The Orange County Open Invitational 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 for four years at Mesa Verde Country Club in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Construction began on the championship course at Mesa Verde Country Club in 1958 under the supervision of

golf course designer A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

William Francis Bell William Francis Bell (August 8, 1918 – September 20, 1984) was a golf course architect, active from the 1960s into the early 1980s. Biography Born in Pasadena, California, son of noted architect Billy Bell, Bell Jr. studied at University of Sout ...

, and was officially opened in January 1959. Later that same year, the inaugural Orange County Open took place, which was won by

Jay Hebert Junius Joseph "Jay" Hebert (February 14, 1923 – May 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer. He won seven times on the PGA Tour including the 1960 PGA Championship. His younger brother, Lionel Hebert, also won the PGA Championship, in 1 ...

. The first permanent clubhouse was in place for the second event by the time

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

took the trophy. The fourth and final tournament was held in 1962, and was won by

Tony Lema Anthony David Lema (February 25, 1934 – July 24, 1966) was an American professional golfer who rose to fame in the mid-1960s and won a major title, the 1964 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. He died two years later ...

after a grueling three-hole sudden death playoff with

Bob Rosburg Robert Reginald "Rossie" Rosburg (October 21, 1926 – May 14, 2009) was an American professional golfer who later became a sports color analyst for ABC television. Early years, college Rosburg was born in San Francisco, California. He played gol ...

. Lema celebrated his victory by providing free champagne to members of the press in the clubhouse, a promise he had made the day before contingent upon winning. As a result of this and Lema's dashing good looks, the press dubbed him ''Champagne Tony'' from that day forth.

Winners

References

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