The Atlanta Classic was a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

tournament on the

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 ...

, a regular stop in suburban

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

for over four decades. It was founded in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, although previous events dating to 1934 are included in the PGA Tour's past winners list.

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

was the last title sponsor of the tournament. From 1967 to 1996, it was played at the Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, northwest of Atlanta. From

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, it was played over the Stables and Meadows nines at

TPC at Sugarloaf TPC Sugarloaf is a 27-hole private golf club in the southeastern United States, located within the gated community at Sugarloaf Country Club outside the official city limits of Duluth, Georgia, a suburb northeast of Atlanta. The facility consists ...

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, northeast of Atlanta. For most of its years, the Atlanta tournament was usually held in May. From

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– 2006, it was moved to early April, the week before the Masters. Its final two editions were in mid-May, a week after the Players Championship (which was moved from late March). The tournament was cancelled after the 2008 season. This event is not to be confused with the

AT&T Champions Classic The AT&T Champions Classic was a professional golf tournament on the Champions Tour in southern California from 1990 to 2009. A mid-autumn event through 2000, it was moved to late winter in 2001. AT&T was the main sponsor of the tournament ...

played in

Valencia, California Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California. This area, with major commercial and industrial parks, straddles State Route 126 and the Santa Clara River. Development projects continue to be built in ...

, a Champions Tour (now

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

) tournament which bore the "AT&T Classic" name in 2006, prior to AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth. It was cancelled after the 2009 season. TPC Sugarloaf currently hosts an annual PGA Tour Champions event, the

Mitsubishi Electric Classic The Mitsubishi Electric Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions in Georgia in the greater Atlanta area. It debuted in 2013 as the "Greater Gwinnett Championship," and has been played each year at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, a northeast ...

, which debuted in

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Tournament highlights

*1967: Bob Charles wins the first modern era PGA Tour event played in Atlanta. He finishes two shots ahead of

Gardner Dickinson Gardner Edward Dickinson, Jr. (September 14, 1927 – April 19, 1998) was an American professional golfer. Born in Dothan, Alabama, Dickinson was a student of Ben Hogan and crafted his swing in the Hogan tradition. He played college golf at Louis ...

Tommy Bolt Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

, and Richard Crawford. *1968;

Bob Lunn Robert J. Lunn (born April 24, 1945) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s. Lunn was born in San Francisco, California. He was the 1963 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion. He turned pro in 1965 and w ...

is victorious for the second straight week on the PGA Tour. He wins by three shots over Lee Trevino. *1970: Georgia native

Tommy Aaron Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American former professional golfer who was a member of the PGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament. He is also known for an erro ...

wins by one shot over

Dan Sikes Daniel David Sikes, Jr. (December 7, 1929 – December 20, 1987) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Sikes won nine tournaments as a pro, including six PGA Tour events. He was influential as the cha ...

Tom Weiskopf Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, inclu ...

came to the 72nd hole tied with Aaron but closed with a double bogey. *1972: Bob Lunn becomes the tournament's first repeat winner. He beats

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

by two shots. *1977:

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

becomes the first Atlanta champion to successfully defend his title. He beats

Steve Veriato Steve Veriato (born May 6, 1946) is an American professional golfer. He played on the PGA Tour, Asia Golf Circuit, Canadian Tour, and Champions Tour where he won once. Veriato was born in Hilo, Hawaii. He played college golf at Texas A&M Universi ...

by two shots. *1979: Andy Bean shoots a third round 61 on his way to an 8-stroke victory over

Joe Inman Joseph Cooper Inman, Jr. (born November 29, 1947) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Amateur career Inman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and is the eldest of six children. After gradu ...

. *1980: Georgian

Larry Nelson Larry Gene Nelson (born September 10, 1947) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level. Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth, Georgia, northwest of ...

wins by seven shots over

Don Pooley Sheldon George "Don" Pooley, Jr. (born August 27, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Pooley was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up in Riverside, California. He attende ...

and defending champion Andy Bean. *1983:

Calvin Peete Calvin Peete (July 18, 1943 – April 29, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was the most successful African-American to have played on the PGA Tour, with 12 wins, prior to the emergence of Tiger Woods. Peete won the 1985 Tournament ...

shoots a final round 63, including a hole out for birdie from a bunker on the 71st hole. He wins by two shots over Chip Beck,

Jim Colbert James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American professional golfer. Colbert was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Kansas State University, where he finished second in the NCAA golf championships in 1964, before graduating ...

