The 1971 Ryder Cup ended on this date at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, with the U.S. defeating Great Britain, 18.5 to 13.5. On the final day, Arnold Palmer played two singles matches. He and Harry Bannerman halved in the morning, and then Peter Oosterhuis downed Arnie, 3 and 2, in the afternoon.
The 1949 Ryder Cup ended on this date at Ganton Golf Club with the United States defeating Great Britain, 7-5, aided by a U.S. blitz of winning six of eight singles games. Also, on this date in 1967, Arnold Palmer shot a final-round 68 in the Philadelphia Golf Classic, for a 282 total and a tie for sixth, earning $3,454. His four rounds were 70-72-72-68.
With the next Ryder Cup kicking off next week at Bethpage Black, we note on this date in 1979 that the U.S. won 17-11, at The Greenbrier. It was the first time Europe played the U.S., having expanded from its longstanding Great Britain & Ireland opposing side. Also, the 1971 Ryder Cup began on this date at Old Warson Country Club, in St. Louis. Arnold Palmer paired with Gardner Dickinson to win a pair of matches: Morning Foursomes, Palmer-Dickinson (U.S.) defeated Peter Townsend-Peter Oosterhuis, 2 up; Afternoon Foursomes, Palmer-Dickinson defeated Townsend-Oosterhuis, 1 up
The next Ryder Cup is just a couple weeks away at Bethpage Black on Long Island, New York. The 1985 Ryder Cup ended on this date at The Belfry in England with Europe winning a pivotal battle, 16½-11½ over the U.S. Also, on this date in 1968, Arnold Palmer won the first Kemper Open by shooting a 67 in the final round to complete a four-round scoring week of 69-70-70-67—276, and win $30,000.
In 1958, the year Arnold Palmer won his first Masters, on this date at the Denver Centennial Open he shot a 69 to finish tied for third. His prize money for shooting 67-68-66-69—270 was $1,300. Also, tradition says on this date in 1868 that Young Tom Morris made the first hole in one in golf on the 8th hole at Prestwick in Scotland.
On this date in 1964, Arnold Palmer finished the World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club’s South Course in Akron, Ohio. The final standings: Tony Lema 70-68—138, $50,000; Ken Venturi 69-74—143, $15,000; Bobby Nichols 77-70-147, $5,000; Palmer 74-74—148, $5,000. Also, a pair of Open Championships ended on this date. In 1866, at Prestwick Golf Club, Willie Park Sr. won for the third time, and in 1872, also at Prestwick, Tom Morris, Jr. won a fourth straight time (no championship was held in 1871).
On this date in 1969, Arnold Palmer recorded the lowest 18-hole score of his career when he shot a 60 at his hometown club, Latrobe Country Club. Also, Argentinian golfer Angel Cabrera was born on this day in 1969 in Córdoba. Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters but has recently gone through legal trouble for domestic violence before joining the PGA Champions Tour.
Golf history goes silent today in tribute to the 9-11 victims in the terrorist attack on American land in New York City, Washington, D.C., and area near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Appropriate on a day like today that the last location would be a reminder of a sad golf stroke: the shank. We don’t go totally silent, utilizing the iconic Arnold Palmer. On this date in 1954, at the 9th Annual Bill Waite Memorial Tournament, Palmer and partner Tommy Sheehan of Detroit defeated George Rowbotham (Philadelphia) and Ben Smith (Detroit), 4 and 3, in the better-ball final at Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa. This was the tournament he was playing when he met future wife Winnie Walzer.
This date is one that is remembered in golf history for what it gave the game: seven-time major winner and all-time beloved golf icon Arnold Palmer was born on this day, a Tuesday, in 1929, the first child to Milfred and Doris Palmer in the Latrobe/Ligonier/Youngstown area of Pennsylvania. And also on this date in 2009, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, a statue was unveiled of Palmer at Laurel Valley Golf Course, Ligonier.
Six years ago on this date, Brian Barnes, an English player, died at age 74. Barnes was one of the great characters in the game and played in the Ryder Cup from 1969 to 1979. On this date in 1962, Arnold Palmer finished play in the first World Series of Golf. Palmer played in three WSOGs, an unofficial 36-hole event involving the winners of the year’s major championships, held at Firestone Country Club, par-70, 7,165-yard South Course, Akron, Ohio. The first WSOG was played on September 8-9, 1962, with the results: Jack Nicklaus 66-69—135, $50,000; Arnold Palmer 65-74—139, $12,500; Gary Player 69-70—139, $12,500.
On this date in Arnold Palmer history, in 1955, PGA Tour rookie Arnold Palmer shot a 78 at the Cavalcade of Golf in the first round then withdrew rather than continue with such a bad score. On this date in 1977, Palmer shot a 65 in the B.C. Open’s first round. He would add 69-75-74 to shoot 283 and tie for 22nd ($1,780). The 65 was his lowest round of the ‘77 season, in which he entered 20 tournaments, won none, and had a scoring average of 72.49.
