Walter Travis, born in Australia but a United States citizen, became the first foreigner to win the Amateur Championship on this date in 1904. Already a winner of three of the previous four U.S. Amateurs, Travis, a World Golf Hall of Fame member, won at Royal St. George’s over Edward Blackwell in the final, 4 and 3.
He is the Walrus: Craig Stadler was born on this date in 1953, so he has hit the seven-decade mark. Stadler won the 1982 Masters in a playoff with Dan Pohl. From San Diego, Stadler won the 1973 U.S. Amateur and turned pro three years later.
Stanford’s Rose Zhang has turned professional with college eligibility remaining, meaning we’ll be seeing her in LPGA majors this summer. On this date in 1975, a major ended when Kathy Whitworth won the LPGA Championship at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Baltimore by one shot over Sandra Haynie.
It was an Army-Navy battle on this day in 1942 at the PGA Championship played at Seaview Country Club in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Sam Snead, who was going to report to the Navy, defeated Jim Turnesa, an Army corporal, 2 and 1, in the final. It was the first of three PGA titles for Snead, who had lost two of the previous four final matches.
Counting Walter Hagen’s four in a row and Jim Barnes winning two in a row with two off years in the middle, winning the PGA consecutively has happened nine times. That includes Brooks Koepka in 2018-2019. On today’s date in 1937, Denny Shute won his second in a row, at the Pittsburgh Field Club, defeating Harold McSpaden in 37 holes. Shute had won the previous year at Pinehurst, 3 and 2 over Jimmy Thomson.
The riches tour pros reap can somewhat be traced to today’s event. On this date 68 years ago, Arnold Palmer earned his first official money on the PGA circuit. Prior to the Fort Wayne Invitational, Palmer had played 10 tour-run events in 1955, having turned pro at the end of 1954. He finished "out of the money" in five, missed the cut in one and had to pass on $1,144.86 he would have gone home with in the other four. The PGA forced new members to go through a six-month apprenticeship before they could accept money. Seems very backward today. (He was allowed to take home the $695.83 he earned for a T-10 finish at the Masters in April 1955 because it was not run by the tour.) Three months later in August, Palmer won the Canadian Open for his first tour title and a top prize of $2,400. The $145 Palmer won for tying for 25th at Fort Wayne on May 29, 1955, was the start of Palmer's launch into making golf in general -- and the tour specifically -- financially lucrative. His star power helped the tour grow in popularity, which in turn increased prize money substantially. The huge tour purses he helped grow came much after Palmer was capable of winning on tour, but the money he was able to keep at the Fort Wayne Invitational 64 years ago must have felt like a fortune at the time, which is what he turned it into.
One of the LPGA Tour’s pioneers, Marlene Bauer Hagge, won the pleasant sounding Land of Sky Open on this date in 1958 in a playoff with JoAnn Prentice on the first hole of sudden death after the two had tied at three-under-par 213. Hagge’s sister Alice also was an LPGA Tour founder and died in 2002. Marlene just died on May 16 at age 89.
Sam Snead was born on this date in 1912. The leading player in PGA Tour victories in a career along with Tiger Woods, Snead was often described as possessing an ageless swing, and that resulted in some longevity records that he established in both major and regular tournaments alike. Snead was one of the leading “characters” in golf history with a personality that ranged from coy and mischievous to affable and instructive.
More than two years after what would be his final PGA Tour victory, Arnold Palmer’s final victories on the “regular” tours were on foreign soil. On this date in 1975, he won the British PGA. It came about a month after he’d won the Spanish Open. Arnold’s final victory against the young guys would come in the 1980 Canadian PGA, the same year the Senior PGA Tour (Champions) began, opening a new competitive arena for him.
On this date in 1948, Ben Hogan, who was then supplementing his income with a club pro job in Hershey, Pennsylvania, won the 30th PGA Championship in a 7-and-6 defeat of Mike Turnesa at the Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.
On this day in 1910, Jimmy Demaret was born in Houston (as was Bob Dylan in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941, and yours truly on this date but not as long ago). Often described as colorful and Jaunty Jimmy, Demaret had an outgoing personality and elegant wardrobe that was admired by fans and peers. He won the Masters three times and later in life ran Champions Golf Club with Jack Burke Jr. in Houston. Demaret notably appeared in an I Love Lucy episode in the 1950s, and did a great deal of commentary on TV golf, especially the Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf series.
On this date in 1963, Jack Nicklaus, in his second PGA Tour season, made his first hole-in-one of his pro career, which helped him get into a seven-way tie for the first-round lead with a 67 at the Memphis Open. Already a two-time major champion, Nicklaus aced the 185-yard third hole but had to settle for a tie with seven others at 3-under-par 67, including hometown favorite Cary Middlecoff, for the first-round lead in the Memphis tourney. Nicklaus aced the third with a 6-iron, the ball landing right of the hole but kicking left. Tony Lema, one of those tied for the lead, ended up the tournament winner.
The largely unheralded Horton Smith was born on this date in 1908 in Springfield, Missouri. Despite winning two Masters titles, and authoring a well received putting instructional book, his career is not well known except by avid golf lovers. He was closely aligned with the PGA of America and did much to promote the game. He received his just reward, however, by being elevated into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The first Curtis Cup Match was played on this date in 1932. The United States team defeated Great Britain 5.5 to 3.5 at Wentworth Golf Club in England. The two big amateur stars in women’s golf matched up twice on the day. American Glenna Collett Vare and England’s Joyce Wethered split their matches; Vare and teammate Opal Hill won a team match 1 up, but Wethered beat Vare in singles 6 and 4.
On this date in 1962, the great Patty Berg won the Muskogee Civitan Open on the Muskogee Country Club in Oklahoma. She shot four under par for the tournament to win by two shots over Shirley Englehorn and Ruth Jessen. It was the 57th and final tour victory in Berg’s marvelous career.
In one of the fastest earnings paces for its time, on this date in 1968, Billy Casper won the Colonial Invitation tournament in Fort Worth, which gave him $100,000 in earnings for the year in less than five full months.
On this date in 1964, Arnold Palmer won the Oklahoma City Open after shooting a fourth-round 67. His 277 score for the week earned him $5,800. The victory came five weeks after he won the final major of his career, the Masters Tournament, April 9-12, with a four-round line of 69-68-69-70—276, worth a top prize of $20,000.
On this date in 1951, it’s traditionally noted that the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews concurred on abolishing the stymie from the game, which took place when one golfer’s ball blocked the path of another player’s ball on the putting green, forcing the golfer furthest away to play around the ball closest to the hole.
On this date in 1982, Kathy Whitworth won the Lady Michelob LPGA event in Roswell, Georgia, at nine under par, by four shots. It was her 83rd victory, putting her in the all-time lead.
The World Golf Hall of Fame member and broadcaster Ken Venturi was born on this date in 1931. We also make note of the 1964 U.S. Open champion’s death date since it was on a May 17, in 2013, two days after turning 83.