, and Don Pooley. *1986:

Bob Tway Robert Raymond Tway IV (born May 4, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including eight PGA Tour victories. He spent 25 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986–87. Early life Tway w ...

shoots a final round 64 to win by two shots over Hal Sutton. *1988 Larry Nelson birdies the 72nd hole to become a two-time winner of the tournament. He edges Chip Beck by one shot. *1990:

Wayne Levi Wayne John Levi (born February 22, 1952) is an American professional golfer. Early life Levi was born in Little Falls, New York and attended high school in Herkimer, New York. He enrolled at Oswego State University for two years and then the U ...

birdies the 72nd hole in near darkness to earn his first PGA Tour win in five years. He finishes one shot ahead of

Nick Price Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean retired professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-19 ...

, Keith Clearwater, and

Larry Mize Lawrence Hogan Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. He is well known for one career-defining shot – a chip from off the green at the 11th hole at ...

. *1992:

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Career Kite w ...

begins the final round bogey-bogey before making six consecutive birdies on his way to a three shot victory over Jay Don Blake. Amateur

David Duval David Robert Duval (born November 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 Golfer who competed on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Duval won 13 PGA Tour tournaments between 1997 and 2001; incl ...

, a junior at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

held the 54 hole lead by two strokes before shooting a final round 79 to finish T13. *1994: John Daly wins by one shot over

Brian Henninger Brian Hatfield Henninger (born October 19, 1962) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He has won two tournaments on the PGA Tour and three on the Nationwide Tour. Early life Henninger was born in ...

and defending champion

Nolan Henke Nolan Jay Henke (born November 25, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Henke was born in Battle Creek, Michigan. He attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida and was ...

. Afterwards Daly says "This is the first tournament I've won on the PGA Tour in a sober fashion." *1996: Sixth alternate

Paul Stankowski } Paul Francis Stankowski (born December 2, 1969) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he won one event, and the PGA Tour, where he was a two-time cham ...

birdies the first sudden death playoff hole to defeat

Brandel Chamblee } Brandel Eugene Chamblee (born July 2, 1962) is a former American professional golfer, commentator and writer. Chamblee was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Speech Communication and was a f ...

. *1998:

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

notches his only victory of the year in Atlanta. He finishes one shot ahead of Jay Don Blake. *2000:

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two ...

wins for the first time in Atlanta. He birdies the first hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat

Gary Nicklaus Gary Nicklaus (born January 15, 1969) is an American professional golfer. He spent three years as a member of the PGA Tour from 2000 to 2003, and has played on numerous tours, including most recently the PGA Tour Champions. He is best known as th ...

. *2003: Ben Crane shoots a final round 63 to win by four shots over Bob Tway. *2006: Mickelson dominates the field, using two drivers in preparation for the Masters the following week. He concluded with an eagle on the 72nd hole to post a score of 28-under-par, a career best. Mickelson won by 13 strokes over

José María Olazábal José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish professional golfer from the Basque region who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, both at The Masters. ...

and

Zach Johnson Zachary Harris Johnson (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has 12 victories on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. In 2023, Johnson will captain the U. ...

, and would go on to win the Masters the next week. *2007:

seems to like playing golf in Georgia. His third career PGA Tour victory like his first two, the 2004 BellSouth Classic and the

2007 Masters Tournament The 2007 Masters Tournament was the 71st Masters Tournament, held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Zach Johnson won his first major championship, two strokes ahead of runners-up Retief Goosen, Rory Sabbatini, and T ...

take place in the state. He defeats

Ryuji Imada is a U.S.-based Japanese professional golfer. Imada was born in Mihara, Hiroshima, Japan. He came to the United States when he was 14 to attend a Tampa golf academy for Asian players. His instructor was (and still is) Richard Abele, who became ...

on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. *2008: The last version of the tournament sees Ryuji Imada win in a sudden death playoff over

Kenny Perry James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 201 ...

.Japan's Imada wins Atlanta Classic play-off
/ref>

Winners

References

External links

Official websitePGATOUR.com Tournament website
{{coord, 33.998, -84.109, type:event, display=title Former PGA Tour events Golf in Georgia (U.S. state) Sports competitions in Atlanta