On this date in 1956, Arnold Palmer won the Panama Open in a six-hole playoff, tied for longest playoff pro victory with the 1957 Rubber City Open. Palmer also won a playoff at the San Diego Open on this date in 1961. Also, one of golf history’s most surprising major winners, Y.E. Yang (Yang Yong-eun) of South Korea, was born on this date in 1972. He overcame the pressure of Tiger Woods breathing down his neck to win the 2009 PGA at Hazeltine. And prior to the PGA Senior Championship settling into its now familiar summer date, it was held in January for several years. It finished on this date in consecutive years, 1948 and 1949, won by Charles McKenna and Marshall Crichton, respectively.
On this date in 1949, Ben Hogan played the first round of the Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Cypress Point. Two days later, after playing Monterey Peninsula C.C. and Pebble Beach G. Links, he was the winner, the only time he won Bing’s tournament. Also, one of the PGA Tour’s most notable journeymen golfers in its history was born on this date in 1941 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Although Gibby Gilbert won three times on tour, his frumpy, everyman appearance, common Amana hat and nickname (real name is C.L. Gilbert Jr., just initials), was a high-handicapper’s delight. Plus, Gilbert always seemed to be lingering in contention. His most notable major was finishing second in the 1980 Masters behind Seve Ballesteros.
By 1983, Arnold Palmer was closing in on 30 years on the PGA Tour and was 10 years past his final victory. On this date in '83, he shot what would be his best round of the year, a 66, in the first round of the Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open. He shot 69-68-72 the next three rounds for a 275 total and a tie for 10th. World Golf Hall of Famer Mark O’Meara was born on this date in 1957 in Goldsboro, North Carolina. O’Meara had a special year in 1998 when he won both the Masters and Open Championship. He also won the 1979 U.S. Amateur.
On this date in 1997, Tiger Woods won the Mercedes Championships, his third PGA Tour victory, in a playoff with Tom Lehman. And this date in 1969 marked a big achievement for Charlie Sifford. The pioneering African-American golfer won the Los Angeles Open to go with the 1967 Greater Hartford Open as his two PGA Tour victories. He also won the Long Beach Open, but it was not tour-sanctioned. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004 for his lifetime achievement as a player and fighter for civil rights and equal treatment.
Arnold Palmer was golf's first millionaire, but on this date in 1970, Billy Casper became the second, just edging out Jack Nicklaus. The great Casper, then 38, defeated Hale Irwin in a one-hole playoff at Rancho Park, making a 5-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole at the L.A. Open. Irwin, 24, was trying to win for the first time and led by one with No. 18 to play. But his second shot hit a tree and he made bogey to fall into a tie. Casper started 1970 with $981,938 in 14 years on tour and won $20,000 for first place to go past a million. Also, one of the greatest putters of all-time, Ben Crenshaw, was born on this date in 1952 in Austin, Texas. Crenshaw won the Masters in 1984 and 1995 and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
He’s not well-known today among golf fans but Walter Travis was born on this date in 1862 in Australia. He was a jack of all trades, but his playing accomplishments included winning the 1904 British Amateur and the 1900, 1901 and 1903 U.S. Amateur. He was also a writer and course designer. On this date in 1967, Arnold Palmer was the guest of honor at a Cherry Hills C.C. testimonial dinner, at which he was made a lifetime member primarily because of winning the 1960 U.S. Open at the club.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 46 years since the Spanish boy wonder, Sergio Garcia, was born on this date in Borriol, Castellón, in 1980. At one time seen as a surefire major winner of numerous titles, it took until 2017 for Garcia to break through and win a major at the Masters. Also on this date in 1966, Arnold Palmer won the Los Angeles Open.
On this date in 1962, Jack Nicklaus won his first money as a professional on tour. The Los Angeles Open finished at Rancho Municipal, with Nicklaus in a tie for 50th, earning $33.33, on rounds totaling 289. The winner was Phil Rodgers with 268. Arnold Palmer had 283 for T-18. Whenever Nicklaus would comment in the following years about this first PGA event, he would joke he always wondered where the extra penny went. Because he was one of three players at 50th, with Billy Maxwell and Don Massengale, and they had to share $100 among them, one person got an extra penny. Nicklaus and Massengale each got $33.33; the $33.34 went to Maxwell. Also, on this date in 1966, Arnold Palmer shot a third-round 62 at the L.A. Open, his lowest ever tour round.
One-time major champion Lou Graham, the 1975 U.S. Open winner in a playoff with John Mahaffey at Medinah, was born on this date in 1938 in Nashville, Tennessee. On this date in 1983, Natalie Gulbis was born in Sacramento, California. Perceived as one of the LPGA’s glamour players, she famously broke through after six years as a pro by winning her lone victory, the 2007 Evian Masters.
