Palmer Wins in New Hometown
Arnold Palmer captures the 1971 Florida Citrus Invitational
The PGA TOUR cannot catch a break when it comes to the weather. A violent rain storm hit PGA National in the final round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches causing a 3 ½ hour delay and forced a Monday finish. Here on the West Coast the action got started at 5 am, and since I’m an early riser, it was great to have PGA TOUR golf that early even if the empty grandstands brought back some COVID-19 PTSD.
Congratulations to Austin Eckroat for the life-changing victory. He shot a 4-under-par 67 in the final round (seven holes on Sunday and 11 holes on Monday morning) and won by three shots. Scroll down for the Clips You Might Have Missed and the highlights from the week.
This week the tour is in Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge. We’re going back to 1971 when this tournament was known as the Florida Citrus Invitational and it was played at Rio Pinar Golf and Palmer was a hometown favorite as he had just moved to Orlando. Scroll down to read.
If you want more Honda Classic stories, check out our archives. We’ve written about the 1976 event HERE, the 1969 event HERE, and the 1975 event HERE.
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We’ve got both Arnold Palmer and Julius Boros featured in the Swing Like a Pro this week.
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We’re playing 1971 PGA TOUR Trivia in this week’s Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
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Local Resident Named Palmer Wins Florida Citrus Open
It is Wednesday, February 10th, 1971, and the Tampa Jaycees have just made a disappointing announcement concerning the Citrus Open, a “Second Tour” event sanctioned by the PGA TOUR, with a $40,000 purse. The event had been scheduled to be held the same week in March as the Florida Citrus Invitational, the regular tour event that was being played at Rio Pinar Golf in Orlando, FL.
The Jaycees announced that they were cancelling the event due to financial concerns. The Second Tour events were created to give aspiring players, those players who couldn’t or didn’t Monday qualify into a PGA TOUR event, an opportunity to compete. Sort of like the Puerto Rico Open being played this week on the PGA TOUR opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational. With the top 60 players from 1970 being exempted into events, Monday qualifying had become crowded resulting in more and more players trying to qualify for fewer and fewer spots in the tournament.
There were eight Second Tour events in 1971 including the Quad Cities Open, the Kemper-Asheville Open, held the same week as the Kemper Open, and the East Ridge Classic, held the same week as the Houston Champions International. The money won in these events was official money while the victory was not recognized as an official win by the PGA TOUR.
This smaller pro-am featured Joe DiMaggio who had just been hired by the Hughes Television Network the network that would be televising the Florida Citrus Invitational.
In 1970, the Citrus Open was held the same week as the Florida Citrus Invitational and featured a $25,000 purse. The trouble was nobody came to see Bob Stone win it. In 1971, the Jaycees discovered there was little interest within the organization, or the community of Tampa, for a second-tier event. They cancelled the event but the interest in sponsorships for the Florida Citrus Invitational, the main event on the PGA TOUR schedule, was off the charts with more sponsors wanting to play in the Wednesday pro-am than there were available spots.
R.F. Raidle, president of Major Realty, developer of the Cypress Creek Golf Club, stepped up and help organize the “Micro-Mini Citrus Invitational Pro-Am” for six teams to participate for a purse separate from the main pro-am being played at Rio Pinar. This smaller pro-am featured Joe DiMaggio who had just been hired by the Hughes Television Network the network that would be televising the Florida Citrus Invitational. His role with Hughes was strictly for public relations, not as an on-screen personality. All six pros in the “Micro-Mini” pro-am were paid the same amount while the team headed by DeWitt Weaver won the team event
Julius Boros, winner of the 1967 Florida Citrus Invitational, Lou Graham, Kermit Zarley, and Frank Beard, all shot four-under-par 68s at Rio Pinar to win the main pro-am. A record crowd of 8,700 was on hand and excitement was growing for the start of the tournament that featured a $150,000 purse. Arnold Palmer warmed up for the event by firing a 72 in the pro-am.
Palmer arrived at the practice tee very early on Thursday to warm up for his first round that would begin at 8:18 and the fans were already assembling to watch the charismatic pro from Pennsylvania who had recently set up a second home at Bay Hill in Orlando. The fans packed the fairways and spectator mounds four and five deep to watch their hero. And they were not disappointed as Palmer reeled off five straight birdies starting at the eighth hole.
“As far as striking the ball, I’m probably playing better than at any time in my life,” Palmer told reporters after his round of 66. “But I would like to putt better.”
Palmer felt that his round “could have been a 61 or 62,” if his putting was better.
“I hit every green and didn’t have a putt longer than 25 feet all day,” he lamented.
“It was a stupid shot, but I got away with it. I had about a 30-inch opening to the green.”
Palmer was tied for the lead with 23-year-old Jerry Heard from Visalia, California. Heard’s best results on the PGA TOUR to this point had been a trio of fourth place finishes. His round was highlighted by good fortune on a couple of shots including an escape from the woods on the fifth hole.