It was five years ago already on this date that Dustin Johnson won the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club by three shots over Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele for a FedEx Cup victory. And on this date in Palmer History, the Chrysler Cup ended in 1986 on the TPC at Avenel Course in Potomac, Maryland, with the Palmer-captained U.S. team beating the Internationals, 68.5 to 31.5. It was a Ryder-Cup style event involving senior tour players. It was during this inaugural event that Arnold aced the 187-yard No. 3 hole two days in a row using the same 5-iron in practice rounds.
In the same year that Francis Ouimet won his historic U.S. Open title, 1913, the 19th U.S. Amateur was won on this date by Jerry Travers, in a 5-and-4 victory over John G. Anderson at the outstanding Garden City Golf Club on Long Island, New York. And this wasn’t on-course history, but on this date in 1954, Arnold Palmer met future wife Winifred Walzer at Shawnee Inn/Poconos while playing a two-man team tournament. Also, in 1964, Palmer shot a 71 in an exhibition at Cedar Wood; other scores were J.Nicklaus 72, B.Charles and G.Player 69, Dick Tiddy 67.
On this date in 1925, the 29th U.S. Amateur Championship was won by Bobby Jones in a battle with fellow Atlantan Watts Gunn. Jones won, 8 and 7, at venerable Oakmont Country Club to win for the second straight time. This is the time of year when the U.S. Amateur is played and another past playing ended on this date in 1982 when Jay Sigel won the 82nd, that one held at The Country Club near Boston, site of Francis Ouimet’s pivotal 1913 U.S.. Open victory.
A pair of hall-of-fame golfers were born on this date. Tom Watson was born in Kansas City in 1949; Raymond Floyd was birthed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 1942. On this date in 1932, the PGA Championship was won by Olin Dutra at Keller Golf Club in St. Paul, Minnesota, when he defeated Frank Walsh in the 36-hole final, 4 and 3. Dutra was 19 under par over 196 holes covering five matches.
On this date in 1973, the underappreciated Billy Casper finished at 20-under-par 264 to win the Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open by one shot over Australian Bruce Devlin. It was a milestone 50th PGA Tour victory for Casper. Also on this date, in 1936, the U.S. blanked Great Britain, 9-0, in the Walker Cup held at lauded Pine Valley Golf Club in Clementon, New Jersey. And on this date in 1968, the Rev. Billy Graham was in the Pittsburgh area for a 10-day crusade and had traveled to Laurel Valley to play golf with Arnold Palmer.
On this date in 1953, Arnold Palmer finished as the Cleveland News/Club Division champion. And in 1964, Arnie and Tony Lema won an exhibition team match at Mount Pleasant in Baltimore. Also on this date in 1940, the PGA Championship at Hershey Country Club had an epic battle between two golf legends when Byron Nelson won his first PGA by defeating Sam Snead, 1 up, in the 36-hole final.
On this date in 1893, the Open Championship concluded at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland with native Willie Auchterlonie winning by two shots over amateur Johnny Laidlay. Another anecdote on this day, in 1960, Arnold Palmer tied the course record of 65 in an Elyria, Ohio, exhibition. And in 1969, Palmer was on the Sports Illustrated cover for this week, titled, “Farewell to an Era—Arnold Palmer Turns 40.”
A pair of U.S. Amateur championships concluded on this date. In 1968, Bruce Fleisher had a score of 284 to edge Marvin (Vinny) Giles III by one shot at Scioto C.C., Columbus, Ohio, and in 1980, Hal Sutton defeated Bob Lewis, 9 and 8, at the Country Club of North Carolina, in Pinehurst. Fred Couples had been the match-play qualifying medalist with a score of 139. Prior to Hideki Matsuyama winning this year’s Masters, Isao Aoki was the most lauded Japanese player in history, finishing second in the 1980 U.S. Open and winning the 1978 World Match Play Championship. He won once on the PGA Tour but 51 times on the Japanese tour, and was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Aoki was born on this date in 1942 in Abiko, Chiba. And on this date in 1965, Arnold Palmer shot a 68 and teenager Tom Watson 74 in an exhibition at Brookridge G.&C.C.
A pair of U.S. Amateur results occurred on this date. In 1969, Steve Melnyk shot 286 to win by five over Marvin (Vinny) Giles at Oakmont; in 1987, Billy Mayfair defeated Eric Rebmann, 4 and 3, at Jupiter Hills Club (Hills Course), in Florida. Also, one of golf’s most colorful figures, the quick tempered Tommy (Thunder) Bolt, died at age 92 on this date in 2008 after a Hall of Fame career that included victory in the 1958 U.S. Open. On this date in 2011, Arnold Palmer teamed with partner Peter Jacobsen to finish 6th in the Umpqua Bank Challenge (aka Fred Meyer Challenge) in Portland, Oregon, which was his final paycheck at a pro-only event, worth $40,000.