On this date in 1960, Arnold Palmer’s breakout year as a major star, he finished tied for fifth at the Tucson Open after shooting rounds of 65-74-69-68—276, good for $872.86. Also for Palmer, Arnold started the Houston Classic off in Round 1 on this date in 1957 with a 67, giving him control of the tournament and he went on to win and take home top prize of $7,500.
On this date in 1955, Arnold Palmer, playing his inaugural season on the PGA Tour, finished playing in the Texas Open for the first time. He had scores of 69-70-64-67—270 to tie for sixth. However, because he was serving a six-month apprenticeship, he wasn’t allowed to collect approximately $460 in prize money. Also, one of the key outsiders who has made an impact on golf majors was born on this date 87 years ago. Herb Kohler, the leader of the bathroom-fixture company, Kohler, was the force behind Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits, Wisconsin courses that have been the sites of a few major championships, including the PGA, U.S. Senior Open and Women's Open. Kohler also had ownership of the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland. He died in September 2022.
The PGA Tour no longer has Tucson as a stop during the beginning of the calendar schedule, but it was a notable locale before the tour would head to Florida. On this date in 1967, Arnold Palmer won the Tucson Open even though he had a poor final round. His 73 was still good enough to win, thanks to a 66-67-67 start at Tucson National. He led by four with a round to go and barely hung on, winning by one over Chuck Courtney; they both drove into the lake on 18, Palmer making a double bogey and Courtney a triple.
On this date in 1962, Arnold Palmer defeated Sam Snead back to back on February 17/18 in Florida exhibitions. Also, LPGA star and all-time great TV analyst Judy Rankin was born on this date in 1945 in St Louis, Missouri, making her 81. The World Golf Hall of Fame member was a 26-time LPGA Tour winner but became more well-known to today's golf fans for her splendid TV golf commentary.
Before the 58 and 59s shot on the PGA Tour, there were several 60s. One was shot on this date at the Texas Open in 1955 when Mike Souchak had the first-round lead at Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. His 60 tied the then all-time record for 18 holes set in 1951 by Al Brosch in the Texas Open, then tied in 1952 by Bill Nary at El Paso, Tex.; by Ted Kroll in the 1954 Texas Open, and by Tommy Bolt at Hartford, Conn., in 1954. Souchak also had a back-nine score of 27, which broke the previous nine-hole score of 28. And in 1961, Paul Runyan shot a second-round 70 at PGA National in Dunedin, Florida, en route to a victory worth $1,500 in the 22nd Senior PGA Championship.
On this date in 1986, Gary Player won the Senior PGA Championship at PGA National with a score of 281, two ahead of Lee Elder. Also, Marlene Bauer Hagge, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, was born on this date in 1934. She won 26 LPGA events, including the 1956 LPGA Championship. She and sister, Alice, were golf prodigies who appeared on the cover of Golf Digest in the '50s en route to pro careers as founders of the LPGA.
It’s been 7 years already since Gene (The Machine) Littler died on this date at age 88. Born a year after Arnold Palmer, Littler, from San Diego, got a head start on a hall of fame career over Arnie when Palmer spent three years in the Coast Guard. Littler won the 1954 San Diego Open as an amateur. His lone professional major was the 1961 U.S. Open, the year after Arnold won his only U.S. Open. Also, every so often, Chi Chi Rodriguez would show how well he could play as well as entertain. On this date in 1987, he rebounded from a third-round 76 and shot a five-under-par 67 to overtake a faltering Dale Douglass and win the 48th Senior PGA Championship at PGA National's Champion Course.
Mary Kathryn (Mickey) Wright, the greatest woman golfer of all time, was born on this date in San Diego in 1935. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, she won four U.S. Women’s Opens and 82 LPGA Tour titles. Referred to by many, including Ben Hogan, as having the finest swing, man or woman, the San Diego native won 13 majors. She died in 2020.
On this date in 1969, Arnold Palmer joined Packers QB Bart Starr and Detroit outfielder Al Kaline, at President Nixon’s invite, to the Oval Office as part of the National Press Club’s sports program. In 1972, Arnie shot a final-round 69 at the Hope Desert Cl. to finish 6th. Also, the great Patty Berg was born on this date in 1918 in the great golf hotbed of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The World Golf Hall of Fame player won 15 major titles but was also an excellent ambassador for the game. In her teaching exhibitions she had a great catchphrase at the clinic, which I first saw in the 1980s at Bloomington Country Club in Illinois; she always reminded attendees to "swing to the finish," which she would then do in a flourish with a flamboyant follow-through. Growing up, Berg played football in her neighborhood.
The modern Big Three of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player finished 1-2-3 three times on the PGA Tour. The first was on this date in 1963 at the Phoenix Open at Arizona Country Club, where the finish was twice delayed by near hurricane-force winds and rain. The order was oldest to youngest: Palmer was first with scores of 68-67-68-70—273, a 15-under total, and $5,300 prize money. Player finished one stroke back, and Nicklaus was third at 275. On this date in 1989, the 50th Senior PGA Championship finished at PGA National Golf Club, with late-bloomer Larry Mowry winning by one shot over Miller Barber and Al Geiberger.
