First PGA TOUR Check For Raymond Floyd
Raymond hadn't won a red cent since joining the PGA Tour in early 1963, until he won at the St. Petersburg Open.
The PLAYER’S CHAMPIONSHIP, going into Sunday, featured an interesting leader board with some unknown names contending with some of the best. And at THE PLAYERS STADIUM COURSE at TPC Sawgrass, anything can happen on a Sunday, especially when the wind kicks up as the leaders approach the finish.
Congratulations to Scottie Scheffler who took control of the tournament after Min Woo Lee took a triple bogey on the 4th hole. Once Scheffler chiped-in on the par-3 8th hole for birdie and then ran off a string of four more birdies to build a 6-stroke lead, it was all over. As others fell to the vagaries of the weather and course conditions, Sheffler relentlessly made his way through the final holes for the victory.
Min Woo Lee needed a solo fourth-place finish to earn playing privileges on the PGA TOUR and made a gallant effort on the final holes, but could do no better than a tie for sixth. Tyrell Hatton had a finish for the ages, shooting a 29 on the back nine to finish in solo second.
Just two weeks after announcing the new Designated Events Model that will feature no-cut events, the PGA TOUR had more cut drama. Tom Hoge, who was looking for airline flights home before making the cut on the number, shoots a course-record 62 on the TPC Stadium Course at Sawgrass on Saturday. He then finished with a 2-under 70 to finish in a tie for third and a check close to $1.5 million—and then rode in coach on his return flight to Fort Worth. The cut gives us drama! Long live the cut!
In our poll last week, 77% of you like the drama of the cut while 23% of you like the concept of a no-cut event so that you can see the best players in the game. Weigh in on the new plans for a bifurcated ball coming in 2026 with a new Model Local Rule in this week’s poll.
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Clip You Might Have Missed
The Valspar Championship is up next on the PGA TOUR. This tournament dates back to 2000 when it was known as the Tampa Bay Classic and it was an alternate event to the President’s Cup in 2000 and then to the WGC-American Express Championship until 2003 when it then had a slot on the schedule as the last full-field event before the playoffs. It went through a procession of sponsors before Valspar took over in 2014. This is not a designated event so the field will feature players who are hungry to earn their way into the important events on the schedule.
While the Valspar isn’t in our sweet spot window having started in 2000, there have been PGA TOUR events in the Tampa Bay area that were played in the generation we cover. We’re going back to 1963 when Raymond Floyd won his first check on the PGA TOUR. Scroll down to learn more.
1963 was a swingin’ year in music. Discover your swing on this week’s playlist. Listen HERE.
We’re utilizing the Carl Welty Collection on YouTube again this week to highlight Raymond Floyd’s swing in the Swing Like a Pro feature. Scroll down to watch.
Raymond Floyd had an interesting investment. Check it out in this week’s Bonus Story
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If you like golf history, check out the Your Golfer’s Almanac podcast. Host Michael Duranko celebrates birthdays, milestones, and other accomplishments that occurred on the day in golf history. Listen HERE.
Congratulations to Alan Wrzesien for correctly answering last week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? The featured hole was #4 at THE PLAYERS STADIUM COURSE at TPC Sawgrass. Alan beat out five other players who came up with the correct answer. Check out the new 2023 leader board and scroll down for your chance to win in this week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT?
We’re playing 1963 Tour Trivia this week in the Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
Advertisements in golf magazines rarely featured color in the early 1960s. We found one from 1963. Scroll down to view.
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Larry Baush
Floyd’s First Check is a Winner’s Check
Raymond Floyd began his PGA TOUR career at the 1963 Lucky International Open. He finished in a tie for 57th, out of the money. The next week, he missed the cut at the Palm Springs Golf Classic. His result the next week, at the Greater New Orleans Open, was the same, a missed cut. As was the next week, at the Pensacola Open, where he missed yet another cut.
He rode this “hot streak” into the St. Petersburg Open at the Lakewood Country Club the third week of March. In four tournaments he had only finished one, missed two cuts and had earned not one red cent. Then he opened with a round of 67 that placed him two shots behind the leader, Tommy Bolt, tied with Dave Marr and Julius Boros in the St. Petersburg Open. Billy Maxwell was all alone in second-place, one-shot behind Bolt.
“The tension keeps building up and it concerns me greatly.”
Doug Sanders, who shot a first round 68 added a 67 in Friday’s second round to take the lead, despite what he labelled as “tension spots” in his shoulders and neck.
“They get as sore as boils,” Sanders explained to reporters after his round. “The tension keeps building up and it concerns me greatly.”
Dave Marr, with a round that started with a birdie on the second hole followed by a double bogey and two more bogeys in quick succession, finished with a 69 and he was tied for second-place with George Bayer. First round leader, Bolt, shot a second round 72 and was another stroke back of Sanders.
