This Day in Golf History: January 22

On this date in 1984, Arnold Palmer won the 45th PGA Senior Ch. at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. It was his second Senior PGA, done with one of the most unusual set of four rounds for a regular or senior event. His middle rounds had a 16-stroke variance: 63 to 79. The good news was that the 63 had put him in the lead by eight (the largest 36-hole lead in 1984 on the senior tour) and the 79 was shot on a blustery day with temperatures in the 40s and the majority of the players scoring high. The weather was gusty for the final round, too, but Palmer steadied himself to win by two over Don January. The 63 would be Palmer’s career low round in senior tour play. Palmer’s scores: 69-63-79-71—282, 1st, $35,000. And on this day in 1978, Tom Watson and Ray Floyd tied for the third-round lead on a Sunday at the Bing Crosby Pro-Am, the first one held after Crosby’s death. The tournament was pushed back a day because of heavy rain on Thursday. On the 23rd Watson would win in a sudden-death playoff with Ben Crenshaw.