Court Jester Beats The King
Wisecracking Chi Chi Rodríguez battles Arnold Palmer to win the Western Open
Join us as we explore the 1964 Western Open on our journey through the past this week. This tournament actually predates the PGA TOUR as it was first played in 1899 in Illinois at the Glenview Golf Club, in the appropriately named town of Golf, a suburb of Chicago. What a great way to celebrate the life of Chi Chi Rodríguez than remembering how he outdueled Arnold Palmer to capture the Western Open 60 years ago in 1964. It is a nice way to pay tribute to Chi Chi who passed away on August 8th.
Chi Chi founded the Chi Chi Rodríguez Youth Foundation in 1979 contributing funds for the counseling, educational, and vocational training for disadvantage students. Based in Clearwater, FL, the foundation now includes a public-private academy for students from the fourth grade to the eighth grade.
The Western Open tournament was sponsored by the Western Golf Association, an organization, that at one time, was on equal footing with the U.S.G.A., especially west of the Mississippi. Scroll down and join us inside the ropes that week in August of 1964.
We’ve written about the 1967 Western Open HERE, won by Jack Nicklaus, the 1963 event won by Arnold Palmer HERE, and the 1972 event won by hometown hero, Jim Jamieson HERE.
The documentary movie based on my book about Tony Lema, Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema is progressing nicely. We’ll be updating the news in upcoming editions of Tour Backspin. We now have a website that features a trailer. Check it out by clicking on the clip below.
This biography of Tony Lema is one of the best golf books out there. Great research and writing. Highly recommended!
Bill via Instagram
We wrap-up the FedEx St. Jude Championship and I provide a few of my thoughts, as well as the Clips You Might Have Missed.
We’ve got a question for you to weigh in on with the Tour Backspin Poll. This week’s Music Clip has a movie tie-in with Elvis, and in a new feature, Tour Backspin Goes to The Movies, we’re showing you some of the highlights of one of the best movies in 1964, Dr. Strangelove. Scroll down to listen and watch. We’ve also got a favorite recipe from Chi Chi Rodríguez.
We return to the Carl Welty vault for the swing of Mike Souchak in 1987 in this week’s Swing Like a Pro feature. You should be able to figure out the WHAT HOLE IS IT? Presented by Rota Golf this week and then you may just win a golf swag prize pack (we’ve got new swag!). Rota Golf has a cool way to map out your bucket list journey of playing the top 100 courses in the U.S. We’ve got some links for you in the Check it Out section and a goofy ad from 1964 in this week’s Vintage Ad. Scroll down to view.
In last week’s poll we wanted to know what you thought Matt Kucher was thinking when he marked his position late on Sunday because it was too dark for him to finish. He was the only player who did this and returned on Monday to finish the hole. There were 45% of respondents who thought he was being a jerk, 27% who thought it was well within his rights, and 27% who thought he just wanted to spend more time in Greensboro.
In Memphis last week, Scottie Scheffler spoke about the FedEx Cup playoff format, and the marketing efforts of the PGA TOUR, during his press conference.
"I talked about it the last few years, I think it's silly," Scheffler said. "You can't call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament. Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it doesn't heal the way it did at the Players. I finish 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the season-long race? No, it is what it is."
What do you think? Let us know in this week’s Tour Backspin Poll
Do you know what happened today in golf history? Or which famous golfer has a birthday today? Me, neither. But I do know where to go to find out. Check out the Your Golfer’s Almanac podcast. Host Michael Duranko celebrates birthdays, milestones, and other accomplishments that occurred on this day in golf history. Listen HERE.
We’re playing Three Headlines and a Lie in this week’s Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
Did you miss a previous newsletter? You can view it HERE. Help us grow Tour Backspin! Please forward this email to a friend. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? You can sign up HERE.
Okay, we're on the tee, let's get going.
Enjoy!
Larry Baush
Chi Chi Rodríguez Holds Off Palmer to Win Western Open
The sports landscape in Chicago, IL, the first week of August 1964 was electric as the city hosted two first-class events. The city was hosting the College Football All-Star game, where the stars from college would take on the Chicago Bears. The other big-time event in Chicago that week was the Western Open on the PGA TOUR being played at Tam O’Shanter Country Club in Niles, a township that directly borders Chicago’s northwest border
The Western Open dates to 1899 when it was first played at Glen View Club in the appropriately named Golf, IL, and was considered one of the premiere golf events in the country along with the North and South Open, the PGA Championship, and the Shawnee Open. The tournament was conducted by the Western Golf Association, a rival of the United States Golf Association, especially west of the Mississippi River. In 1964 the tournament offered a purse of $65,000 placing it in the upper tier of tournament purses.
