The Greater Jacksonville Open was a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

event that was played from 1945 until 1976. Shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

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 ...

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located in the Jacksonville metropolitan area, southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augu ...

. 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 a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

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, hi ...

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 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...

and

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) 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. Early life Harbert was born in Dayton, Ohio, and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Professional career Harbert wo ...

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 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. Early life Devlin was born in 1937 in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. His parents, Jess and Artie, moved to Gou ...

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

, 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 ...

. *1966: Jack Nicklaus makes a double eagle 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. Career Brewer turned professional in 1956 and made his first cut, at the Agua Calie ...

. *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 cha ...

wins by one shot over Bill Collins. *1968:

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is an 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 from ...

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 (October 23, 1935 – August 8, 2024) was 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 life Rodr� ...

, and

Don January Donald Ray January (November 20, 1929 – May 7, 2023) was an American 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 ...

. *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. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...

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. T ...

. *1975:

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

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 ...

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 Baton ...

. *1976:

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

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. He enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour in the 1980s. Earl ...

.Hubert Green captures another tourney win
/ref>

Winners

References

External links

Tournament results (1970–76) at GolfObserver.com
{{Former PGA Tour Events Former PGA Tour events Golf tournaments 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