Some golf history books cite this date in 1764 as the day St. Andrews Golf Club reduced the 22-hole course it originally had for the Old Course routing to an 18-hole round, thus establishing the “normal” amount of holes played today.
On this date in 1977, Tom Watson shot 71 at Pebble Beach to edge Tony Jacklin by a shot to win the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and $40,000 first-place money. Watson overall was 15 under par on Pebble Beach, Cypress Point and the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula CC.
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 his 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.
On this date in 1956 at Cali, Colombia, Arnold Palmer charged from seven strokes behind the third-round leader Chick Harbert with a seven-under-par 65 to win the $5,600 Colombian Open. Palmer got top prize money of $1,800 for his 72-hole total of 280, eight under. Harbert skied to a final-round 78 and wound up eighth.
On this date in 1974, Johnny Miller won the Dean Martin Tucson Open, his third straight victory to open the season, including the Bing Crosby Pro-Am and Phoenix Open.
The first round of the first LPGA Tour event was played on this date in 1950. The Tampa Open was held at 6,093-yard Palma Ceia Country Club. An amateur, Polly Riley, would win with a 295 score; Louise Suggs was second at 300. The first round was led by Bahe Zaharias, who was “clicking off pars like clockwork, led by two strokes at the end of the first round of the Tampa women's open golf tournament today. The walloping pro hit par 70 right on the nose par 35 out, par 35 in. She was even par on 14 of the 18 holes. Twice she was one over, and twice she was one under. Amateur Polly Riley of Fort Worth came second with golf of the opposite brand.” That was the opening paragaph of a national wire service report on the first round.
On this date in 1950, Sam Snead put a temporary end to Ben Hogan’s comeback from a near fatal car-bus collision in 1949 by winning a playoff for the Los Angeles Open. Snead shot 72 to Hogan’s 76 at Riviera Country Club after the two had tied in regulation. Hogan was the sentimental favorite of the 7,500 onlookers at fogbound Riviera CC. Snead won first prize of $2,600.
On this date in 1916, department store officer Rodman Wanamaker organized a lunch at the Taplow Club, Martinique Hotel, in New York to discuss forming a golf association for golf professionals that became the PGA of America.
On this date in 1979, golfer Jimmy Walker was born in Oklahoma City. He has won six times on the PGA Tour, most notably in the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol in a battle with Jason Day. He is also a talented photographer of celestial skies and rents space on a telescope to do so.
Some special things happened to Arnold Palmer on this date early in his career. In 1956, in a statement victory, he beat Sam Snead in a six-hole playoff to win the Panama Open after they had tied at 283. In another playoff victory, in 1961, he won the San Diego Open after shooting rounds of 69-68-69-65—271. He and Al Balding tied, and Arnie beat Balding in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff to win the $2,800 first-place money.
On this date in 1996, Liselotte Neumann won the Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, shooting 13 under to win $117,500.
On this date in 1978, Arnold Palmer shot a 68 in the second round of the Phoenix Open. He followed that with 71-67 in the next two rounds to finish fifth, a rare top-10 result for the legendary player who was five years past his last PGA Tour victory and was age 48.
On this date in 1969, Charlie Sifford won the Los Angeles Open to become the second African-American to win a PGA Tour event. He made a birdie on the first playoff hole versus Harold Henning.
On this date in 1970, Billy Casper won the Los Angeles Open at Rancho Park Golf Course (71, 6,800) in a playoff. He shot 276, becoming the second tour pro—behind Arnold Palmer—to earn $1 million in career money.
On this date in 1950, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead tied at the Los Angeles Open for first place in Hogan’s incredible return to golf after the infamous bus-car head-on collision in Texas. Snead would win the playoff, however, to ruin the storybook ending.
On this date in 1948, the U.S. Golf Association chose to begin a Junior golf championship for boys who had not yet turned 18.
On this date in 1962, Jack Nicklaus finished his first PGA Tour event at the Los Angeles Open, finishing 50th and winning $33.33.
On this date in 1963, Arnold Palmer shot a 66 and won the Los Angeles Open to earn $9,000. He shot rounds of 69-69-70-66—274.
The World Golf Hall of Fame member Cary Middlecoff was born on this date in 1921 in Halls, Tennessee. A Masters and U.S. Open champion, “Doc” was a notoriously slow player who tested everyone’s patience, but he was a bright man about the game and utilized his knowledge as a TV commentator and as a Golf Digest Instruction Panelist.
Ben Hogan’s score of 275 won the Los Angeles Open on this date in 1948. Lloyd Mangrum was four strokes behind at Riviera Country Club.