The 1964 PGA TOUR season was one for the history books highlighted by the gutty win of Ken Venturi in the U.S. Open, Tony Lema’s first major victory at The Open Championship at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Bobby Nichols winning his first, and only, major championship in the PGA Championship, and Arnold Palmer winning his fourth Masters. Throw in the dominance that Lema exhibited in the weeks from June 7th to July 10th when he won four tournaments, the Thunderbird Classic, the Buick Open, and the Cleveland Open before winning in St. Andrews, and it truly was a special year on the PGA TOUR.
The Western Open field had all the stars of 1964 including the defending champion Arnold Palmer, along with his fellow major tournament winners from that year. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Julius Boros were also in the field. Juan “Chi Chi” Rodríguez, a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR including the 1964 Lucky Invitational, was also in the field.
On Monday, August 3rd, a huge field of hopefuls totaling 192 pros and amateurs, were set to play for 21 available spots in the qualifier for the Westen Open. Former touring pro, Bob Brue, led the qualifiers with a score of 65, six-under-par on the 6,686-yard, par 71, Tam O’Shanter course. Brue played for five years on tour before becoming a teaching professional under Jack Fleck at the Green Acres Country Club in Northbrook, IL.
There were three other players who bettered par in the qualifier, including Steve Spray, an amateur with Masters experience, who shot a 69. There were 19 players who equaled par and a total of 16 other players, who were all at one-over 72, who played off for the last six spots available. Nightfall suspended the playoff at 8:40 pm with three players returning on Tuesday morning to fight for the last remaining spot. Ray Montgomery, of Palm Springs, CA, scored a birdie at the fourth playoff hole to capture the final spot. Four amateurs qualified including local favorite Jim Jamieson.
On Wednesday, the second-annual Evans Scholars Foundation pro-am, where 150 amateurs paid $250 each to the Evans program that provided scholarships to deserving caddies, participated in, and played alongside, pros from the PGA TOUR. Kel Nagle, winner of the Canadian Open the previous week, took down the low pro honors with a 64. The scores by the pros were so low that predictions of a new tournament record were numerous by both the pros and the press. A late arriving Arnold Palmer, who flew in on his own Aero Commander plane around 8:00 am on Wednesday, shot a 69, Tommy Jacobs a 65, and Boros came in at 67.
Spectators tramping over the Tam O’Shanter grounds experienced the latest trend in PGA tournament coverage as leaderboards with up-to-the-minute progress reports would display the leaders on every hole. Spectators also had standard bearers in each group that displayed the current score, relative to par, of each player.
“For three weeks I’ve been in a slump.”
The first round on Thursday featured pleasant temperatures with a high of 84 degrees. Billy Casper and Chi Chi Rodríguez sat atop the leaderboard with 64s at the end of the day. Rodríguez put together a hot front nine shooting a 30 and came back with a back nine 34. It could have been better—he missed two eagle putts, both three-footers. He finished one shot off the competitive course record as did Casper who had a front nine 31 and a back nine 33.
Predictions of a record setting pace were fortified as 28 players broke par in the first round. George Knudson, Jim Ferrier, and Julius Boros were at 67, while Peter Fleming, Ken Venturi, Tommy Veech, Bob Harrison, Bruce Devlin, and Arnold Palmer were at 68. Tony Lema, with a 70, was tied with 10 other players.
Rodríguez was relieved by his fine play in the first round saying, “For three weeks I’ve been in a slump.” It looked as if that slump was over.
“It was among the worst rounds I’ve ever played.”
Friday’s second round, played under warming temperatures with a high of 92, Tam O’Shanter’s par again took a pummeling with 29 players breaking par. Rodríguez added a 69 for a two-round total of 133 and he was followed by Palmer who fired a fine 66 for a 134 total. Casper remained in the hunt at 135 after a second-round 71. Casper complained of an upset stomach and was generally unhappy with his round.
“It was among the worst rounds I’ve ever played,” Casper declared after his round. “I missed seven greens and dropped only two good putts—a ten-footer for par on the 8th and a 20-footer for birdie on 17. I was real sick from something I must have eaten. But my wife kept giving me salt tablets and soft drinks and I kept going.”
Palmer did not have a bogey on his card. His biggest disappointment came at the 305-yard, par-4, 5th hole.
“I drove the green and was 40-feet from the cup,” Palmer explained to reporters after his round. “Then I three-putted, missing a three-footer my last try.”