With the Phoenix tour stop over this past Sunday, and Pebble Beach this weekend, on this date in 1962, Arnold Palmer won the Phoenix Open after some of the best scoring of his career. He had rounds of 64-68-71-66 for 269, winning by 12 shots at Phoenix Country Club. Also, one of the more obscure pioneering women golfers was born on this date in 1911. Helen Hicks, who won the 1937 Western and 1940 Titleholders, was born in Cedarhurst, New York.
On this date in 1951, Al Bosch is credited with shooting the first round of 60 on the PGA Tour in the Texas Open during the third round. Also on today's date, it's World Golf Hall of Fame member Greg Norman's 71st birthday. The two-time major winner was born in Queensland, Australia. And another marquee player was born in a different era 40 years later. Lexi Thompson, the 2014 ANA Inspiration winner, was born in Coral Springs, Florida. At age 15, she turned professional in June 2010.
On this date in 1958, World Golf Hall of Fame member Sandy Lyle, winner of the 1985 Open Championship and 1988 Masters, was born in Shrewsbury, England. Also, this is the traditional date in golf history, in 1834, that the St. Andrews Club was christened the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, with King William IV as its patron.
On this date in 1962, Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 64 in the Phoenix Open, one of his lowest rounds ever on the PGA Tour, to be the leader. Also, Australian star Jan Stephenson won 16 times on the LPGA Tour, the first coming on this date in 1976. She finished at two-over-par 218 in the Sarah Coventry Naples Classic on Lely Country Club to edge both Judy Meister and Sandra Haynie by one shot.
As Golf Year 1960 began, Arnold Palmer had 13 tour wins, including one major, the Masters of 1958. He was not yet viewed as the icon he would become. By the end of the year, though, he would well be on his way to immortality. On this date in 1960, he won the Palm Springs Desert Classic, his fifth event of 1960, with a final-round 65; by 1965 the event was renamed the Bob Hope Desert Classic. The 1960 Classic was the tournament debut, which Arnie would win five times, the final time in 1973. Also, this date is not one of glee but today’s date is a celebration of two hall of fame players. Betty Jameson, an LPGA founding member, died on this date in 2009 at age 89. In 2015, Billy Casper passed away from a heart attack at age 83. Casper won the 1959 and 1966 U.S. Open and the 1970 Masters.
Today’s “out of this world” moment was when golf went universal by way of the “moon shot.” Astronaut Alan Shepard hit a couple golf balls while on the moon on this date in 1971, using a makeshift 6-iron he had quietly brought on board the Apollo 14 flight. Because of his cumbersome spacesuit, he had to swing with his right arm only. Back on earth, Shepard said he “shanked the first one; it rolled into a crater about 40 yards away. The second one, I kept my head down. I hit it flush and it went at least 200 yards.” Today was also known for the incredible moon-shot artist, Babe Ruth, who was born on this date in 1895. The former longtime holder of the home-run record with 714 had 11 seasons of hitting 40 or more homers in his career, and in keeping with a golf theme, he was an avid golfer.
Playoffs are a common event on the PGA Tour. On this date in 1966, Arnold Palmer shot his best score of the Bob Hope Desert Classic that year, a 67, in the fourth round, then lost a playoff the next day when he and Doug Sanders tied at 349. Sanders won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Also, World Golf Hall of Famer José María Olazábal, who won the 1994 and 1999 Masters, was born on this date in 1966 in Hondarribia, Spain.
Today has a pair of Arnold Palmer moments to observe, both involving the Palm Springs area. In 1962, he won the Palm Springs Golf Classic, shooting 69-67-66-71-69—342 to take top prize of $5,300. And in 1968, he won the Bob Hope Desert Classic after a two-hole, sudden-death playoff with Deane Beman. Arnold had scores of 72-70-67-71-68—348, taking home $20,000. Also, the great Byron Nelson was born on this date in 1912, the same year Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were born. Nelson died on September 26, 2006. To read more about the man they called Lord Byron for his outstanding demeanor and character, go to worldgolfhalloffame.org/byron-nelson/.
Two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2019, was born on this date in 1969 in Pietersburg, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Also born on this date was the World Golf Hall of Famer Carol Mann, born in Buffalo in 1941 and who passed away in 2018.With the Waste Management tour event this week, we note that in 1955 on this date Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 69 at the Phoenix Open. In 1974, Arnie had a final-round 72 at the Hawaiian Open, finishing T-71, the final time he “finished out of the money.”
One of the more horrific days in golf history took place on this date in 1949 when Ben Hogan was nearly killed in a car-bus crash on a highway near Van Horn in west Texas, in morning fog. Hogan and wife Valerie's car was struck by an oncoming bus that was trying to pass another vehicle. Hogan's heroic move to throw himself in front of his wife saved his life as the impact forced the car's steering column to run through the driver's seat. Incredibly, a year later, Hogan returned to golf and nearly won the Los Angeles Open in his first tournament. On this date in 1990, Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 66 at the Royal Caribbean Classic, and in 1996, in his final AT&T Pebble Beach Nat’l Pro-am, Palmer shot a second-round 72 but the event was canceled by rain.