Ernie Vossler Captures Carling in Tacoma
Ernie Vossler wins the 1960 Carling Open at Fircrest Golf Club in Tacoma, WA
In a rare off-week for the PGA TOUR, we’re focusing on a major golf championship played in the Pacific Northwest in 1960. Join us on our journey through the past and explore how the 1960 Carling Open played out at the Fircrest Golf Club in Tacoma, WA. This $25,000 event was one of the richer stops on the PGA TOUR in 1960 and it was won by Ernie Vossler.
We wrap-up the Tour 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 features the Ventures performing “Walk Don’t Run” on a television show hosted by Dick Clark in 1960, the “Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show,” and Tour Backspin Goes to The Movies for the theatrical trailer for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”
Jack Nicklaus helps us with shots into the wind in this week’s Swing Like a Pro feature. You’ll have to go back in time to figure out this week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? Presented by Rota Golf, but if you can figure it out, you may just win a golf swag prize pack. 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 Carling Black Label ad from 1964 for the Carling World Open in this week’s Vintage Ad. Scroll down to view.
Last week we wanted to know if you think the rule about a damaged club should be changed to be less ambiguous. The rule as written caused Matt Fitzpatrick to use a 3-wood in the BMW Championship since his driver was damaged, but not enough to be allowed to replace it.
There were 73% of respondents who felt the rule is too arbitrary and should be clarified while 27% are good with leaving it to the officials on site.
This week we want to know if you think it is a wise decision on the part of the PGA TOUR to have an off-week because it is the opening weekend of NFL football. Let us know in this week’s Tour Backspin Poll.
We’re playing 1960 PGA TOUR Trivia in this week’s Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
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Enjoy!
Larry Baush
Ernie Vossler Wins in the Pacific Northwest.
The excitement could hardly be contained in Tacoma WA. It is Tuesday, September 13th, 1960, and qualifying rounds are just being completed at Fircrest Golf Club for the lucrative Carling Open, a tournament played since 1953, usually on a different course each year. Fircrest measured 6,485-yards with a par of 71. There were 90 players playing for 74 spots in the tournament that would begin on Thursday. Don Bies, a 22-year-old assistant pro at Seattle Golf Club, set the standard with a qualifying round of 65.
Bies missed only one green and assembled six birdies and 12 pars. His only missed green, the 145-yard, par 3, 13th hole, was the result of a pushed tee shot that wound up in a greenside bunker. He climbed into the bunker and his explosion shot landed a couple of feet from the hole and then trickled in for a birdie.
But the biggest attraction of the day, the one that most excited the local fans, was Arnold Palmer, the winner of both the Masters and the U.S. Open earlier in the year.
The only problem was that nobody saw the fine round fashioned by Bies. Most of the spectators on the course were positioning themselves to watch the stars who would begin their practice rounds once the qualifying event was completed. Local golf fans were excited to see players such as George Bayer, a long hitter who was from nearby Bremerton, WA. Bayer played football for the University of Washington and professionally for the Washington Redskins. Also attracting attention were other big names like Billy Casper, Dow Finsterwald, and Julius Boros.
But the biggest attraction of the day, the one that most excited the local fans, was Arnold Palmer, the winner of both the Masters and the U.S. Open earlier in the year. Palmer was on a quest to top Ted Kroll’s PGA tournament yearly earnings record of $72,836 set in 1956. Palmer’s earnings coming into the Carling were $70,316. In addition to his major championships of 1960, Palmer arrived in Tacoma having won five other tournaments. Pacific Northwest fans were very excited to watch the hot new star of the PGA Tour.
Along with Bies, other familiar names that qualified that Tuesday were Dave Marr and Gerry Priddy, who played in the Major Leagues for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and the Detroit Tigers in a career that lasted from the early 1940s to the early 1950s. He then managed the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League when his baseball playing days were through, before embarking on a professional golf career. Priddy’s qualifying round included two shots that went out-of-bounds and an eagle that added up to a three-under-par 68.
If a pro from the Northwest won, they would collect a bonus of $400.
The only thing thicker than the excitement at Fircrest was the heavy layer of fog as players continued practice rounds on Wednesday. The pre-tournament festivities culminated with a “Parade of Champions” clinic that started at 4 pm hosted by Jim Ferree, winner of the 1959 Canadian Open played in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The clinic featured the biggest stars in the field who would demonstrate every club in the bag. A few of the notables included Ken Venturi with the driver, Bayer with the 1-iron, Boros with the 6-iron, Ernie Vossler with the 7-iron, and Palmer with the 2-iron. Fans finally departed the course after a long day of watching great golf and they were ready for the tournament to begin.
