West Palm Beach Open Invitational
Golf tournament formerly on the PGA Tour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The West Palm Beach Open Invitational, first played as The West Palm Beach Open, was a PGA Tour event in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was held at the West Palm Beach Country Club,[1] now known as the West Palm Beach Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-72 championship course established in 1921 and in its present location in the southwestern corner of West Palm Beach, Florida since 1947.[2]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | West Palm Beach, Florida |
| Established | 1954 |
| Course | West Palm Beach Country Club |
| Par | 71 |
| Tour | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | US$20,000 |
| Month played | November/December |
| Final year | 1972 |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 269 Pete Cooper (1958) |
| To par | −19 as above |
| Final champion | |
 Wilf Homenuik | |
| Location map | |
  West Palm Beach CC Location in the United States  West Palm Beach CC Location in Florida | |
The West Palm Beach Open was founded in 1954 as a 54-hole event with prize money of $2,000. Prize money increased to $5,000 in 1955 and $10,000 in 1956 and 1957. The 1957 event was run by the PGA.[3] From 1958 to 1962 the tournament was a 72-hole PGA Tour event with prize money of $15,000 from 1958 to 1960 and $20,000 in 1961 and 1962. From 1963 the event returned to being a local event. The 1963 tournament was over 54 holes with a first prize of $500.
Winners
| Year | Tour[a] | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Winner's share ($) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Palm Beach Open | ||||||||
| 1972 | Wilf Homenuik |  | [4] | |||||
| 1964–1971: No tournament | ||||||||
| 1963 |  Jim McCoy | | ||||||
| West Palm Beach Open Invitational | ||||||||
| 1962 | PGAT | Dave Ragan | 277 | −11 | Playoff | Doug Sanders | 2,800 | [5] |
| 1961 | PGAT | Gay Brewer | 274 | −14 | 4 strokes | Arnold Palmer | 2,800 | [6] |
| 1960 | PGAT | Johnny Pott | 278 | −10 | 3 strokes | Sam Snead | 2,000 | [7] |
| 1959 | PGAT | Arnold Palmer | 281 | −7 | Playoff | Gay Brewer Pete Cooper | 2,000 | [8] |
| 1958 | PGAT | Pete Cooper | 269 | −19 | Playoff | Wes Ellis | 2,000 | [9] |
| 1957 | PGAT |  Al Balding | 209 | −7 | 1 stroke | Dow Finsterwald Bert Weaver | 1,200 | [10] |
| West Palm Beach Open | ||||||||
| 1956 | Gardner Dickinson | | ||||||
| 1955 | Al Besselink | | ||||||
| 1954 | Lloyd Wadkins | | ||||||
