On this date in 1965, Marilynn Smith made a 22-foot eagle putt on No. 17 to finish off winning the 13th Annual Betsy Rawls Peach Blossom Open at Spartanburg (S.C.) Country Club for a one-stroke victory over Rawls. Smith had three straight one-under-par 71s in winning the $1,275 top prize. In third place at 216 was Mickey Wright. The eagle had put Smith up by two; Rawls watched at the 18th green as Smith made bogey to hang on.
On this date in 1955, Babe Didrikson-Zaharias won the Peach Blossom LPGA tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for the final victory of her career before she died in 1956.
One of the great championships of the LPGA from yesteryear ended its 1961 playing on this date when Mickey Wright won the Titleholders Championship at Augusta Country Club by one shot over fellow legends Patty Berg and Louise Suggs.
Two-time major champion and former NBC TV-golf analyst Johnny Miller was born in San Francisco on this date in 1947. Known for his hot streaks in winning tournaments in the West, Miller won the 1973 U.S. Open with his legendary final-round 63 at Oakmont, and the 1976 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Jim Thorpe, an African-American star who made his mark before the arrival of Tiger Woods, won the Senior Tradition on this date in 2002 at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club. It was Thorpe’s only major victory and he got it in a playoff with John Jacobs, making a birdie on the first extra hole.
Following a 9.5 to 2.5 American victory in the 1st Ryder Cup in 1927, the second finished on this date in 1929 with Great Britain winning 7-5 at Moortown Golf Club in Leeds, England. It was played in harsh cold and snowy conditions and even hail at one time. Just 2,000 fans saw the action, in which the U.S. led by a slim total after Day 1 of 2.5 to 1.5, but on Day 2 GB won the session 5.5 to 2.5 for victory.
On this date in 1952, Patty Berg shot a 10-birdie 30-34—64 in the first round of the Richmond Women’s Open at 6,330-yard Richmond Golf Club in California. The eight-under score was the lowest ever shot by a woman golfer to that point by two shots. It gave her a seven-shot lead and she would go on to win by four.
Fred McLeod, a Scottish golfer whose record has been obscured in these modern times, was born on this date in 1882 in North Berwick. He notably won the 1908 U.S. Open, but golf fans might recognize the name because it comes up every so often for his role as one of the first Honorary Starters in Masters Tournament history, along with his cohort Jock Hutchison.
Today is the birthdate of a pair of accomplished golfers who both are trying to achieve their own measure of success but at greatly different ages. Lydia Ko, who set records at a young age, was born in 1997 in Seoul, South Korea, but grew up in New Zealand. One of her major wins was the ANA Inspiration in 2016. Englishman Lee Westwood was born in 1973. He has not won a major but has revived his game in 2021 with a few close finishes near the top.
On this date in 1989, the Chrysler Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event for senior tour players on United States and International teams, concluded at the TPC at Prestancia course in Sarasota, Florida. Arnold Palmer was the U.S. captain for the five years it was played, 1986-1990, and had a 4-1 record. This year the U.S. won 71-29 and
on the final day, Captain Palmer defeated Bruce Devlin, 70-74. The winning team members each received $50,000 each.
Born on this date in 1938 in Washington, D.C., was World Golf Hall of Fame member Deane Beman, who was a lauded amateur before becoming modestly successful on tour. His main claim to fame was as the PGA Tour Commissioner from 1974 to 1994.
On this date in 1991, Jack Nicklaus won the PGA Seniors’ Championship by six shots at PGA National Golf Club, winning handily over Australia’s Bruce Crampton, who often was a runner-up to a Nicklaus major victory.
It was one of the most unlikely results to see Jack Nicklaus finish second by 12 shots but that he and Dale Douglass did when Hale Irwin won the 1997 58th PGA Seniors’ Championship at PGA National Golf Club’s Champion Course, which Nicklaus had redesigned. Irwin shot 274 to win the middle of three straight titles.
One of the mythical amateurs in American golf was born on this date in 1922. Billy Joe Patton was born in Morganton, North Carolina. Among his achievements wasn’t a victory but a legendary third-place finish in the 1954 Masters. He finished one shot out of a playoff with Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, which Snead won, 70-71.
On this date in 1993, one of the unheralded success stories on the senior tour, Tom Wargo, won the PGA Seniors' Championship at PGA National, winning a two-hole playoff with the more successful Bruce Crampton. Wargo was from a small club in Centralia, Illinois, and didn’t have notable pro success until turning 50. In 1994 he would win the Senior Open for two major titles.
Lee Trevino won the 1994 PGA Seniors' Championship on this date, edging Jim Colbert by a shot at PGA National Golf Club.
Don Bies won his only major on both the regular and the senior tours when he won The Tradition on this date in 1989. He won by a shot over Gary Player at the GC at Desert Mountain.
The 1979 Masters, the 43rd playing, ended on this date with Fuzzy Zoeller beat all kinds of odds to win in a playoff in his first appearance at Augusta National. There shouldn’t have been a playoff. Ed Sneed was three ahead with three to go but bogeyed all three holes. Jack Nicklaus missed the playoff by one. Sneed, Zoeller and Tom Watson went into the first sudden-death playoff in Masters history, with Zoeller winning on the second playoff hole, No. 11, with a birdie.
The 1974 Masters, the 38th playing, ended on this date with Gary Player winning his second of three green jackets. Tom Weiskopf and Dave Stockton finished two shots behind.
Of the Masters results on this date, a few are among the most memorable golf events in history. In 1975, Jack Nicklaus won what many consider in the top five best Masters ever, a one-shot victory over Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf, highlighted by a 40-foot birdie putt on 16. That Masters was the year Lee Elder broke the color barrier at Augusta as he became the first African-American to play in it. That was Jack’s fifth Masters, and he won his sixth in 1986 in the 50th playing for his record 18 majors. At age 46 it was his final major and his final-round score was a 65, beating Greg Norman and Tom Kite by one. And lastly, Tiger Woods won in 1997 for his first major with a record 18-under score that won by 12, also with Kite second.