There were a few added benefits for some of the players in the field. For Boros and Finsterwald, who both had won the Carling Open twice, they were eligible to win an additional $10,000, in addition to the first-place prize of $3,500. Paul Harney, the 1957 champion, and Doug Ford, the 1955 champion, could win an additional $5,000 if they won this week. If a pro from the Northwest won, they would collect a bonus of $400.
The thick fog, and the resulting heavy dew, returned on Thursday causing a delay of more than an hour. Once play got started, the birdies came in droves with Don January capturing the first-round lead with an eight-under-par round that set two competitive course records. His 63 erased the course record 64 that Cary Middlecoff fired in the 1948 Tacoma Open, and his back nine 29 was one-stroke better than the course record 30 set by Ed “Porky” Oliver in that same year.
So tough were the conditions that Ed Honeywell, writing for the Tacoma News Tribune wrote, “January’s was such a dazzling spree under conditions somewhat removed from ideal that it was surprising his lead was a mere four strokes.”
Play was suspended, for a short period, due to the fog as January stepped onto the third tee. Once play resumed, January hit his tee shot on the par-3 to the back apron. It was the only green he missed in his record-setting round.
There was a total of seven players tied for second including Billy Casper, Bob Rosburg, Lionel Hebert, Mason Rudolph, and Dave Marr, who earned his way into the tournament through the Tuesday qualifying event. Eddie Draper and Howie Johnson were the other two players at 67.
In all, there were 36 players who bettered Fircrest’s par of 71 and another 18 who shot par. Both Boros and Palmer were at even par, while Dow Finsterwald was at 72. Both Boros and Finsterwald had their eyes on the $10,000 bonus money being offered to past Carling multiple champions if they could win again this week.
As so often happens in competitive golf, a fantastic round is followed by a mediocre round. Don January followed his record-setting 63 with a 75. There was now a logjam at the top of the leader board with five players tied for the lead with a total of 136 including Rosburg, Hebert, Howie Johnson, Ken Venturi, and Marr. Venturi fired a 67 while the others had second-round 69s.
Four players were at 137 including Casper, Bob Duden of Portland, OR., Fred Hawkins, and Paul Harney who had the lowest round of the day, a 66. Harney could win a bonus of $5,000 as a past champion if he could capture the title.
January’s 75 placed him another stroke back at 138 tied with Ernie Vossler who had consecutive rounds of 69. Palmer was another stroke back at 139 after a second-round 68, tied with Charlie Sifford. Both Finsterwald and Boros were at 141 and the prospects of cashing in on the $10,000 bonus money for past champions were bleak.
The second round was also plagued by fog leading to a delay of two hours and the tournament organizers made the decision to send players off both the first and tenth tees. Most of the 8,500 spectators followed Palmer who looked like he was going to go low going four-under-par through the first 13 holes. A double bogey at the 14th hole, a result of a three-putt from six-feet, slowed down his charge.
Going into the third round there were 21 players within four strokes of the lead, and it took a 146 to make the 36-hole cut. Another 10 players would be cut after the third round leaving the low 60 and ties to compete on Sunday.
The fog that had persisted during the week finally lifted on Saturday with the third round being played under cloudy conditions with a chance of drizzle and temperatures in the mid-50s. George Bayer’s mother was on the grounds of Fircrest to help her son celebrate his 35th birthday. He did so by shooting a six-under-par 65 for a three-round total of 205 and he was just two strokes off the lead of Paul Harney who shot his second straight 66. Harney would be trying to secure the $5,000 bonus for any past champion winning this year’s event.
Ernie Vossler, with a third round 66, and Dave Marr, with a 68, shared second place at 204. Bayer was tied at 205 with Lionel Hebert, who had a third-round 69, and Bob Duden who added a Saturday 68. Billy Casper had a third-round 69 and was tied with Fred Hawkins, who also had a 69, at 206.
“It’s been the best conducted tournament of any we’ve put on. The attendance—positively amazing for a city of Tacoma’s population—was particularly gratifying.”
The weather turned bright and sunny with warm temperatures for Sunday’s final round, quite the turnaround from earlier in the week. The excitement in Tacoma was through the roof and it was estimated that approximately 25,000 spectators filed through the gates and onto the course for the week to watch the best that the PGA had to offer.
“It’s been the best conducted tournament of any we’ve put on,” said Dick Taylor, the tournament director. “The attendance—positively amazing for a city of Tacoma’s population—was particularly gratifying.”
