St. Petersburg Open Invitational
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St. Petersburg Open Invitational
The St. Petersburg Open Invitational, first played as the St. Petersburg Open, was a PGA Tour event that was held at three St. Petersburg, Florida area clubs for 29 years from 1930 until 1964. The clubs that hosted the event were: Lakewood Country Club (now known as St. Petersburg Country Club), Pasadena Country Club (now known as Pasadena Yacht and Country Club), and Sunset Golf Club of the Vinoy Park Hotel (now known as the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club). Bob Goalby won the 1961 event after making eight consecutive birdies in the final round, a PGA Tour record at the time. Other golfers tied Goalby's mark but nobody surpassed it till 2009. In 1963, Raymond Floyd won the event at 20 years 6 months of age becoming the youngest player to win a PGA Tour event since 1928. Bruce Devlin, an Australian golfer who had recently moved to the United States, won the first of his eight PGA Tour titles at the last one in 1964. The tournament succumbed to financial pressure when the St. P ...
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PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, as well as PGA Tour Champions (age 50 and older) and the Korn Ferry Tour (for professional players who have not yet qualified to play on the PGA Tour), as well as PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamérica, and PGA Tour China. The PGA Tour is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb southeast of Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville. Originally established by the Professional Golfers' Association of America, it was spun off in December 1968 into a separate organization for tour players, as opposed to professional golfer, club professionals, the focal members of today's PGA of America. Originally the "Tournament Players Division", it adopted the name "PGA Tour" in 1975 and runs most of ...
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1961 PGA Tour
The 1961 PGA Tour season was played from January 6 to December 10. The season consisted of 48 official money events. Arnold Palmer won the most tournaments, six, and there were nine first-time winners. Gary Player was the leading money winner with earnings of $64,540. Jerry Barber was voted the PGA Player of the Year and Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average. Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1961 season. Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official. Money leaders The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars. Awards Notes References External linksPGA Tour official site {{PGA Tour Seasons PGA Tour seasons PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes ...
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Mike Fetchick
Michael Fetchick (October 13, 1922 – March 8, 2012) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Fetchick was born in Yonkers, New York. He turned pro in 1950 and joined the PGA Tour in 1952. He won the 1956 Western Open at The Presidio in San Francisco, California in an 18-hole playoff over Doug Ford, Jay Hebert and Don January. In the 1950s, the Western Open was considered by some to be one of major championships in men's professional golf along with The Masters, U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. It's generally conceded by golf historians that Fetchick's victory over the sports top stars resulted in a demotion for the Western Open below the other majors. His best finish in an event considered to be one of four modern major championships was T13 at the 1957 U.S. Open. Prior to Scott Hoch winning in 2019 at the age of 63 years and 5 months, Fetchick held the Champions Tour record for the oldest winner (1985 Hilton Head Senio ...
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Jack Burke Jr
John Joseph Burke Jr. (born January 29, 1923) is an American retired professional golfer who was most prominent in the 1950s. The son of a professional golfer, Jack Burke Sr., he won two major titles, both in 1956, the Masters and PGA Championship, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Burke won 16 PGA Tour events between 1950 and 1963. He won four times in 1950 and five times in 1952, including four in consecutive weeks in February and March. He had not won since 1953 when he won the 1956 Masters, coming from eight strokes behind in the final round to overtake leader Ken Venturi, an amateur, who took 80. Later in 1956 he won the PGA Championship, beating Ted Kroll 3&2 in the final. His last tour win came in 1963, just before his 40th birthday. Burke was in five successive American Ryder Cup teams from 1951 to 1959, serving as playing captain in 1957, when Great Britain won for the first time since 1933, and as the non-playing captain in 1973. He had a successful pla ...
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Fred Hawkins
Fred Hawkins (September 3, 1923 – December 6, 2014) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. Hawkins was born in Antioch, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois and the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy (now University of Texas at El Paso). He turned professional in 1947. He won once and had 19 runner-up finishes in PGA Tour events. His best year in professional golf was 1956, when he finished fourth on the money list plus notched his one and only PGA Tour win at the Oklahoma City Open. His best finish in a major was a second-place tie (with Doug Ford) in the 1958 Masters Tournament won by Arnold Palmer. Hawkins also had a T-6 at the 1957 U.S. Open. He played on the 1957 Ryder Cup team. Hawkins played on the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour) from 1980 to 1991. His best finishes were two T-3s in the 1983 Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am and the 1984 Gatlin Brothers Seniors Golf ...