“It was a stupid shot, but I got away with it,” he later admitted. “I had about a 30-inch opening to the green.”
He managed to hit his shot onto the green and saved par. On the final hole he got another good break on the green.
“I lagged my putt on the 18th hole, and it just happened to go in,” Heard told the press.
Six players were snapping at the heels of Palmer and Heard one shot back at 67, including Julius Boros. Another 12 players were at 68 including Kermit Zarley and Orville Moody.
Boros kept his hot hand going the next day teeing off early at 7:54 and posted a second-round score of 68 for a two-round total of 135. Then Moody, who teed off at 8:18 came in with a 65 for a 133 total. Heard also played in the morning and could do no better than a 70 and fell down the leader board with a total of 136.
Palmer played in the afternoon and started on the back nine. He proceeded to birdie four of his first nine holes and then he couldn’t make a birdie on his final nine holes and posted a 68 for a 134 total.
Kermit Zarley started his round at 12:34, more than four hours after Moody posted his 133, and fired a tournament-record tying 64 to post a total of 132. Zarley was dubbed the “Moon Man” by Bob Hope who once quipped at the Hope Classic, “Kermit Zarley? With a name like that, it sounds like he’s the pro from the moon.”
The day featured ideal weather that helped attract a record crowd of 15,770. The conditions were so ideal that it took a score of 123, one-under-par, to survive the cut.
Palmer had enough of his putting and came out on Saturday with a new flatstick and wielded it effectively draining four birdie putts on the back nine for a score of 68. He busted out the new putter after missing numerous birdie opportunities on Friday. The switch looked like a wasted effort as he began his round with a bogey, but he was able to offset that bogey with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 7th hole.
“They were good putts, but they just didn’t go in.”
Boros sauntered around Rio Pinor making five birdies and no bogeys to shoot a 68 and was tied for the lead with Palmer at 202.
Moody was not happy with his putting after his round of 70 that put him one shot back of the leaders.
“I played superb golf today,” Moody related to reporters. “But I didn’t putt very well. I lipped four of five putts on the front nine. They were good putts, but they just didn’t go in.”
Zarley skied to a 72 and was two shots off the lead tied with Bob Murphy and Mason Rudolph.
Another perfect weather day dawned Sunday for the final round attracting an estimated 25,000 fans. Those fans got their money’s worth as the fourth round featured an exciting and dramatic finish.
Boros immediately answered with a birdie of his own at the 10th hole narrowing the lead to just a shot.
Palmer broke fast from the starting gate and looked like he was going to run away with the title after he birdied three of the first four holes. Boros played steady golf and after Palmer bogeyed three holes, the two were tied for the lead.
Zarley, Heard, and Tom Weiskopf made runs at the leader that came up short. Boros, playing in the group behind Palmer, made the turn with Palmer holding a two-stroke lead thanks to a birdie at the 9th hole. Boros immediately answered with a birdie of his own at the 10th hole narrowing the lead to just a shot.
He then had to sweat out Boros’ finish where a birdie would tie him.
Palmer fired back when he stuck his six-iron on the 12th hole to 15 feet and made the birdie putt and regained his two-shot lead. He then ran into trouble on the 14th hole with a bad chip that resulted in a bogey. Boros, on the other hand, enjoyed good fortune when his tee shot bounced off a bridge and instead of a penalty stroke, he had an easy 8-iron into the green. He then made the putt for a birdie and a two-shot swing that caught Palmer.
Both players birdied the 15th hole and parred the 16th hole. On the 17th hole, Palmer blasted a drive down the middle and then wedged his approach shot to two feet making a birdie. He then made a routine par on the 18th hole, two-putting from 25 feet from almost the same spot that he three putted from the year prior to hand the tournament to Bob Lunn.
He then had to sweat out Boros’ finish where a birdie would tie him. Boros, chipping from off the green, electrified the crowd as his ball rolled up to hole and barely missed as it rolled by the cup, within an inch of falling, before running four feet past the hole. He made the putt for a solo second-place finish.
“Sure, that putt [last year] crossed my mind. It crossed my mind big. But this time, it was a little different.”
Palmer’s two-putt at the final hole was vindication for the previous year when a three-putt at the final hole kept him out of a playoff with Bob Lunn. Palmer’s four round total of 270 was one better than Lunn’s 271 the previous year and established a new tournament scoring record.
“When I got to number 18, I got to thinking,” Palmer told reporters after the round. “Sure, that putt [last year] crossed my mind. It crossed my mind big. But this time, it was a little different.”
Despite the bad news concerning the satellite tour event in Tampa, the week in Orlando was a huge success. The fact that Arnold Palmer, the “King,” captured the title was icing on the cake and Palmer was just beginning a long love affair with Orlando that would eventually result in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the tournament that the Florida Citrus Open eventually evolved into on the PGA TOUR schedule.
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BONUS STORY I
In 1965 Arnold Palmer played a one-day charity fundraiser tournament at Bay Hill sponsored by the Orlando Chamber of Commerce and he won the event. It began a love affair with the course and the area. In fact, Palmer told his wife Winnie that he wanted to own the place.
