with Europe edging the U.S., 14½-13½. Also, on this date in 1973, Arnold Palmer shot an 80 in the third round of the John Player Classic, Turnberry, Scotland. But fear not, Palmer fans. The conditions included cold, wind, rain and hail and Arnie was described by reporters as having caught the worst of it, sending his score soaring. Charles Coody shot an incredible one-under 70 and had 212 with Arnold well back at 227.
With Europe off to a dominating start after Day 1 of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, leading by 3, a similar Euro good vibe took place on this date in 1987, Europe beating the U.S., 15-13, at Muirfield Village in Ohio for the first U.S. lost on its home soil in the series. On this date in 2002, Europe led after Day 1 at the Ryder Cup at The Belfry in England.
The American team will try to win the Ryder Cup starting today at Bethpage Black on Long Isand. On this date in 1993, the U.S. beat the Euros, 15-13, at The Belfry in England. Davis Love III won the securing point in a 1-up Singles win over Costantino Rocca of Italy, making a winner of Captain Tom Watson. A more stirring U.S. victory was on this date in 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., when the U.S. came back from trailing 10-6 with Singles to go and won by a point.
It’s not the happiest of milestones on this date. The most loved golfer in history, Arnold Palmer, died at age 87 of heart failure in a Pittsburgh hospital in 2016. Arnold came into this world on Tuesday, September 10, 1929, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and he exited it on this date, September 25, 2016, age 87, on a Sunday evening at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside Hospital, passing away due to complications of heart problems. And on this date in 1987, the Ryder Cup opened at Muirfield Village in Ohio, with Europe leading 6-2 at the end of Day 1 after winning all four afternoon Four-Ball matches.
The 1995 Ryder Cup ended on this date at Oak Hill Country Club with Europe winning 14½-13½; the winning point came from Philip Walton’s 1-up victory over Jay Haas. Elsewhere, in 1967, Arnold Pallmer shot a 69 on this date to win the Thunderbird Classic, topping off his week with his best round of four (71-71-72-69—283) and getting the $30,000 first-place payout.
A pair of Open Championships ended on this date. In 1868, at Prestwick, Young Tom Morris edged his father, Old Tom, by three shots to win. And in 1892, Harold Hilton also won by three shots, at Muirfield, over John Ball, Sandy Herd and Hugh Kirkaldy. And on this date in 1967, Arnold Palmer shot a third-round 72 at the Thunderbird Classic. It was his worst of four rounds, the others 71, 71 and 69 for a 283 and first place.
On this date in 1957, Arnold Palmer shot a 68 to back a first-round 67 and win the Mountain View Open with a 135 score, good for $350. And the 1973 Ryder Cup ended on this date at Muirfield, Scotland, with the U.S. beating Great Britain & Ireland, 19-13. It was the first year to have Ireland in the team mix.
On this date in 1973, the second day of the Ryder Cup was held at Muirfield, Scotland. Arnold Palmer played a pair of team matches, winning one and losing one. In Morning Foursomes, Peter Oosterhuis-Tony Jacklin (GBI) defeated Palmer-Dave Hill, 2 up, and in Afternoon Four-Ball, Palmer-J.C. Snead defeated Brian Barnes-Peter Butler, 2 up. And Captain Paul Azinger’s famous pod system helped the American team stop a three-match losing streak on this date in 2008 to win the Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club, 16½-11½, against Europe.