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.
Tournament hosts
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
Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Winner's share ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas City Open Invitational | |||||||
1959 | Dow Finsterwald | United States | 275 | −13 | Playoff | Don Fairfield | 2,800 |
Kansas City Open | |||||||
1958 | Ernie Vossler | United States | 269 | −19 | 3 strokes | Billy Maxwell | 2,800 |
1957 | Al Besselink | United States | 279 | −9 | 3 strokes | George Bayer Dow Finsterwald | 2,800 |
1956 | Bo Wininger | United States | 273 | −15 | 1 stroke | Fred Hawkins Bob Rosburg | 4,300 |
1955 | Dick Mayer | United States | 271 | −17 | 6 strokes | Chandler Harper Billy Maxwell | 4,000 |
1954 | Wally Ulrich | United States | 268 | −24 | 2 strokes | Gene Littler Lloyd Mangrum | 4,000 |
1953 | Porky Oliver | United States | 269 | −19 | 2 strokes | Marty Furgol | 3,000 |
1952 | Cary Middlecoff | United States | 276 | −12 | Playoff | Jack Burke Jr. | 2,400 |
1951 | Cary Middlecoff | United States | 278 | −10 | Playoff | Dave Douglas Doug Ford | 2,400 |
1950 | Lloyd Mangrum | United States | 271 | −17 | 1 stroke | Jack Burke Jr. Porky Oliver | 2,600 |
1949 | Jim Ferrier | Australia | 277 | −11 | 4 strokes | Dick Metz | 1,000 |
References
- "Swope Memorial course information". Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-12-11.