The Pensacola 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 ...

. The inaugural version of the tournament was played in 1956 and its last edition in 1988.

Tournament highlights

* 1960:

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 ...

birdies the 72nd hole to win by one shot over

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 ...

. It is Palmer's third consecutive win in as many weeks. * 1966: Defending champion Doug Sanders is ahead by four shots after 36 holes when he is disqualified for not signing his scorecard. * 1967:

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 ...

successfully defends his Pensacola Open. He shoots a then record 191 for 54 holes and wins by six shots over local pro Bob Keller. * 1968:

George Archer George William Archer (October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the Masters in 1969. Early years Born in San Francisco, California, Arch ...

birdies the last three holes on Sunday on his way to a 65 and a one-shot win over

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 prof ...

and

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 ...

. * 1972:

Dave Hill David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle. Early life B ...

wins for the first time in two years. He birdies the 72nd hole to beat

Jerry Heard Jerry Michael Heard (born May 1, 1947) is an American professional golfer who won several PGA Tour events in the 1970s. Early life Heard was born in Visalia, California. He attended Fresno State College (now Fresno State University) for a sho ...

by one shot. * 1974:

Lee Elder Robert Lee Elder (July 14, 1934 – November 28, 2021) was an American professional golfer. In 1975, he became the first African-American to play in the Masters Tournament, where he missed the cut. Elder was invited to the tournament after he w ...

birdies the 4th hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat

Peter Oosterhuis Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (born 3 May 1948) is an English professional golfer and golf broadcaster. Oosterhuis played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Mer ...

and win for the first time ever on the PGA Tour. With the win, Elder becomes the first black golfer to qualify for the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

. * 1979: Future two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange wins for the first time on the PGA Tour. He beats

Billy Kratzert William August Kratzert III (born June 29, 1952) is an American professional golfer and sportscaster, who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Early life Kratzert was born in Quantico, Virginia when his father was in the serv ...

by one shot. * 1981: Pensacola resident

Jerry Pate Jerome Kendrick Pate (born September 16, 1953) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. As a 22-year-old rookie, he won the U.S. Open in 1976. Early years Born in Macon, Georgia, Pate grew up in the ...

wins by three shots over Steve Melnyk. * 1982:

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 ...

wins by seven shots over

Hal Sutton Hal Evan Sutton (born April 28, 1958) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions, who achieved 14 victories on the PGA Tour, including a major championship, the 1983 PGA Championship, and the 1983 Tournament ...

and

Dan Halldorson Daniel Albert Halldorson (April 2, 1952 – November 18, 2015) was a Canadian professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Canadian Tour. Halldorson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Brandon, Manitoba. He did not attend col ...

. It is Peete's 4th PGA Tour win for the year tying him for the most with

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 ...

. * 1986: As rain shortens the Pensacola Open to only 36 holes, Ernie Gonzalez becomes the first left-handed golfer to win on the PGA Tour since Bob Charles won the 1974

Greater Greensboro Open The Wyndham Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in Greensboro and was originally the Greater Greensboro Open. History Founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, it was usua ...

. * 1988:

Andrew Magee Andrew Donald Magee (born May 22, 1962) is an American professional golfer who played for more than 20 years on the PGA Tour. Magee was born in Paris, France, where his father, a Texas oil man, was working at the time. He grew up in Dallas, Texa ...

wins the last Pensacola Open. He beats

Bruce Lietzke Bruce Alan Lietzke (July 18, 1951 – July 28, 2018) was an American professional golfer who won 13 tournaments on the PGA Tour between 1977 and 1994, including two victories in the Canadian Open. His best finish in a major championship was ...

, Ken Green, and

Tom Byrum } Thomas Elliott Byrum (born September 28, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Byrum was born in Onida, South Dakota. He attended the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University bef ...

by one shot.Magee cops Pensacola Open crown
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Tournament hosts

''This list is incomplete.'' *1988 Tiger Point Golf & Country Club in Gulf Breeze, Florida *1978–1987 Perdido Bay Country Club in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

*1958–1977 Pensacola Country Club in Pensacola, Florida

Winners

Notes

References

External links

Tournament results (1970-1988) at GolfObserver.com
{{Former PGA Tour Events Former PGA Tour events Golf in Florida Sports in Pensacola, Florida Recurring sporting events established in 1956 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1988 1956 establishments in Florida 1988 disestablishments in Florida