Two young players from Texas, Don Massengale and Jerry Edwards, shot 65s. Massengale sat at 136, while Edwards was at 140. Both Venturi and Lema were still in contention at 139.
Temperatures retreated to a very comfortable high of 69 for Saturday’s third round which saw Arnold Palmer claw his way into a tie with Rodríguez. Palmer birdied the final two holes to record a 67 for a three-round total of 201. Rodríguez shot one stroke higher with a 68 after hitting his approach at the final hole to three feet and dropping the putt for a birdie. The leaders, at 201, matched the lowest 54-hole totals on the tour for the year. Doug Sanders, Mike Souchak, Gene Littler, and Billy Casper were at 201 after three rounds in Memphis earlier in the year.
It looked like Byron Nelson’s tournament record of 269 was in danger of being broken.
The Western Open featured a 54-hole cut which came at 219 and the amateur Steve Spray made the cut
Jack Nicklaus made a move, firing a 65 and sat at 208. He missed the fairway eight times but only needed 27 putts. Massengale, whose best finish for the year had been a tie for seventh at the Tucson Open, added a third-round 69 and was at 205. Casper, feeling better on Saturday, shot a 71 to put him at 206. Venturi came in with a 68 and was at 207, while Lema sat at 209 after a third-round 70.
The Western Open featured a 54-hole cut which came at 219 and the amateur Steve Spray made the cut.
An overcast morning turned to partly sunny skies on Sunday for the final round and a record crowd of 20,600 came out to watch the dramatic finish of an exciting week. The four-day total of 61,300 fans also set a tournament record.
Massengale proved he was ready to contend for the title when he came out of the gate with birdies on his first three holes, getting to within one shot of the lead at -11. Then Nicklaus birdied three holes in a row, starting at the 2nd hole, that put him at -8.
By the completion of the 7th hole, Palmer had built up a two-stroke lead over Rodríguez. Palmer was at -14 while Rodríguez was at -12. Palmer had birdies at the 2nd and 7th holes while Rodríguez matched Palmer’s birdie at the 2nd, but he three-putted the 6th hole for a bogey. Palmer bogeyed the 8th hole, and the players made the turn with Palmer holding a one-shot lead. Rodríguez made his par at the 9th hole after hitting a 4-wood out of the tall rough “with all the rice and beans in me.”
Rodríguez put the pedal to the metal starting at the 11th hole hitting a 6-iron to 2 ½ feet and made the putt for a birdie. He added birdies at the 12th and 13th holes while Palmer could only answer with one birdie at the 12th hole. Both players birdied the 15th hole reaching the par-5 in two and two putting. Palmer then went long on the 17th hole resulting in a bogey that dropped him two shots behind Rodríguez.
Rodríguez, playing two holes in front of Palmer, was finishing up the 18th hole as Palmer was making his bogey on the 17th. He missed the green with his 9-iron approach that went into a greenside bunker. Rodríguez later said he tried to hole the bunker shot but wound up four feet from the cup. As Palmer was finishing the 17th hole, Rodríguez made his pressure packed four-footer and then placed his cocoa straw hat over the hole, a routine of his that he explained kept the ball from popping back out of the hole.
Rodríguez waited for 20 minutes to watch Palmer play from the fairway, about 105-yards from the green. Palmer needed to make this shot to tie Rodríguez. He was unable to pull off the miracle shot leaving his approach 18 feet short of the pin. Being Arnold Palmer, he made the birdie putt narrowing the winning margin to just one shot. The 268 total that Rodríguez shot was one shot better than the Tam O’Shanter tournament record of Byron Nelson. It also tied the Western Open record, set by Sam Snead in 1949 (the Western Open moved around to various courses).
“When I used to spread fertilizer in the sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico, I never dreamed I would make $11,000 in my whole life.”
Rodríguez won $11,000 while Palmer took home $5,750. Nicklaus, with a closing round of 67, climbed into third place, tied with Massengale at 275, and each won $3,300. Venturi finished with a 70 for a total of 277 and won $2,500. Lema was one stroke higher, tied with Stan Leonard, Tom Veech, Jim Ferrier, and Billy Casper. They each won $1,960.
After being presented with the winner’s check, Rodríguez spoke with the press about what it meant to win $11,000.
“When I used to spread fertilizer in the sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico, I never dreamed I would make $11,000 in my whole life,” he sighed. With the money he said he will, “build another story on my house, for my sister and her mother.”
