On this date in 1950, many newspaper editors were writing the headline "Sam Snead Spoils Storybook End for Ben Hogan" after Snead beat Hogan 72-76 in an 18-hole playoff to win the Los Angeles Open at par-71 Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Hogan was attempting a comeback from his horrific near-fatal car-bus highway accident in Texas in February 1949. Hogan was the sentimental favorite of the 7,500 onlookers at fogbound Riviera. Snead won first prize of $2,600. The PGA Tour just announced that an alternate site for the L.A. Open, now Genesis Invitational, scheduled for February 10-16 will be announced soon now that Riviera has been in the destruction zone of the Los Angeles fire devastation.
On this date in 1916, department store owner Rodman Wanamaker organized a lunch at the Martinique Hotel in New York City with interested parties who organized the PGA of America organization for professional golfers and club pros.
On this date in 1938, at Augusta Country Club, adjacent to Augusta National, the LPGA Titleholders Championship was won by Patty Berg by 14 strokes. And on this date in 1979, golfer Jimmy Walker was born in Oklahoma City. He has won six times on 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.
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. Also on this date, Y.E. Yang (Yang Yong-eun), the giant slayer in the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine when he beat Tiger Woods for the title, was born in South Korea on this date in 1972.
On this date in 1971, Arnold Palmer shot a 72 in the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, not a promising start to contend in a tournament he never won. However, he went 68-69 to get into contention for the final round. But a three-putt on Pebble Beach’s fifth hole hurt his cause and he finished two shots behind winner Tom Shaw’s 278 on January 17. And 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.
World Golf Hall of Fame member Mark O’Meara was born on this date in 1957 in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He won the 1979 U.S. Amateur and 1998 Masters and Open Championship. And 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 1997, Arnold Palmer took the next step to treating his prostate cancer. With a Carlsbad, California dateline, the Associated Press reported: “Arnold Palmer piloted his private plane to Minnesota [Sunday] and will enter the Mayo Clinic for tests to determine a course of treatment for prostate cancer. Palmer, 67, found out that a biopsy indicated he had cancer. He left the La Costa Resort and Spa [Friday], where he was attending the PGA Tour awards dinner at the Mercedes Championship and returned to his Florida home on Saturday. ‘His mood is good but he is subdued from his normal demeanor,’ Doc Giffin, Palmer's spokesman and longtime confidant, said yesterday from Latrobe, Pa….Giffin said Palmer, an avid pilot, was flying himself to the renowned clinic in Rochester, Minn., and assumed tests would begin today. Palmer was told of the biopsy report Friday.” Also 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. And World Golf Hall of Fame member Ben Crenshaw was born on this date in 1952 in Austin, Texas. His main achievements were two Masters titles in 1984 and 1995 and captain of the miraculous U.S. Ryder Cup team that won in 1999.
On this date in 1950, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead tied at the Los Angeles Open for first in Hogan’s incredible return to golf after his infamous car-bus accident in west Texas. Snead would win the playoff, however. And one of golf history’s unheralded lone-major winners, Bob Hamilton, was born on this date in Evansville, Indiana, in 1916. That is the same year the PGA Championship was played for the first time, a major Hamilton won in 1944.
Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters Tournament winner and now playing the LIV golf circuit, was born on this date in 1980 in Borriol, Castellón. Also 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, Phil Rodgers won the Los Angeles Open by nine shots with a score of 268 at Rancho Municipal but most notable was the debut of Jack Nicklaus in a pro tour event. He won a tidy $33.33 on a score of 289 and tie for 50th. Nicklaus thereafter would often tell how he and two others, Billy Maxwell and Don Massengale, tied and had to share $100. He got $33.33 and always wondered who got the extra penny. It was Nicklaus and Massengale who each got $33.33; the $33.34 went to Maxwell. It wasn’t long before the Golden Bear started earning the big bucks.
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. Also, on this date in 1938, Lou Graham, the 1975 U.S. Open champion at Medinah over John Mahaffey, was born in Nashville, Tennessee.
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 notorious slow player who tested everyone’s patience, but he was a bright man about the game and was faster in his post-pro career in doing TV work and consulting for Golf Digest. His knowledge was a great asset as a TV commentator and as a GD Instruction Panelist. Middlecoff trained to be a dentist but left his practice to play golf professionally. He won three majors, the 1949 and 1956 U.S. Open and 1955 Masters. At Golf Digest panel meetings, a staffer was assigned the task of keeping Doc well stocked with candy bars.
Ben Hogan’s score of 275 won the Los Angeles Open on this date in 1948. Lloyd Mangrum was four strokes behind at Riviera C.C. And Shaun Micheel won one PGA Tour event, but it was the 2003 PGA Championship, a major. He was born on January 5, 1969, in Orlando, Florida.
Marvin (Vinny) Giles was born on this date in 1943. He was a well-decorated career amateur who won the U.S. Amateur and Amateur Championship in the 1970s. He became a successful sports agent with his Pros Inc. agency. And one-time major winner and 13-time PGA Tour winner David Toms was born on this date in 1967 in Monroe, Louisiana. Toms won the 2001 PGA as well as the 2018 U.S. Senior Open.
On this date in 1981, Johnny Miller won golf’s first-ever 1-million dollar tournament in a playoff with Seve Ballesteros. It was known as the Million Dollar World Challenge at Sun City, South Africa. Also on this date in 1993, Mark Brooks won the Pebble Beach Invitational by five shots.
On this date in 1948, Ben Hogan shot a 68 to trail leader Jack Harden by one in the first round of the Los Angeles Open at Riviera Country Club. Hogan would win the event for the second year in a row. Also, one of America’s finest amateur golfers ever, Marvin (Bud) Ward, winner of the 1939 and 1941 U.S. Amateur, died on this date in 1968 at age 54.
On this date in 1965, Arnold Palmer served as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses parade. With the theme of "Headlines in Flowers,” Arnie rode in the parade with his wife, Winnie, and daughters Peg and Amy. Also, one of golf history’s many one-hit wonders, Paul Lawrie, was born on this date in 1969 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Lawrie won the 1999 Open Championship and played in the 2012 Ryder Cup. Lastly, From CliffSchrock.com to its readers: Happy New Year! May 2025 bring all things good to you, especially health.
Six-time PGA Tour winner and 10-time winner on the Champions Tour, Bob Gilder, was born on this date in 1950 in Corvallis, Oregon. He was the 2001 Senior PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. And apologies, dear readers, but as a Packers fan, I pause from golf history to note that on today’s date in 1967, the famous Ice Bowl was played at Green Bay. The Packers defeated Dallas, 21-17, in temperature of 13 below zero in the NFL Championship game, which allowed Green Bay to play in Super Bowl II.
Time marches on for everyone, but it seems shocking that Tiger Woods turns 49 on this date, born in 1975 in Cypress, California. The winner of 15 majors is stil trying to pass Sam Snead in career PGA Tour victories (they each have 82) and Jack Nicklaus in major championships (15 to 18).