Historical Fact Sheet

FATHER OF THE PHOENIX OPEN: Robert W. Goldwater
Served as Tournament Chairman from 1934-1951

FIRST TOURNAMENT: 1932

FIRST WINNER: Ralph Guldahl, won $600

FIRST FEMALE PARTICIPANT: Babe Zaharias (1945)

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PARTICIPANT: Charlie Sifford (1959)

FIRST TELEVISED TOURNAMENT: 1973

FIRST YEAR OF THE FAMED BIRDS NEST: 1972 at Phoenix Country Club

FIRST AND ONLY HOLE-IN-ONE
ON A PAR-4 IN PGA TOUR [...]

75 Years By The Numbers

BY THE NUMBERS
75 YEARS OF PHOENIX OPEN HISTORY

1 – Number of hole-in-ones on the par-4, 17th hole in tournament history

2 – Total number of wins on the PGA TOUR by J.B. Holmes — both in Phoenix 2006 and 2008

3 – Number of 3-time tournament winners – Palmer, Littler and Calcavecchia

4 – Number of years, over [...]

The Greatest Champion of All Time?

By BILL HUFFMAN

Johnny Miller captured two Phoenix Opens in record fashion during the prime of his career, including a then record-setting 14-shot victory over Jerry Heard at Phoenix Country Club in 1975.

“I was coming off the biggest year of my career (1974, when he won eight times), and yet that Phoenix Open in ’75 was [...]

Father of the Phoenix Open

Robert W. “Bob” Goldwater, Sr., The Father of the Phoenix Open, passed away on November 4, 2006. As Arizona golf heroes go, Bob Goldwater is a combination of King Arthur, John Wayne and George Washington all rolled into one. In other words, he has no superiors and no equals.

“Bob Goldwater is the reason the [...]

The Thunderbirds – 75 Years of Memories

By JEFF SIMON

Has it really been this long? Something this good, this positive, this fresh can’t last this long can it?

But the Phoenix Open has survived. No, the Phoenix Open has thrived here in the desert since 1932. The last two years, in these the most difficult of economic conditions, we’ve all seen what it [...]