The Ontario 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 ...

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 ...

that was played in 1961 and 1962 at the Whispering Lakes Golf Course in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

, which opened in 1956. The 1961 tournament, played from October 12–15, was won by 42-year-old Eric Monti of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, when he sank an 8-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole of a three-way sudden death playoff with

George Bayer George Bayer (September 15, 1925 – March 16, 2003) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Bayer was born in Bremerton, Washington. He attended the University of Washington and was a member ...

and

Bobby Nichols Robert Herman Nichols (born April 14, 1936) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1964. Early years Born in April 1936 and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols attended St. Xavier High School. Wh ...

. The winners share was $2,800 out of a total purse of $20,000. In the 1962 tournament, played October 18–21,

Al Geiberger Allen Lee Geiberger Sr. (born September 1, 1937) is an American former professional golfer. Professional career Geiberger turned pro in 1959 and joined the PGA Tour in 1960. Geiberger won 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour, the first being the 1962 ...

won his first PGA Tour event by one stroke over five other golfers. He won $3,500 from a $27,500 purse.

Winners

References

Former PGA Tour events Golf in California {{California-sport-stub