Wikipedia

Portland Open Invitational

The Portland Open Invitational was a professional golf tournament in the northwest United States on the PGA Tour, played in Portland, Oregon. Established by Robert A. Hudson with a $10,000 purse in 1944, it was played from 1944 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1966. The event was hosted eight times at the Portland Golf Club,[2] and four times at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club.[3] First played as the Portland Open, the revived 1959 event played as the Portland Centennial Open Invitational, in honor of Oregon's centennial of statehood.[4]

Portland Open Invitational
Tournament information
LocationPortland, Oregon
Established1944
Course(s)Columbia Edgewater Country Club
Par72
Length6,435 yards (5,884 m)[1]
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$50,000
Month playedSeptember
Final year1966
Tournament record score
Aggregate261 Ben Hogan (1945)
To par–27 as above
Final champion
United States Bert Yancey
Location map
Columbia Edgewater CC is located in the United States
Columbia Edgewater CC
Columbia Edgewater CC
Location in the United States
Columbia Edgewater CC is located in Oregon
Columbia Edgewater CC
Columbia Edgewater CC
Location in Oregon

Sam Snead won the inaugural event in 1944,[5] and Ben Hogan won in 1945 by fourteen strokes,[6][7] and also won the 1946 PGA Championship, then a match play event, held at the Portland Golf Club.[8] The club also hosted the Ryder Cup in 1947; the U.S. team was captained by Hogan and won 11–1. Hogan was a runner-up in 1948, a stroke back in an 18-hole playoff.[9][10]

The tournament was dominated by three-time winners Billy Casper (1959–61)[11] and Jack Nicklaus (1962, 1964–65).[12][13] Nicklaus' $3,500 win during his rookie season in 1962 concluded three weeks of victories;[14] he took the massive winner's share of $50,000 in the exhibition World Series of Golf in Ohio,[15][16] and then won his second tour title at the Seattle Open Invitational, which paid $4,300.[17][18] Both Casper and Nicklaus won at both courses.

Bert Yancey won the last edition in 1966 and took only 102 putts.[19] It stood as the tour's 72-hole record for fewest putts for over a decade, until Bob Menne had only 99 at the Tournament Players Championship in 1977,[20] but tied for 47th.[21]

Tournament hosts

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Venue Years
Portland Golf Club 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948,
1959, 1960, 1964, 1965
Columbia Edgewater Country Club 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966

Winners

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Year Winner Score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up Purse
(US$)		 Winner's
share ($)		 Ref.
Portland Open Invitational
1966   Bert Yancey 271 −17 3 strokes   Billy Casper 50,000 6,600 [19]
1965   Jack Nicklaus (3) 273 −15 3 strokes   Dave Marr 50,000 6,600 [13]
1964   Jack Nicklaus (2) 275 −13 3 strokes   Ken Venturi 40,000 5,800 [12]
1963   George Knudson 272 −16 Playoff   Mason Rudolph 30,000 4,300 [22]
1962   Jack Nicklaus 269 −19 1 stroke   George Bayer 25,000 3,500 [14]
1961   Billy Casper (3) 273 −15 1 stroke   Dave Hill 25,000 3,500 [11]
1960   Billy Casper (2) 266 −22 2 strokes   Paul Harney 27,500 2,800 [23]
Portland Centennial Open Invitational
1959   Billy Casper 269 −19 3 strokes   Bob Duden
  Dave Ragan		 20,000 2,800 [4]
Portland Open Invitational
1949–1958: No tournament
1948   Fred Haas 270 −18 Playoff   Ben Hogan (2nd)
  Johnny Palmer (3rd)		 15,000 2,450 [9][10]
1947   Charles Congdon 270 −18 6 strokes   Clayton Heafner
  Herman Keiser
  Johnny Palmer
  George Payton		 10,000 2,000 [24]
1946: No tournament'
1945   Ben Hogan 261 −27 14 strokes   Byron Nelson 14,333 2,666 [6][7]
Portland Open
1944   Sam Snead 289 +1 2 strokes   Mike Turnesa 16,000 2,675 [5]

Playoffs

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  • 1948: 18-hole Monday playoff: Haas 70 (−2), Hogan 71 (−1), Palmer 75 (+3).[10]
  • 1963: Knudson chipped in for eagle on the first playoff hole, a par-5, for the win; Rudolph nearly matched it, but his bounced out.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kurtz, Larry (September 16, 1966). "Casper, trio have margin in Portland". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 2B.
  2. ^ "Golf & Tournament History". Portland Golf Club. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  3. ^ Tradition finds new home, title sponsor Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b Harvey, Paul III (October 5, 1959). "Billy Casper Open winner by 3 strokes". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 2B.
  5. ^ a b Dunlap, John W. (November 27, 1945). "Sam Snead wins Portland Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. p. 8.
  6. ^ a b "Ben Hogan wins Open with new PGA record". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. August 26, 1946. p. 6.
  7. ^ a b "Hogan's record 261 wins Portland Open tournament". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 1, 1945. p. 9.
  8. ^ Strite, Dick (August 26, 1946). "Ben Hogan stages great comeback to take PGA title from Ed Oliver". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 2.
  9. ^ a b "Portland Open ends in tie". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 4, 1948. p. 11.
  10. ^ a b c "Fred Haas tops Portland Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. October 5, 1948. p. 18.
  11. ^ a b "Casper beats out Hill for Oregon title". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. September 25, 1961. p. 3, sec. 4.
  12. ^ a b "Nicklaus overtakes Venturi to triumph". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 21, 1964. p. 4B.
  13. ^ a b "Jack wins; sets PGA loot record". Spokesman-Review. (Spokesman-Review). Associated Press. September 20, 1965. p. 11.
  14. ^ a b "Open won in Portland by Nicklaus". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. September 24, 1962. p. 2B.
  15. ^ "World Series won by Jack". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 10, 1962. p. 3B.
  16. ^ "Nicklaus wins $75,000 exhibition; Palmer fades". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. September 10, 1962. p. 1, sec. 4.
  17. ^ "Nicklaus wins Seattle Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 17, 1962. p. 3B.
  18. ^ "Nicklaus wins Seattle Open by 2 strokes". Chicago Daily Tribune. UPI. September 17, 1962. p. 4, sec. 4.
  19. ^ a b Wetzel, Frank (September 19, 1966). "Putts propel Bert Yancey to Open title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 3B.
  20. ^ Missildine, Harry (May 22, 1977). "Putting game? you want to bet?". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
  21. ^ "While leaders stumble, Mark Hayes eases home". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 21, 1977. p. 17.
  22. ^ a b "Knudson winner of Portland Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 23, 1963. p. 6B.
  23. ^ "Casper cops first place at Portland". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 26, 1960. p. 11.
  24. ^ Strite, Dick (August 18, 1947). "Washington golfer garners Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 5.

45°28′37″N 122°45′47″W / 45.477°N 122.763°W / 45.477; -122.763

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