The Pensacola Open was a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tournament on the

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 ...

. 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. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

birdies the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Doug Sanders. 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. Career Brewer turned professional in 1956 and made his first cut, at the Agua Calie ...

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 life Archer was born in San Francisco, Cali ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. * 1972: Dave Hill wins for the first time in two years. He birdies the 72nd hole to beat Jerry Heard 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 black golfer to play in the Masters Tournament, where he missed the cut. Elder was invited to the tournament after he won th ...

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

Peter Oosterhuis Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (3 May 1948 – 2 May 2024) was an English professional golfer and broadcaster. He played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Merit ...

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 as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

. * 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 s ...

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 life Born in Macon, Georgia, he was one of six ...

wins by three shots over Steve Melnyk. * 1982: Calvin Peete wins by seven shots over Hal Sutton and Dan Halldorson. 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 usu ...

. * 1988: Andrew Magee wins the last Pensacola Open. He beats

Bruce Lietzke Bruce Alan Lietzke (July 18, 1951 – July 28, 2018) was an American professional golfer. He won 13 tournaments on the PGA Tour. His best finish in a major championship was runner-up at the 1991 PGA Championship. He also had seven victories ...

, Ken Green, and Tom Byrum 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 Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is located between Downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, and is part of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,340 at the 2020 census, up from 5,763 at the 2010 census ...

*1978–1987 Perdido Bay Country Club in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

*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 tournaments in Florida Sports competitions in Pensacola, Florida Recurring sporting events established in 1956 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1988 1956 establishments in Florida 1988 disestablishments in Florida