Portland Open Invitational
Professional golf tournament (1944–1966)
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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]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Portland, Oregon |
| Established | 1944 |
| Course | Columbia Edgewater Country Club |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,435 yards (5,884 m)[1] |
| Tour | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | US$50,000 |
| Month played | September |
| Final year | 1966 |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 261 Ben Hogan (1945) |
| To par | –27 as above |
| Final champion | |
 Bert Yancey | |
| Location map | |
  Columbia Edgewater CC Location in the United States  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 $4,300.[17][18] Both Casper and Nicklaus won at both courses.
Bert Yancey won the last edition in 1966 and took only 102 putts.[19] It stood as the tour's 72-hole record for fewest putts for over a decade, until Bob Menne had only 99 at the Tournament Players Championship in 1977,[20] but tied for 47th.[21]
Tournament hosts
| Venue | Years |
|---|---|
| Portland Golf Club | 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965 |
| Columbia Edgewater Country Club | 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966 |
Winners
| Year | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Purse (US$) | 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
See also
- WinCo Foods Portland Open, a current event on the Korn Ferry Tour
- Cambia Portland Classic, a current event on the LPGA Tour