In 1970, Palmer took a five-year lease, with an option to buy, Bay Hill and in 1975 he took over the ownership of the property. At the 1971 Florida Citrus Invitational, Palmer commuted from a house at Bay Hill to Rio Pinar, the course being used for the tournament. He anticipated that construction on his condominium at Bay Hill would begin the week after the Citrus wound up. And then he won. In addition to the global popularity of Palmer, the win in Orlando carried a little “local boy makes good” vibe.
“I’m delighted. It was so exciting winning here in home territory,” Winnie Palmer said.
Frank Hubbard, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Citrus Golf Fund of Florida filled out the $30,000 first-place check and wrote “Arnold Palmer (Local Boy)” in the “pay to the order of” line.
Palmer eventually negotiated with the PGA TOUR to move the Citrus to Bay Hill which it did in 1979 and the event was re-christened the Bay Hill Citrus Classic. It became the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2007.
BONUS STORY II
The defending champion of the Florida Citrus Invitational in 1971, Bob Lunn, was paired with Art Wall, Jr., and Bruce Cramption for the first two rounds. It did not go well. After shooting a first round 70 and following with a second-round 73, Lunn admitted that the pairing “didn’t help any.”
Lunn double bogeyed the 11th after Crampton and Wall got into an argument. He also told reporters that he had “the utmost respect” for the veteran Wall.
“I like Bruce, I really do,” Lunn told reporters. “But the things that were going on out there didn’t help any. It was one of the most miserable 36 holes I ever played, in fact.”
For his part, Art Wall was sympathetic towards Lunn’s predicament saying, “I felt sorry for Lunn. The way he was playing those first two days, his name should have been up there on the leader board. It was just an unfortunate pairing.”
“It’s a private matter. Too private to talk about.”
Crampton refused to comment on the incidents of the week saying that “anything should come from Jack Tuthill.” Tuthill, the PGA tournament director, declined to shed any light on what happened.
“It’s a private matter,” Tuthill said. “Too private to talk about.”
The fiery Crampton was paired on Sunday with Dick Lotz who fired the low round of the day, a 66. He had an opposite opinion of being paired with Crampton from Lunn’s.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever played with a more congenial partner than Bruce,” Lotz told reporters. I’ve always enjoyed it when I was paired with him.”
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WHAT HOLE IS IT?
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PGA TOUR Wrap-Up | Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches
It took a Monday morning finish after a 3 ½ hour weather delay on Sunday, but they finally got the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in the books. Austin Eckroat played in front of nearly empty grandstands on his way to a three-stroke victory. Eckroat won his way into the remaining signature events on the tour as well as the Masters and the PGA Championship.
The top ten shots from the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches:
Read a recap of the tournament HERE.
Check out the Monday highlights from the PGA TOUR.
Clips You Might Have Missed
What a par.
Don’t see this very often.
That’s a good boy.
The winning putt.
Tour Backspin Quiz | 1971 PGA TOUR Trivia
Who filed a $1 million damage suit against the PGA TOUR in 1971?
Scroll down for answer
Swing Like a Pro
Julius Boros and Arnold Palmer during a 1968 Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match at the Cotton Bay Club in Eleuthera, The Bahamas.
Blind Shot
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Greg Norman sent the players on the LIV Tour a letter informing them that LIV would no longer pursue Official World Golf Ranking ranking points. Read it at Global Golf Post.
Paul Azinger talks with Adam Shupak of Golfweek and unloads on NBC and who may be his replacement.
Normal Sport, a newsletter from Kyle Porter of CBS is definitely worth your time. Check out this week’s editions which postulates that pro golf is the new college football HERE.
Tour Backspin Music
Elton John sitting in with Marc Bolton and T. Rex and they’re gonna get it on by banging a gong.
Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema tells the story of one of the tour’s biggest stars in the mid-1960s. A fascinating glimpse into the traveling caravan that was the PGA TOUR during an era where the fields were full of “Mad Men” era personalities. From a hardscrabble youth spent on the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Oakland suburb of San Leandro, to the temptations of Elko, Nevada, to the bright lights of the PGA TOUR, Uncorked tells a story of determination, redemption and, above all else, a love story that documents how Betty, Tony’s new wife, provided the direction and motivation for him to become a top star. Order on Amazon.
WHAT IS HIP?
Having fun in ‘71.
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Dave Hill filed a $1 million damage suit against the PGA TOUR on May 21, 1971. The suit charges the Tournament Players Division with violating Hill’s civil rights, violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Law, and an abridgement of his right to free speech. Hill felt these violations stemmed from the one-year probation the TOUR imposed on Hill due to “conduct unbecoming a professional.” The suit was eventually settled out of court.
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Final Thoughts
I wonder. What was that argument between Art Wall and Bruce Crampton about?
If I were riding in that cart in the Blind Shot feature, I would need new underwear and pants.
Julius Boros was certainly a chill guy.