Today is the 105th birthday anniversary for Cary (Doc) Middlecoff, the three-time major champion who was born in Halls, Tennessee. And two of America’s other accomplished golfers were born on this date. In 1957, Nancy Lopez was born in Torrance, California; she won 48 LPGA Tour titles, and in 1960, Paul Azinger, the 1993 PGA Champion, was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Ken Venturi had yet to win a major when he won the Los Angeles Open on this date in 1959. He had won six times in two years when L.A. was played in 1959. He shot 63 in the final round to win by two shots over Art Wall. He finally won a major with the inspiring 1964 U. S. Open. Also, a major champion in professional golf was born on this date in 1969. Shaun Micheel, winner of the 2003 PGA Championship, was born in Orlando, Florida. He is that rare major winner whose only PGA Tour victory was the major.
The 2001 PGA Championship winner David Toms was born on this date in 1967 in Monroe, Louisiana. Toms also won the 2018 U.S. Senior Open and is now mainly focused on the Champions Tour. Also, on January 4 in 1963, Arnold Palmer started his season at the L.A. Open with a 69.
U.S. golf pro Fred Haas, Jr., was born on this date in 1916 in Portland, Arkansas. Haas was a five-time PGA Tour winner but one of his lesser known claims to fame is that he was grouped with Arnold Palmer in Arnie’s second-ever PGA Tour event, the 1948 Dapper Dan Invitational at Alcoma Golf Club in Pittsburgh. Also, golf’s first $1 million event, the Million Dollar World Challenge at Sun City, South Africa, was won on this date in 1981 by eventual World Golf Hall of Fame golfer Johnny Miller in a playoff with Seve Ballesteros.
On this date in 1959, Arnold Palmer opened the PGA Tour season on the earliest date in his career, at the L.A. Open with 72, and would tie for 10th. Also, in 2007, Palmer was the Honorary Orange Bowl captain for Wake Forest; Muhammad Ali was the same for Louisville. Louisville won, 24-13, but Palmer and Ali earned a draw in the nostalgia game. Also, two-time U.S. Amateur champion Marvin (Bud) Ward (in 1939 and 1941), one of America’s standout amateur players, died on this date in 1968 at age 54 after a cancer illness.
Legendary amateur Billy Joe Patton, who had a stirring third-place finish in the 1954 Masters, died on this date, New Year’s Day, in 2011. Also, Jerilyn Britz, the winner of the 1979 U.S. Women's Open, was born on this day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1943. She attended Mankato State College and the University of New Mexico.
The stymie rule officially died on this date in 1951. The rule called for balls to be played as they came to rest on the green; you couldn't mark the ball and pick it up. That meant that if a golfer's ball stopped between the hole and another player's ball, that player had "laid a stymie" and the "stymied" golfer had to putt around the ball or in some instances tried to chip over the ball to hole out. To see an example, search for “Paul Runyan 1938 PGA Championship at Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort” to see old newsreel video of Runyan chipping over a stymie successfully in his victory over Sam Snead. Also, Champions Tour golfer Bob Gilder was born on this date in 1950 in Corvallis, Oregon. Gilder attended Arizona State and won six PGA Tour events.
All-time great Tiger Woods, who survived a potentially fatal car crash in February 2021, will have extra reason to celebrate today since it will be his 50th birthday, Still undergoing occasional surgeries to deal with chronic pain, Woods was born in Cypress, California, and is still presumably attempting to become the all-time winner in tour victories and major championships. He’s tied with Sam Snead for tour victories and is three behind Jack Nicklaus in majors.
Renowned golf course architect Pete Dye was born on this date in 1925 in Urbana, Ohio. Among his most notable designs is the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, venue for the annual Players Championship. The course’s main feature is the island green at the par-3 17th. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Dye’s designs also include Crooked Stick, Kiawah Island, and Harbour Town. He died January 9, 2020.
Affable Jimmy Demaret, a three-time Masters winner and good-will golf ambassador, died on this date in 1983 at age 73. He and Jack Burke, Jr., ran Champions Golf Club in Houston. Also, German golf star Martin Kaymer was born on this date in 1984. The one-time No. 1 golfer in the world and current LIV member has won two majors: the 2010 PGA Championship and 2014 U.S. Open.
Dave Marr was born on this date in 1933 in Houston. He won the 1965 PGA Championship but more indelibly he was a longtime ABC-TV golf analyst (later NBC) who set the standard for analytics that successors are still trying to achieve. He died in 1997. Also, steady middle-of-the-road American golf professional Charley Hoffman was born on this date in 1976. The San Diego native has four PGA Tour victories and two top-10s in majors. His highest world ranking was 20th.