The Kemper Open 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 wi ...

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 k ...

from 1968 to

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Perhaps more so than any other "regular" PGA Tour stop, the event wandered about, not just from course to course within a given metropolitan area, but along the East Coast. Originally sponsored by the

Kemper Corporation Kemper is an American insurance provider with corporate headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois. With nearly $15 billion in assets, the Kemper family of companies provide insurance to individuals, families, and businesses. History Kemper Corpor ...

, the inaugural event was played in 1968 at

Pleasant Valley Country Club Pleasant Valley Country Club is a golf course and country club in the northeastern United States, located in Sutton, Massachusetts. The course is a 72 par that measures . History In 1959, a apple orchard was carved out to built Pleasant Valley C ...

Sutton, Massachusetts Sutton, officially the Town of Sutton, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The population was 9,357 in the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Blackstone Valley, the town was designated as a Preserve America community in 2004. H ...

, before moving to the

Quail Hollow Club Quail Hollow Club is a country club and golf course in the southeastern United States, located in the Quail Hollow neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is a private member club, founded by James J. Harris on April 13, 1959. The club ho ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

the following year, where it stayed through 1979. (The

Wells Fargo Championship The Wells Fargo Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. Held in early May at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located i ...

is now held in Charlotte.) The event moved in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Congressional Country Club Congressional Country Club is a country club and golf course in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. Congressional opened in 1924 and its Blue Course has hosted five major championships, including three U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship. It was a ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, a suburb northwest of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and to

TPC at Avenel TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm (formerly TPC Avenel) is a private golf club in the eastern United States, located in Potomac, Maryland, a suburb northwest of Washington, D.C. It was formerly a regular stop on the PGA Tour as host of the Booz Allen C ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

in neighboring Potomac. Kemper Insurance dropped out as sponsor after the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

edition and was replaced by

Friedman Billings Ramsey Arlington Asset Investment Corp. is a mortgage real estate investment trust headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company is an investment firm that focuses primarily on investing in mortgage related assets and residential real estate. The comp ...

, which renamed the event the FBR Capital Open for a single year in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...

became the main sponsor in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, with the tournament being titled the Booz Allen Classic. The event returned to Congressional for a year in 2005 to accommodate renovations at Avenel. The purse in 2006 was $5.0 million, with $900,000 going to the winner; due to rain delays it concluded on Tuesday without a gallery. In

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Mark Rypien Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962) is a Canadian-born former American football quarterback who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State and was drafted by the Washington Redsk ...

, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, was given a sponsor's exemption into the tournament, but shot rounds of 80 and 91 and missed the cut by 28 strokes. As the Kemper Open, it was often played two or three weeks prior to the U.S. Open, making it a prime tune-up event; later it was either the week prior or after and many top players skipped it.. For 2007, the PGA Tour announced that it would reschedule the event for the fall, and Booz Allen declined to renew its sponsorship. The fall date was in turn canceled to make way for the new

AT&T National The National, originally titled for sponsorship reasons as the AT&T National and later as the Quicken Loans National, was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 2007 to 2018. It was hosted by Tiger Woods and benefited the Tiger Woods ...

, to take place at the same time as the Classic had. Also in 2006, the tournament ended on Tuesday due to persistent storms in the D.C. area. The conclusion of what turned out to be the final Booz Allen Classic was not televised. A new format (invitation only), new host for the tournament (

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 ...

), and a return to

marked the July

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

stop in Washington for the FedEx Cup, the

. For record-keeping purposes, it is not a "successor" tournament officially, even though it is the "new" tour stop in the same region. During the 1970s, the Kemper Open was among the highest purses on tour, exceeding the majors.

Tournament highlights

* 1968:

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 ev ...

shoots a final round 67 to win the inaugural version of the tournament. He finishes four shots ahead of

Bruce Crampton Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales ...

and

Art Wall Jr. Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the Masters Tournament in 1959 Masters Tournament, 1959. Early life Wall was born and raised in Honesdale, Pennsylvania ...

* 1971:

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 ...

wins his first Kemper Open title in a four-way sudden death playoff. He makes an eight-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to beat

Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...

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 ...

, and

Dale Douglass Dale Dwight Douglass (March 5, 1936 – July 6, 2022) was an American professional golfer who won tournaments at both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour level. Douglass was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He grew up in Fort Morgan, Colorado, wher ...

. * 1972:

Doug Sanders George Douglas Sanders (July 24, 1933 – April 12, 2020) was an American professional golfer who won 20 events on the PGA Tour and had four runner-up finishes at major championships. Early years He was born into a poor family in Cedartown, G ...

rolls in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to edge Lee Trevino by one shot. It would be Sanders 20th and final PGA Tour triumph. * 1975:

Raymond Floyd Raymond Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and four senior majors. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame ...

holes a 100-foot chip shot for eagle during the final round on his way to a three-shot victory over Gary Player and

John Mahaffey John Drayton Mahaffey Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events. Mahaffey was born in Kerrville, Texas. He attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He turn ...

. It is Floyd's first PGA Tour win since his 1969 PGA Championship triumph. * 1977: Tom Weiskopf wins the Kemper Open for a third time. He beats Bill Rogers and

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

by two shots. * 1980: John Mahaffey wins the first Kemper Open played at the Congressional Country Club. He beats

Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament. Early life Stadler was bo ...

by three shots. * 1982: Craig Stadler becomes the first Kemper Open winner to successfully defend his title. He beats

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

by seven shots. * 1983: This edition of the tournament may have been the most bizarre.