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Dow Finsterwald
Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022) was an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ryder Cup teams, and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team. Early life and amateur career Finsterwald was born and raised in Athens, Ohio. He attended Ohio University in his hometown, where he played on the golf team and graduated in the Class of 1952. In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame joining his father, Russ Finsterwald, who was in the first class of inductees as a football player, and later basketball and football head coach. Professional career Finsterwald turned professional in 1951 and won 11 times on the PGA Tour during his career. He finished fifth or better more than 50 times in his career. He played on four Ryder Cup Teams (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963) and was the non-playing captain of the 197 ...
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Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed The King, Palmer was one of golf's most popular stars and seen as a trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s. Palmer's social impact on golf was unrivaled among fellow professionals; his modest origins and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf from an elite, upper-class pastime of private clubs to a more populist sport accessible to middle and working classes via public courses. Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player were "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s; they are credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world. In a career spanning more than six dec ...
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1958 PGA Tour
The 1958 PGA Tour season was played from January 3 to December 14. The season consisted of 45 official money events. Ken Venturi won the most tournaments with four. Arnold Palmer was the leading money winner with earnings of $42,608. Dow Finsterwald was voted the PGA Player of the Year after winning two tournaments including the 1958 PGA Championship. Bob Rosburg won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average. Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1958 season. Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official. Awards Notes References External linksPGA Tour official site {{PGA Tour Seasons PGA Tour seasons PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k . ...
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Pete Cooper (golfer)
Richard Bernice "Pete" Cooper (December 31, 1914 – October 8, 1993) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s; he was best known for winning the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship. Cooper turned professional in 1938. In the ten-year span between 1949 and 1958, he won five official PGA Tour events and had runner-up finishes in the 1950 Houston Open and the 1955 Tournament of Champions. His best finish in a major was T4 at the 1953 U.S. Open. He helped a young Chi-Chi Rodríguez improve enough to secure a spot on the PGA Tour. Cooper won the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship at the age of 61 with a four-day total of 283 over runner-up Fred Wampler. The tournament was held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Cooper lived in Lakeland, Florida, where he owned the Par 3 and Lone Palm Golf Club. He was also active in golf course design. Professional wins (23) PGA Tour wins (5) PGA Tour playoff record (1–1) Sources: Other wins (17) ''this ...
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Cary Middlecoff
Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated as a dentist, but gave up his practice at age 26 to become a full-time Tour golfer. Early life and education Middlecoff was born January 6, 1921, in Halls, Tennessee. He graduated from Christian Brothers High School. He played collegiate golf at the University of Mississippi, becoming that school's first golf All-American in 1939. First as an undergraduate and active member of Kappa Alpha Order, then as a dental student at the University of Tennessee, Middlecoff won the Tennessee State Amateur Championship for four straight years (1940–1943). After obtaining his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree in 1944, he entered the United States Army Dental Corps during World War II. He won a PGA Tour tournament as an amateur in 1945, and then tu ...
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1959 PGA Tour
The 1959 PGA Tour season was played from January 2 to December 6. The season consisted of 46 official money events. Gene Littler won the most tournaments with five. Art Wall Jr. was the leading money winner with earnings of $53,168. Wall was voted the PGA Player of the Year after four wins including the Masters, and won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average. Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1959 season. Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official. Awards Notes References External linksPGA Tour official site {{PGA Tour Seasons PGA Tour seasons PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
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Jack Fleck
Jackson Donald Fleck (November 7, 1921 – March 21, 2014) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the U.S. Open in 1955 in a playoff over Ben Hogan. Early years Born in 1921 and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa, Fleck's parents were poor farmers who had lost their land in the 1920s. He attended Davenport High School and played on its golf team. Fleck started as a caddie for a local dentist in the mid-1930s, turned professional in 1939, and worked as an assistant golf pro at the Des Moines Country Club for five dollars a week prior to World War II. He joined the military in 1942 and served in the U.S. Navy as a quartermaster; he participated in the D-Day invasion from a British rocket-firing ship off Normandy's Utah Beach. Within two weeks after his discharge from the service, Fleck was on the PGA's winter golf tour with pro friends trying to qualify for PGA Tour events. Pro career After a few years of competing in local and PGA Tour events, Fleck decided to ...
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