Ernie Vossler carded three birdies early in his round and by the time he stepped on the 12th tee he was in possession of a one-shot lead over third-round leader Paul Harney. From there, he played steady, even-par golf to shoot a 68 which was good for a one-shot victory over Harney. Harney, in the hunt for the $5,000 bonus given to a former Carling champion, hung tough through the final round and faced a 25-foot putt on the final hole that would have tied Vossler. He narrowly missed the putt and Vossler was the champion.
Vossler won $3,500 while Harney took home $2,300 for second place. Ken Venturi had the round of the day, a 66, that put him into a tie with Lionel Hebert at 275. They each won $1,650. Bob Duden, Fred Hawkins, and Billy Casper were next at 276 and each won $1,200.
Palmer, who needed to win the Carling Open to set a new money earnings record overtaking Ted Kroll’s record of $72,836 set in 1956, made a charge with a 33 on the front nine. But he then faded on the back nine recording a 72 for a total of 281 and won only $250. Palmer’s next shot at the record would be the following week in Portland.
Vossler was also headed to Portland, but then he would be done for the year.
“Before I came up here, I promised those four kids of mine back home in Fort Worth that I’d spend the last three months of the year with them after playing in 29 of 35 tournaments this year,” Vossler informed Ed Honeywell of the Tacoma News Tribune. “Even if I should win at Portland, that’s the promise I’ll keep.”
As the traveling pros headed on down the road to Portland, the organizers, sponsors, Fircrest club officials, and the fans from around the Puget Sound region basked in the glow of a very well-run, and successful PGA tournament.
BONUS STORY
Arnold Palmer travelled to Portland, OR, the week after the Carling Open in Tacoma, in his quest to set a new money winning record. He hoped to pass Ted Kroll’s record, set in 1956, of $72,836 at the Portland Open. He would have to win in Portland to collect the winner’s share of $2,800 to overtake Kroll’s mark and to set the record.
Palmer put on one of his patented final round charges shooting a 67 for a total of 270, but it wasn’t good enough to hold off Billy Casper, the winner, who had a final round 65 for a 266 total. Paul Harney finished at 268 and Don January was at 269 while Bob Rosburg was tied with Palmer at 270. Palmer won $1,150 leaving him $1,119.75 short of the record.
Palmer finally set the record in the last week of November with a final round charge resulting in a 65, and passed Johnny Pott, who had a final round 71, for a one-stroke victory. The winner’s check of $2,000 put his yearly money winning total to $73,716.19, well ahead of the previous record of $72,836 set by Ted Kroll.
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PGA TOUR Wrap-Up | The Tour Championship
For just a moment, a fleeting moment, it looked like things might get interesting in the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA. Scottie Scheffler had just bogeyed the 7th hole before hitting his tee shot on the driveable par-4 8th hole into a greenside bunker. And then it happened.
I tried my hand at live commentary on not-Twitter. It did not go well.
Scheffler closed out the tournament in the same dominate fashion the he has displayed all year on the PGA TOUR. He won seven times on the PGA TOUR and also won a Gold Medal at the Olympics. He’s a sure lock to land the Player of the Year Award, as well.
Read more from the Associated Press HERE.
See a full year of Scottie Scheffler winning:
Clips You Might Have Missed
Okay, Scottie, please explain a shank to us.
Called a penalty on himself costing him over $2 million.
Yikes!
More college golf teams need to be cheered on like this.
Look at these kids!
Tour Backspin Quiz | 1960 PGA TOUR Trivia
How many tournaments were played for the first time on the PGA TOUR in 1960? What were they?
Scroll down for answer
Swing Like a Pro
Jack Nicklaus on how to hit into the wind in 1967.
Blind Shot
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Shane Ryan at Golf Digest has the tweak to fix the Tour Championship.
Tour Backspin Music Clip
The Ventures do “Walk Don’t Run” live on the Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show in August of 1960. Love the drums out front!
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
There were four new tournaments on the 1960 PGA TOUR schedule. They were the Yorba Linda Open Invitational, the Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic (later known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic), the De Soto Open Invitational, and the 500 Festival Open Invitational. The Sam Snead Festival was an alternative event held opposite the Hot Springs Open Invitational.
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Final Thoughts
The PGA TOUR always receives a warm welcome to the Pacific Northwest.
Those outfits worn by The Ventures are so funny. Playing in a coat and tie and white bucks on their feet.
What is up with the television ratings for the PGA TOUR this year?