Pensacola Open
This article is about the former PGA Tour event, for information on the former Nationwide Tour event, see Pensacola Classic.
The Pensacola Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The inaugural version[1] of the tournament was played in 1956 and its last edition in 1988. Earlier PGA Tour events of the same name were played from 1929 to 1931 and 1945 to 1946.
Tournament hosts
This list is incomplete.
- 1988 Tiger Point Golf & Country Club in Gulf Breeze, Florida
- 1978–87 Perdido Bay Country Club in Pensacola, Florida
- 1958–77 Pensacola Country Club in Pensacola, Florida
Winners
- Earlier events of the same name
- 1947–55 No tournament
- 1946 Ray Mangrum
- 1945 Sam Snead
- 1932–44 No tournament
- 1931 Johnny Farrell
- 1930 Johnny Farrell
- 1929 Horton Smith
Tournament highlights
- 1960: Arnold Palmer birdies the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Doug Sanders. It is Palmer's third consecutive win in as many weeks.[2]
- 1966: Defending champion Doug Sanders is ahead by four shots after 36 holes when he is disqualified for not signing his scorecard.[3]
- 1967: Gay Brewer successfully defends his Pensacola Open. He shoots a then record 191 for 54 holes and wins by six shots over local pro Bob Keller.[4]
- 1968: George Archer birdies the last three holes on Sunday on his way to a 65 and a one-shot win over Dave Marr and Tony Jacklin.[5]
- 1972: Controversial golfer Dave Hill wins for the first time in two years. He birdies the 72nd hole to beat Jerry Heard by one shot.[6]
- 1974: Lee Elder birdies the 4th hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat Peter Oosterhuis and win for the first time ever on the PGA Tour. With the win, Elder becomes the first black golfer to qualify for the Masters Tournament.[7]
- 1979: Future two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange wins for the first time on the PGA Tour. He beats Billy Kratzert by one shot.[8]
- 1981: Pensacola resident Jerry Pate wins by three shots over Steve Melnyk.[9]
- 1982: Calvin Peete wins by seven shots over Hal Sutton and Dan Halldorson. It is Peete's 4th PGA Tour win for the year tying him for the most with Craig Stadler.[10]
- 1986: As rain shortens the Pensacola Open to only 36 holes, Ernie Gonzalez becomes the first left-handed golfer to win on the PGA Tour since Bob Charles won the 1974 Greater Greensboro Open.[11]
- 1988: Andrew Magee wins the last Pensacola Open. He beats Bruce Lietzke, Ken Green, and Tom Byrum by one shot.[12]
References
- ^ Golf lead shared by three
- ^ Arnold Palmer Wins Pensacola Open Golf Play
- ^ Pensacola Disqualification Bitter Blow To Doug Sanders
- ^ Gay Brewer Wins Title At Pensacola Spewing Birdies
- ^ George Archer Fires A 65 To Win Pensacola Tourney
- ^ Dave Hill Triumphs in Monsanto Tourney
- ^ Braves' Elder finally wins tourney
- ^ Strange wins Pensacola
- ^ Jerry Pate captures Pensacola Open
- ^ Calvin Peete credits famous caddy for Pensacola Open tournament win
- ^ Lefty Gonzalez wins at rain-soaked Pensacola
- ^ Magee cops Pensacola Open crown