Kansas City Open Invitational

The Kansas City Open Invitational, which played as the Kansas City Open for most of its history, was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played in the greater Kansas City area in the late 1940s and 1950s. A total of four clubs hosted the event. The first event was held at Kansas City's Swope Park Golf Course, now known as Swope Memorial Golf Course, and is the only public course in the Kansas City area ever to have hosted a PGA Tour event.[1] The Milburn Country Club in Overland Park, Kansas, a par-72, 18-hole championship course built in 1917, hosted the event five times. Kansas City's Hillcrest Country Club, a par-72, 18-hole course built in 1916, hosted the event three times. Two events were held at Blue Hills Country Club, which is also in Kansas City and was built in 1912.

Kansas City Open Invitational
Tournament information
LocationKansas City, Missouri
Established1949
Course(s)Blue Hills Country Club
Par72
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$20,000
Month playedSeptember
Final year1959
Tournament record score
Aggregate268 Wally Ulrich (1954)
To par–24 as above
Final champion
United States Dow Finsterwald
Location map
Blue Hills CC is located in the United States
Blue Hills CC
Blue Hills CC
Location in the United States
Blue Hills CC is located in Missouri
Blue Hills CC
Blue Hills CC
Location in Missouri

Tournament hosts

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Years Course
1955, 1957–58 Hillcrest Country Club
1954, 1959 Blue Hills Country Club
1950–53, 1956 Milburn Country Club
1949 Swope Park Golf Course

Winners

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Year Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
Kansas City Open Invitational
1959   Dow Finsterwald 275 −13 Playoff   Don Fairfield 2,800
Kansas City Open
1958   Ernie Vossler 269 −19 3 strokes   Billy Maxwell 2,800
1957   Al Besselink 279 −9 3 strokes   George Bayer
  Dow Finsterwald
2,800
1956   Bo Wininger 273 −15 1 stroke   Fred Hawkins
  Bob Rosburg
4,300
1955   Dick Mayer 271 −17 6 strokes   Chandler Harper
  Billy Maxwell
4,000
1954   Wally Ulrich 268 −24 2 strokes   Gene Littler
  Lloyd Mangrum
4,000
1953   Ed Oliver 269 −19 2 strokes   Marty Furgol 3,000
1952   Cary Middlecoff (2) 276 −12 Playoff   Jack Burke Jr. 2,400
1951   Cary Middlecoff 278 −10 Playoff   Dave Douglas
  Doug Ford
2,400
1950   Lloyd Mangrum 271 −17 1 stroke   Jack Burke Jr.
  Ed Oliver
2,600
1949   Jim Ferrier 277 −11 4 strokes   Dick Metz 1,000

References

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  1. ^ "Swope Memorial course information". Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-12-11.