In the background, Nicklaus said to Bill Jauss of the Chicago Daily News, “No, I don’t think Chi Chi can become a week-in, week-out consistent great player. He’s just not equipped physically for it.”
Rodríguez finished his PGA TOUR career with eight wins and added another 22 wins on the Senior PGA Tour, now known as PGA TOUR Champions, including two majors. Quite an accomplished record for a player who, in his heyday, weighed 120-pounds and had a 24-inch waistline.
BONUS STORY
Mike Souchak was making a move in the third round of the 1964 Western Open. He began the round at 146, far off the pace of Chi Chi Rodríguez’s leading 133, but he battled back on Saturday arriving at the 15th hole at four-under-par for the day. Then he hit an awful tee shot.
Souchack snap-hooked his tee shot at the 15th hole into an adjoining asphalt parking lot. Souchak found his ball, easily enough, and then played the ball from the asphalt back into the fairway. Sometime later, it was brought to his attention that he played the shot from out of bounds. He then informed tournament officials that he was disqualifying himself.
What Hole is It? powered by Rota Golf. Doesn’t your bucket list journey deserve one of these?
WHAT HOLE IS IT?
Are you on the leader board?
Congratulations to David Rihm, who correctly identified #9, at TPC Southwind in Memphis, TN in last week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest. David beat out four other correct answers in the random drawing. We’re sending a prize pack of golf swag to David. Submit your answer for this week and get yourself into the race for the Herbert C. Leeds Trophy, our new perpetual trophy for the annual winner.
We understand if a premium subscription isn’t in the budget, and we’re happy to have you here however you’ve arrived. You can sign up for a free subscription so you’ll never miss the newsletter. It will arrive in your inbox every Thursday. Paid subscribers help fund the work we do here at Tour Backspin.
PGA TOUR Wrap-Up | FedEx St. Jude Championship
It looked like the fourth round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship was going to be a snoozefest as Hideki Matsuyama seemed to be running away with the title. After all, he had not made a bogey in 27 holes, and had a five-stroke lead. An hour later, he could feel the tournament slipping away.
He bogeyed the 12th with a three-putt. He was lucky to escape with just a bogey on the par-3, 14th hole after hitting his tee shot into the water. After two poor chips at the 15th resulted in a double-bogey, he looked at a leaderboard and a feeling of despair came over him.
“I felt today’s victory slipping away at that point because 17 and 18 are difficult holes enough, let alone to birdie them,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter.
Then he made an improbable 25-foot birdie putt at the 17th to regain the lead from Viktor Hovland, and then added another birdie at the 18th hole to win by two.
It was anything but a snoozefest. And Matsuyama waas playing after getting robbed in London, losing his wallet. His coach and caddie lost their passports and had to return to Japan, so Hideki had to use a subsitute caddie in Memphis. His caddie was Taiga Tabuchi, Ryo Hisatsune’s regular caddie.
Read more from Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press HERE.
Here are your Top 5 shots from the FedEx St. Jude Championship:
Clips You Might Have Missed
What the heck?
Winning putt.
Nick Dunlap has a great attitude.
Amazing story.
Heart break.
Ever had a slow play problem like this?
Tour Backspin Quiz | Three Headlines and a Lie
Three of these are actual headlines from a Golf Digest or Golf Magazine issue in 1964, and one is as fake as that handicap from the winning team in your member-guest.
Golf Watchers Guide To Buying Binoculars
St. Andrews—True Modern Test or Out-Dated Joke?
How To Play a Round of Golf With Your Boss
I Say, Ban Women Golfers!
Scroll down for answer
Swing Like a Pro
Mike Souchak hitting a short iron from the Carl Welty vault.
Blind Shot
Click for something fun. 👀
Josh Berhow of Golf.com spent three days with the PGA TOUR rules staff.
Bunkered on the poor television ratings for the first playoff event in Memphis.
Dylan Dethier of Golf.com has the 2025 PGA TOUR schedule and what it means for LIV Golf.
Tour Backspin Music Clip
Elvis Presley shakes his hips to Viva Las Vegas.
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
We made up the one about playing a round of golf with your boss.
Thank you for reading this far, I know your time is valuable and choosing to spend some of it on what I’ve created is gratifying. If you want to help support the work we’re doing, please consider upgrading. It’s just $36 a year and you’ll be helping to tell the stories from one of golf’s golden ages.
Vintage Ad
Final Thoughts
I want to take a golf cart through the drive-thru.
I’m going straight to Ebay to see if I can find a Life Saver Hole-In-One Trophy.
Can you believe Chi Chi’s waist size in 1964. How’d he find pants?