Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin
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The Goodall Palm Beach Robin Robin was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1938 to 1957. It was also known as the Goodall Robin Robin and the Palm Beach Robin Robin. The sponsors were the Goodall Company (later Goodall-Sanford Co.) and its subsidiary, the Palm Beach Clothing Co. The purse for the tournament was $5,000, with $1,000 going to the winner, from 1938 to 1941, increased to $10,000/$2,000 in 1946, and increased again to $15,000/$3,000 in 1949. Sam Snead won the event five times including both the first and last events.
[edit] Format
The tournament featured an unusual round robin format. From 1938 to 1946, the field consisted of 15 players. They would play seven rounds in five threesomes, a total of 126 holes. A player earned or lost points on each hole, in a match play style, based on his score versus his two opponents for that round. A player scored "+1" for each hole won and "-1" for each hole lost to each opponent. The groups were shuffled after every round so that every player played one round against every other player. The player with the most points after seven rounds won.
From 1947 to 1957, the field was 16 players and they played in four foursomes over five rounds for a total of 90 holes.
In 1949, the format shifted to a medal match play style where players plus or minus points were based on their medal score (strokes per round).
[edit] Tournament hosts
The tournament was played in May or June at a number of different courses, mostly in the New York metropolitan area.
- 1938 Kenwood Country Club, Cincinnati, Ohio
- 1939-41 Fresh Meadow Country Club, Great Neck, New York
- 1946 Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York
- 1947 Charles River Country Club, Newton, Massachusetts
- 1948-52 Wykagyl Country Club, New Rochelle, New York
- 1953-54 Meadow Brook Country Club, Westbury, New York
- 1955 Deepdale Golf Club, Great Neck, New York
- 1956-57 Wykagyl Country Club, New Rochelle, New York
[edit] Winners
| Year | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Sam Snead | +41 |
| 1956 | Gene Littler | +55 |
| 1955 | Sam Snead | +46 |
| 1954 | Sam Snead | +62 |
| 1953 | Cary Middlecoff | +42 |
| 1952 | Sam Snead | +57 |
| 1951 | Roberto DeVicenzo | +40 |
| 1950 | Lloyd Mangrum | +37 |
| 1949 | Bobby Locke | +66 |
| 1948 | Herman Barron | +38 |
| 1947 | Bobby Locke | +37 |
| 1946 | Ben Hogan | +51 |
| 1942-45 | No tournament due to World War II | |
| 1941 | Paul Runyan | +26 |
| 1940 | Ben Hogan | +23 |
| 1939 | Harry Cooper | +31 |
| 1938 | Sam Snead | +14 |
