PGA Pros on the Caribbean Tour ⛳
Thursday, February 25, 2021 Sign Up
It's the first WGC event of 2021 but we're going to turn our clocks back to the other tournament this week, the Puerto Rico Open. It has a rich history going back to the late 1950s and 1960s.
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Okay, we're on the tee, let's get going!
The Puerto Rico Open on the Caribbean Tour
From 1956 through 1967 the PGA Tour sponsored an off-shoot tour in Latin America known as the Caribbean Tour. Another sponsor of the tour was Seagram's, a Canadian based liquor manufacturer and distributor. The tournaments on this five week tour included the Panama Open, Maracabo Open, Caracas Open, Puerto Rico Open and the Jamaican Open.
The PGA supplied a handful of American pros made up from club pros from the northern part of the country who were looking to play competitive golf while their home courses were closed for the winter, and some up and coming young players from the Tour. The Caribbean Tour events started as the PGA Tour was making the move from California to Arizona and ended with the players re-joining the main Tour during the Florida swing.
The players were enthusiastic to join this tour for a variety of reasons. The smaller fields meant you had more time and space to practice as the regular tour events during the winter featured huge fields and it was all you could do to find a patch of bare ground on the practice tee. Tony Lema used the Caribbean Tour in 1961 to work on his swing to climb out of a season long slump. The players were guaranteed $200 in winnings at each stop and the smaller fields offered a better chance to be in contention each week building up skills that would stand up to pressure. Their travel expenses were covered, including the array of Seagram beverages that awaited them in their rooms at each stop (and sufficiently lubricated the pros for quite a bit of extra curricular activities).
Seagram also put up a "Pot of Gold" prize, known as the Seagram's Cup, for the most points accumulated during the five week tour. Players were awarded points in relation to their finish.
The Puerto Rico Open was the penultimate stop on the tour and was conducted on the Berwin Country Club in San Jose. Canadian George Knudson took the lead in the second round of the 1962 event. Behind him were Lema and his good friend and roommate for the tour, Don Whitt, a fellow Californian. Whitt was playing great golf and had his sights set on the Seagram's Cup. Lema was also playing well and was looking for a high finish in the Seagram's Cup.
Knudson held on to his lead in the third round and brought home the victory in the fourth round with Whitt and Lema finishing tied second with Al Geiberger. Whitt did manage to win the Seagram's Cup the next week at the Jamaican Open and Lema finished third in the final standings.
The players then returned to the states where some took a week off to recuperate while others jumped right back into PGA Tour action at the Doral Open.
This week the Puerto Rico Open will be played as an alternate event to the WGC Workday Championship.
Check out the bonus fact about the Puerto Rico Open below.
This week's playlist is all about the Caribbean Tour. Listen on Spotify.
This week's vintage ad is all about Chi Chi Rodriguez (he's small, yet so huge).
Send your pictures of your favorite golf holes to larry@9acespublishing.com. If we use your pic for the WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest, you'll win a prize.
Enjoy!
Larry Baush
Click to listen on Spotify
WHAT HOLE IS IT?
The leaders for 2021 in the WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest. We'll come up with some cool prizes for the winners at the end of the year. Each correct answer gets you further up the leader board.
YOUR PICTURE COULD BE FEATURED IN WHAT HOLE IS IT?!
Send us your picture of your favorite hole and if we feature it, you win a prize.
Email to larry@9acespublishing.com
We'll post guest submissions on the third Thursday of the month.
Bonus Fact
Puerto Rico's most famous golfer never won the Puerto Rico Open. Chi Chi Rodriguez left the islands of Puerto Rico in pursuit of riches on the PGA Tour.