Tucson hosted its first professional golf tournament 71 years ago. Names, sponsors and courses have changed over the past seven decades, but the appeal — golf in the sunshine while the rest of the country is shoveling snow — remains the same. Here’s a look at some highlights through the years:
Tucson Open (1945-55)
1945 — Ray Mangrum shoots a final-round 64 to win the first Tucson Open at historic El Rio Country Club. He brings home $1,000.
1949 — Lloyd Mangrum, Ray’s younger brother, sets a record with his 17-under-par 263 to win.
1950 — Chandler Harper holds off the legendary Sam Snead and fan favorite Manuel de la Torre for the Open title.
Tucson Open Invitational (1956-60)
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1957 — Dow Finsterwald defeats Don Whitt in an 18-hole playoff, the first in Tucson tournament history. “The PGA staff went on ahead to the next tournament. The guy that ran the playoff, Ed Keating, carried a holstered gun,” Finsterwald later tells the Star. “That was the last time I ever had an armed official at a match.”
Home of the Sun Open (1961)
Dave Hill beats Tommy Bolt in the Open’s first sudden-death playoff. The tournament is held at El Rio.
Tucson Open Invitational (1962-71)
1963 — Don January wins the tournament at Forty Niner Country Club by 11 strokes and takes home $3,500 — the most to date in tournament history.
1966 — With the support of the Tucson Conquistadores, the Tucson Open makes its first appearance on national television. Joe Campbell wins the tournament at Tucson National.
1967 — Arnold Palmer, backed by “Arnie’s Army,” wins to take home $12,500, the first five-figure winner’s check in the tournament’s history.
1969 — Lee Trevino wins with a 17-under 271. His 7-stroke win is the largest margin of victory since 1963.
Dean Martin Tucson Open (1972-75)
1972 — Dean Martin’s sponsorship brings celebrities — and NBC’s television cameras — to Tucson. Miller Barber defeats George Archer after an 18-hole playoff and three additional playoff holes Monday. More than 100,000 fans — an Open record — watch the tournament at Tucson National.
1975 — Johnny Miller shoots a tournament-record 61 to finish with a 263 — 25 strokes under par.
NBC Tucson Open (1976)
Miller wins his third title here in as many years. The 1976 open is played at Tucson National.
Joe Garagiola Tucson Open (1977-83)
1979 — Bruce Lietzke wins his second Open and $45,000 at Randolph North.
Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship (1984-86)
1984 — Match Play makes its professional debut in Tucson, bringing PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour players to town for the event. Tom Watson wins the first Match Play title; Jim Thorpe wins the next two.
Seiko Tucson Open (1987)
1987 — Mike Reid wins the Tucson Open, which has an old format — stroke play — and new home, TPC at Starr Pass.
Northern Telecom Tucson Open (1988, 1990)
1988 — David Frost takes the winner’s share of the $1 million purse.
1990 — Former Arizona Wildcat Robert Gamez wins in his first tournament as a member of the PGA Tour.
Northern Telecom Open (1991-95)
1991 — Phil Mickelson, an Arizona State University junior and amateur, wins on a sponsor’s exemption and forfeits the $180,000 prize because of his amateur status.
Nortel Open (1996)
Mickelson wins his third Tucson title. This time, he is allowed to keep the $225,000 winner’s check.
Tucson Chrysler Classic (1997-98)
1998 — David Duval completes a 19-under-par 269 for a four-stroke victory at Tucson National.
Touchstone Energy Tucson Open (1999-2002)
1999 — Gabriel Hjertstedt wins his share of the then-record $2.75 million purse in a playoff.
2000 — Jim Carter earns his first PGA Tour victory.
Chrysler Classic of Tucson (2003-06)
2005 — Geoff Ogilvy earns his first PGA Tour victory, but he has to work for it. Ogilvy, Mark Calcavecchia and Kevin Na enter a three-way playoff after the final round. Na and Ogilvy advance past the first playoff hole, and Ogilvy wins the tournament on the second playoff hole.
2006 — Kirk Triplett shoots a final-round 63 to become the final player for nine years to hoist the conquistador trophy. The gold-plated helmet is mothballed when Match Play comes to town. “It’s kind of got a bucket look to it,” he said.
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (2007-2014)
2007 — Henrik Stenson edges Ogilvy 2 and 1 to win the first WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at The Gallery Golf Club in Marana.
2008 — Tiger Woods routs Stewart Cink 8 and 7 for the Match Play title at The Gallery. The world’s best golfer takes home $1.3 million.
2010 — Ian Poulter wins his first-ever stateside tournament, defeating Paul Casey 4 and 2 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain. Both Woods and Mickelson skip Match Play for personal reasons.
2011 — Luke Donald caps a dominant week by defeating Martin Kaymer 3 and 2 for the Match Play title. Donald plays just 89 of 108 scheduled holes during his run; none of his six matches make it to the 18th hole.
2012 — Hunter Mahan defeats Rory McIlroy 2 and 1 in the finals, becoming the first American since Woods to win a Match Play title here.
2013 — Matt Kuchar beats Mahan 2 and 1 in the finals for his first-ever World Golf Championship victory. Kuchar tears through the tournament, finishing each of his matches before getting to the 18th hole.
2014 — Jason Day beats Victor Dubuisson on the 23rd hole to win the final Match Play held in Southern Arizona. Day takes home $1.53 million for his extra-holes win. The PGA Tour announces in June that Match Play will relocate to San Francisco, and that a Champions Tour event — now called the Tucson Conquistadores Classic — will take its place.
Tucson Conquistadores Classic (2015-present)
2015 — Marco Dawson fires a final-round 69 to win the first Tucson Conquistadores Classic and claim the iconic golden helmet. The victory is both Dawson’s first ever on the Champions Tour and his first of any kind since winning the 2002 LaSalle Bank Championships on the Web.com tour. Tournament organizers estimate that 50,000 fans attended the week’s worth of golf at Omni Tucson National.
