On this date in 1996, the Diner’s Club Matches concluded, with Dottie Pepper & Juli Inkster winning the LPGA portion, Jim Colbert & Bob Murphy taking the Champions Tour, and Tom Lehman & Duffy Waldorf winning the regular PGA Tour portion.
On this date in 1980, Nancy Lopez and Curtis Strange won the JCPenney Golf Classic by two shots at Bardmoor Country Club in Largo, Florida. They split a $72,000 first prize.
Happy 34th: On this date in 1988, Rickie Fowler was born in Murrieta, California. The five-time PGA Tour winner has been on the brink of major stardom but hasn’t broken through yet; he has finished second four times in major championships. His last victory was nearly four years ago.
The great Charles Boswell, a 13-time winner of the U.S. Blind Golfers’ Association, was born on this date in 1916. Boswell won numerous awards, but Pat Browne later passed his USBGA total.
The first PGA National Four-Ball Championship ended on this date at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with Gay Brewer and Butch Baird winning by three with a 259 total. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who would come to dominate this event, tied for seventh, seven strokes back.
On this date in 1954, Arnold Palmer’s debut on the PGA Tour ended with a missed cut. Palmer had turned pro in November 1954, and the Miami Open in Miami Springs was his tour debut, but he missed the cut with rounds of 78-74—152, played on December 9 and 10.
On this date in 1926 is usually recognized as the date the U.S. Golf Association legalized the use of steel in golf club shafts. Hickory was the primary shaft material for many years leading up to the use of steel. Once steel became the common shaft, aluminum, graphite and other hi-tech materials expanded the shaft market.
The QBE Shootout this weekend will combine male and female players together. On this date in 1985, siblings Laurie Rinker and Larry Rinker won the mixed team JCPenney Golf Classic at Bardmoor Country Club in Largo, Florida, at 21 under par.
Luke Donald and Billy Horschel share a birthday on this date. Donald was born in 1977 in England; he attended Northwestern in Illinois. He was No. 1 in the World at one point but has not been among the best lately. Horschel was born in 1986 and has seven PGA Tour wins, the latest the 2022 Memorial Tournament overseen by Jack Nicklaus.
On this date in 1987, Jane Crafter and Steve Jones won the JCPenney Golf Classic at Bardmoor Country Club in Largo, Florida, with a score of 20 under par, two ahead of Debbie Massey and Mark McCumber.
World Golf Hall of Famer Lanny Wadkins was born on this date in 1949. Wadkins, who won the 1977 PGA, retired from competition to do analyst commentary for Golf Channel.
On this date in 1988, Amy Benz and John Huston won the JCPenney Golf Classic at Bardmoor Golf Club in Largo, Florida. They shot 21 under par to beat Martha Nause and Larry Mize by two shots.
On this date in 1972, Jack Nicklaus won the Walt Disney World Open at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, the final tour event of the season. The $30,000 first-place money made him the first PGA Tour player to earn $300,000 for a season. Nicklaus, 32, was in his 11th year. He shot 68-68-67-6—267 and finished the year with $320,542.26.
On this date in 1937, Jock Hutchison won the inaugural Senior PGA Championship held at the nearly new Augusta National Golf Club. Hutchison won by eight shots over George Gordon.
On this date in 1973, Jack Nicklaus finished at 13-under-par 275 to win by one stroke over Mason Rudolph at the Walt Disney World Open. The $30,000 first-place money made him the first tour player to earn more than $2 million in PGA Tour career earnings. Arnold Palmer had been the first to win $1 million career money.
On this date in 1969, Arnold Palmer won the first Heritage Golf Classic, with four rounds of 68-71-70-74—283, and a first-place prize of $20,000. He won by three shots. The Heritage has long since been played in the spring, but it first was held in the fall.
Payne Stewart won the 1992 Skins Game on this date with $220,000. He beat Greg Norman, Fred Couples and Tom Kite at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, California.
On this date in 1993, the Skins Game concluded at Bighorn Golf club in Palm Desert, California. The match had been billed as The King versus The Kids. Payne Stewart was a two-time defending champion trying for a three-peat when he squared off with Fred Couples, Paul Azinger and Arnold Palmer, who was making his first appearance since 1987 as a sub for John Daly. Daly had been suspended by the PGA Tour following his disqualification the week before at the Kapalua International in Hawaii. At 64, it was asking a lot of Palmer to get his share of skins against a solid youthful trio, and, unfortunately, that’s how it played out. Payne Stewart won the event when he made a birdie for three skins at the 16th that put him out of reach. Payne Stewart 9 skins, $280,000; Fred Couples 9 skins, $260,000; Paul Azinger 0 skins, $0, Arnold Palmer, 0 skins, $0.
On this date in 1942, Ben Hogan was named the winner of the Vardon Trophy for the third straight time; he finished ahead of his fellow triumvirate players, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead.
This date in 1920 is credited as the day the U.S. Golf Association officially formed its Green Section, the division in the USGA that handles its policy on greenkeeping and course care regarding turfgrass.