The Greater Jacksonville Open was a

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 ...

event that was played from 1945 until 1976. Shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Jacksonville Open began play as a PGA Tour event in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

at the Hyde Park Golf Club until it was discontinued in the mid-1950s. In the mid-1960s, the PGA Tour came to town again. This time the event was initially named the Jacksonville Open again and changed for the 1968 event to the Jacksonville Open Invitational. The name was changed to the Greater Jacksonville Open for the 1969 event. The Greater Jacksonville Open was discontinued after the 1976 tournament when the PGA Tour decided to relocate

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The P ...

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated seaside community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jackso ...

. The PGA Tour had been looking for some time for a permanent home for the marquee event which has professional golf's highest prize fund and is sometimes referred to as the "fifth major". The Players Championship had been played at the Atlanta Country Club in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

in 1974, the Colonial Country Club in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

in 1975 and at the Inverrary Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale in 1976. The Greater Jacksonville Open laid the groundwork and provided much of the infrastructure for the modern Players Championship, which was first played in Ponte Vedra Beach in 1977.

Tournament highlights

*1947: During his third round,

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and ...

scores eleven on the par-3 6th hole. *1952: At the end of regulation play,

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

and

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...

were tied for the lead. An 18-hole playoff was scheduled for the next day but rather than play, Snead forfeited. The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out of bounds stake. While

Chick Harbert Melvin R. "Chick" Harbert (February 20, 1915 – September 1, 1992) was an American professional golfer. Harbert won seven times on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1954 PGA Championship, then a match play event. A three-time ...

who was playing with Snead thought the ball was out of bounds, a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved since the previous day's play had ended. Afterwards Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling." *1965:

Bert Weaver Herbert Reese Weaver (January 13, 1932 – May 3, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. A native of Beaumont, Texas, Weaver played collegiate golf at Louisiana State University. Weaver t ...

wins the first modern version of the tournament. He finishes one shot ahead of

Bruce Devlin Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer. Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. He turned pro in 1961 and joined the PGA Tour in 1962 after an amateur career in Au ...

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

, Bob Charles, and

Dave Marr David Francis Marr, Jr. (December 27, 1933 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional golfer and sportscaster, best known for winning the 1965 PGA Championship. Early years Marr was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the son of a pro ...

. *1966: Jack Nicklaus makes a

double eagle A double eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. (Its gold content of 0.9675 troy oz (30.0926 grams) was worth $20 at the 1849 official price of $20.67/oz.) The coins are 34 mm x 2 mm and are made from ...

on the tournament's final hole but can finish no better than tied for eighth.

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 ...

is the winner by one shot over

Gay Brewer Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (March 19, 1932 – August 31, 2007) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and won the 1967 Masters Tournament. Life Brewer was born in Middletown, Ohio, and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. As an am ...

. *1967: Jacksonville native

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 c ...

wins by one shot over Bill Collins. *1968:

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain ...

becomes the first English golfer to win on the PGA Tour. He finishes two shots ahead of

DeWitt Weaver DeWitt Thompson Weaver Sr. (May 11, 1912 – January 19, 1998) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders from 1951 to 1960. He was the first h ...

Chi-Chi Rodríguez Juan Antonio "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez (born October 23, 1935) is a Puerto Rican professional golfer. The winner of eight PGA Tour events, he was the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Early years Rodríguez was bor ...

, and

Don January Donald Ray January (born November 20, 1929) is an American retired professional golfer, best known for winning the 1967 PGA Championship. Early life Born in Plainview, Texas, January graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He was a member ...

. *1972: Tony Jacklin takes home his second Jacksonville title via a sudden death playoff win over John Jacobs. No Englishman would win a PGA Tour event on US soil again till

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

triumphed at the 1983

Sea Pines Heritage The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply the Heritage, is a PGA Tour event in South Carolina, first played in 1969. It is currently played in mid-April, the week after The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Th ...

. *1975:

Larry Ziegler Larry Ziegler (born August 12, 1939) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Ziegler was born in St. Louis and grew up in Creve Coeur, Missouri. He was one of 14 children; he had seven brothers an ...

shoots a final round 65 to win by two shots over

Mike Morley Mike Morley (born June 17, 1946) is an American golf course architect and a former professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour for 14 years. Early life Born in Morris, Minnesota, Morley was raised there and in Minot, North Dakota, where his ...

and

Mac McLendon Benson Rayfield McLendon Jr. (August 10, 1945 – July 4, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s. McLendon was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Bato ...

. *1976:

Hubert Green Hubert Myatt Green (December 28, 1946 – June 19, 2018) was an American professional golfer who won 29 professional golf tournaments, including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the ...

wins the last edition of the tournament. He finishes two shots ahead of

Miller Barber Miller Westford Barber, Jr. (March 31, 1931 – June 11, 2013) was an American professional golfer who enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions T ...

.Hubert Green captures another tourney win
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Winners

References

External links

Tournament results (1970–76) at GolfObserver.com
{{Former PGA Tour Events Former PGA Tour events Golf in Florida Sports competitions in Jacksonville, Florida Recurring sporting events established in 1945 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1976 1945 establishments in Florida 1976 disestablishments in Florida