Fred Couples Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...

, Scott Simpson, and

Chen Tze-chung Chen Tze-chung (; born 24 June 1958) is a Taiwanese professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour, the Japan Golf Tour, the Asian Golf Circuit, the Asian Tour and the European Tour. In the U.S., he is often referred to as T.C. Chen. His older ...

playing together in the final group finished over one hour later than the previous group on the golf course. In spite of rounds of 77, 76, and 77 all three players finished tied for first along with

Gil Morgan Gilmer Bryan Morgan II, OD (born September 25, 1946) is an American professional golfer. Morgan was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He graduated from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma in 1968. In 1972, Morgan earned a Doctor of Optometry deg ...

and

Barry Jaeckel Barry Louis Jaeckel (born February 14, 1949) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Jaeckel was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the son of actor Richard Jaeckel. He attended Palisades High Sc ...

who had finished their rounds several hours earlier. Jaeckel, who spent time in a bar waiting for regulation play to conclude, is eliminated on the first playoff hole after he hits a wild tee shot. On the second hole, Couples scores a birdie to win his first ever PGA Tour title. * 1984:

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

wins his first PGA Tour event, beating out Mark O'Meara by five shots, despite shooting a final round 73. * 1985:

Bill Glasson Bill Glasson may refer to: *Bill Glasson (golfer) (born 1960), American golfer *Bill Glasson (politician) (1925–2012), Australian politician *Bill Glasson (surgeon) William John Glasson (born 2 January 1953) is an Australian ophthalmologist. ...

sinks a 50-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to finish a 7-shot comeback and earn his first ever PGA Tour triumph. He beats

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 ...

and

Corey Pavin Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and currently on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 150 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1986 and 1997 ...

by one shot. * 1986:

wins the Kemper Open for a second time by defeating Larry Mize on the sixth hole of a sudden death playoff. Less than one year later, Mize would avenge his loss to Norman at the 1987 Masters Tournament. * 1988:

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 wa ...

's bid to successfully defend his Kemper Open title is foiled when

Morris Hatalsky Morris Hatalsky (born November 10, 1951) is an American professional golfer. Early years and amateur career Hatalsky was born in San Diego, California. He started in golf at age 10, when his older brother bought him a set of junior clubs. As an a ...

beats him on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. * 1992: Bill Glasson becomes the first and only tournament champion to win an edition of the tournament at both Congressional Country Club and TPC at Avenel. Glasson wins by one shot over

Howard Twitty Howard Allen Twitty (born January 15, 1949) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; and played on the Champions Tour from 1999 until 2007. Twitty was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated fro ...

, Ken Green,

Mike Springer } Michael Paul Springer (born November 3, 1965) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Springer was born in San Francisco, California. He attended the University of Arizona. He turned pro in 1988 a ...

, and John Daly. * 1995:

Lee Janzen Lee McLeod Janzen (born August 28, 1964) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice in 1993 and 1998. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour. Early y ...

birdies the 72nd hole to earn a spot in a sudden death playoff with Corey Pavin. Janzen then birdies the first playoff hole to earn the victory. * 1996: Future number two ranked player in the world,

Steve Stricker Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-Match Play title in 2001 and two FedEx Cup play ...

, wins for the first time on the PGA Tour. He beats

Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is an American professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World ...

Grant Waite Grant Osten Waite (born 11 August 1964) is a New Zealand professional golfer. Waite was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He has one PGA Tour victory, the Kemper Open in 1993, and finished second to Tiger Woods at the 2000 Bell Canadian O ...

Scott Hoch Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

, and

Brad Faxon Bradford John Faxon Jr. (born August 1, 1961) is an American professional golfer. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island. He attended Fu ...

by three shots. * 1997:

Justin Leonard Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has twelve career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship. Early years Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leonard graduated ...

wins for the second time ever on the PGA Tour after

Mark Wiebe Mark Charles Wiebe (born September 13, 1957) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He also played on the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour. Early life Wiebe was born in Seaside, Oregon and grew up in Escond ...

misses two-foot par putts on both the 71st and 72nd holes to finish one shot behind. * 1999:

Rich Beem Richard Michael Beem (born August 24, 1970) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and is best known for his upset victory at the 2002 PGA Championship. Beem was born in Phoenix, Arizona, grew up in El Paso, Texas, and pla ...

becomes the first ever PGA Tour rookie to win the tournament. His four round scoring total of 274 (−10) is good enough for a one-stroke triumph over Bradley Hughes and Bill Glasson. * 2004: Adam Scott shoots a 72-hole tournament scoring record 263 on his way to a four-shot victory over

Charles Howell III Charles Gordon Howell III (born June 20, 1979) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on LIV Golf and formerly on the PGA Tour. He has been featured in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking and ranked 9th on the PGA Tour m ...

Winners

References

External links

PGATOUR.com Tournament website
{{coord, 38.989, -77.202, type:event, display=title 1968 establishments in Massachusetts 2006 disestablishments in Maryland Booz Allen Hamilton Former PGA Tour events Golf in Maryland Golf in North Carolina Golf in Massachusetts History of Worcester County, Massachusetts Recurring sporting events established in 1968 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2006 Sports competitions in Maryland Sports competitions in North Carolina Sports competitions in Massachusetts Sports in Worcester County, Massachusetts Sutton, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Worcester County, Massachusetts