Things were looking up for Floyd with a second round 71 that not only made the cut, it put him only three shots behind Sanders. He might just make some money this week.
The “tension spots” afflicting Sanders got the best of him in the third round as muscle spasms in his back led to a 76 and he fell down the leader board nine-strokes behind the new leader, Dave Marr, who shot a 66 for a three-round total of 202.
“It hit in front of the trap and bounced over it.”
Marr had some good fortune during his round.
“On the 14th, I took out a 7-iron when I knew it was an 8-iron shot,” he admitted after his round. “Then I hit behind it. It hit in front of the trap and bounced over it.”
He birdied the hole. On the 16th hole, his drive landed in the rough. He played the shot, off a tree root, to within 15-feet of the hole and made birdie.
“I came here with the hope of winning this tournament instead of just making the cut.”
Ray Floyd was setting himself up for a good paycheck shooting a third round 67 that put him just three shots off of Marr’s lead and in solo second-place. But he wasn’t just looking for a good paycheck, he wanted more.
“I came here with the hope of winning this tournament instead of just making the cut,” he declared.
Okay, rookie.
Bolt shot a third round 69 and was one shot behind Floyd while Doug Ford, taking only 24 putts for the round, shot up the leader board with a 65 that placed him in a tie for fourth place alongside Maxwell and Bayer.
In Sunday’s fourth round, Floyd rode a hot putter, using only 27 putts, to shoot a scrambling three-under-par 69 that was good for a one-stroke victory over Dave Marr. He almost lost his chance when he hit his tee shot into a bunker on the par-3 17th hole. He exploded weakly and faced a 20-foot putt to save his par. He tapped into his hot putter one more time to sink the putt and retain the lead.
Marr, playing behind Floyd, had a chance to tie it up on the final hole. He put his approach to 20 feet from the hole but was unable to sink the putt. Floyd had not only won his first check on the PGA TOUR, it was a winner’s check.
“I had no idea I would win,” Floyd said with a grin after his round. “But when I started here, I decided that I would play to win instead of just playing to make the cut.”
Floyd went on to have five top 25 finishes in 1963 with one more top ten finish. he won a total of $10,529 for the year. Floyd went on to a stellar career with 22 official PGA TOUR victories and four major championships (1969 PGA Championship, 1976 Masters, 1982 PGA Championship and 1986 U.S. Open). He also won 14 time on the Champions Tour.
A fantastic career and it all began with his first check as a pro, the winner’s check of $3,500 at the 1963 St. Petersburg Open.
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Bonus Story
Raymond Floyd was quite the wild bachelor before he met, and married, his wife Maria. He had the nickname “Pretty Boy” and enjoyed gambling and drinking and San Francisco was one of his favorite towns. He was a fan of the stripper Carol Doda, one of the first strippers to enhance her breasts with silicone*.
Doda opened her show at the Condor Club by dancing atop a piano as it descended down from the ceiling. But it was after the show when the fun really started. Floyd would step outside the club with the manager, Voss Boreta, and hit golf balls down the middle of Broadway towards Columbus Avenue at three or four in the morning.
Floyd invested and became a part owner in a strip joint named Coke’s and was also an investor in one of the first topless girls band, the Ladybirds. He booked the Ladybirds into his club. You can see a performance from the band in 1966 HERE (NSFW).
*The physician who enhanced Doda’s breasts, Dr. Spano, had his ashes scattered in the bunker fronting the 4th green at The Presidio Golf Course.
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Tour Backspin Quiz |1963 PGA TOUR Trivia
How many first-time winners were there on the 1963 PGA TOUR?
Answer below
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So, how would you react if you watched a record you held get broken? Leave it to Colt Knost to react in the most Colt Knost way.
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Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
There were seven first-time winners on the 1963 PGA Tour. Raymond Floyd (St. Petersburg Open), Dan Sikes (Doral C.C. Open), Bob Charles (Houston Open), Jack Rule, Jr. (St. Paul Open), Chi-Chi Rodriguez (Denver Open), Frank Beard (Frank Sinatra Open), Rex Baxter (Cajun Classic Open).
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Caddied for Wayne Levi there (Tour Backspin 3/9/2023). He made the cut. As brutal as I’ve ever seen for tournament golf! It’s amazing the difference in Sawgrass CC having holes on the water verses TPC across the street.
M.W. Eggeling. The Society of Golf Historians group on Facebook
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Final Thoughts
How fun are driveable par 4s?
A round of golf with Colt Knost sure looks like fun. Come play Rainier, Colt!
What would your handicap be if you had corporate tents and grandstands keeping your ball in play?
How fun are driveable par 4s? Fun... if they're actually driveable, like #14 at Foster. Hahahaha