Pensacola Open - Tournament Highlights

Tournament Highlights

• 1960: Arnold Palmer 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 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 birdies the last three holes on Sunday on his way to a 65 and a one-shot win over Dave Marr and Tony Jacklin.
• 1972: Controversial golfer 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 birdies the 4th hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat Peter Oosterhuis 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.
• 1979: Future two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange wins for the first time on the PGA Tour. He beats Billy Kratzert by one shot.
• 1981: Pensacola resident Jerry Pate 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.
• 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.
• 1988: Andrew Magee wins the last Pensacola Open. He beats Bruce Lietzke, Ken Green, and Tom Byrum by one shot.