Weiskopf Putts His Way To First Win
Tom Weiskopf sinks a 30-foot eagle putt to defeat Al Geiberger in San Diego
What an historic day on the PGA TOUR at the American Express. Scroll down for the Clips You Might Have Missed and the PGA TOUR Wrap-Up for our take on the week in the Coachella Valley.
The PGA TOUR is currently in San Diego for the Farmers Insurance Open with a Wednesday start to avoid going head-to-head with the NFL championship games.
The DNA of this tournament goes back a long way, to 1952, when it started as the San Diego Open. It went through many name changes and in 1968, entertainer Andy Williams added his name, and helped raise the prize purse significantly. We’re featuring the story from that year this week. Scroll down to read.
We’ve written about the 1964 event HERE, the 1970 event HERE, and how Andy Williams transformed a sleepy tour stop into one of the biggest parties on tour HERE.
R.I.P. Jack Burke, Jr. (January 29th, 1923 - January 19th, 2024)
The golf world lost a true icon on Friday with the passing of Jack Burke, Jr. After serving in the Marines, Burke won two majors, both in 1956, the Masters where he rallied from eight strokes behind to catch, and pass, Ken Venturi in brutal windy conditions, and the PGA Championship, which was played at match play, where he defeated Ted Kroll 3 and 2 in the final. The check he won bounced, but the lifetime exemption that came with the victory allowed him to play the tour on his own terms. It also allowed him to build the Champions Golf Club in Houston where he learned that he loved teaching. He went on to teach major champions, including Phil Mickelson, and astronauts, including Alan Shepard.
Burke was the oldest living member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and the oldest living major champion, surpassing Gene Sarazen who was 97. That honor is now passed down to Gary Player, aged 88. Burke, and his great quotes, will be missed. R.I.P., Jackie.
In last week’s Tour Backspin Poll, we asked what you thought about the free drop that Carl Yuan received at the final hole of the Sony Open in Hawaii. In a close vote, 55% of respondents were good with the drop that Yuan received after hitting his second shot over, or into, the grandstand suites at the final hole. There were 45% of respondents who hated the ruling.
We now have had two contestants in the NBC “bake off” to take over Paul Azinger’s chair as an analyst in the television booth—Kevin Kisner and Brandle Chamblee. Chamblee got excellent reviews after The American Express. So let’s do a “Who Ya Got” for this week’s Tour Backspin Poll!
Tour Backspin Poll
This week’s Vintage Ad features the car you need to lead the “carefree country life,” but only for men “with personality.” Scroll down to view.
The swing in this week’s Swing Like a Pro features the powerful swing of Tom Weiskopf.
Journey back in time to the vanquished variety show television format and the dulcet tones of Andy Williams and Burt Bacharach with this week’s Tour Backspin Music. Pop some popcorn, get a drink, and get comfy. Listen HERE.
We’ve also included some interesting links in the Check This Out feature.
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 the day in golf history. Listen HERE.
We’re playing San Diego Open Trivia in this week’s Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
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Okay, we're on the tee, let's get going.
Enjoy!
Larry Baush
Weiskopf Sinks Bomb at Final Green to Win in San Diego
It is Tuesday, February 6th, 1968, and a field of close to 500 have assembled at Torrey Pines Golf Course and Stardust Country Club in San Diego for a two-day pro-am preceding the first round of the San Diego Open. This year, the entertainer Andy Williams, a 12-handicapper at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, added his name to the tournament now known as the Andy Williams San Diego Open.
Williams helped raise the prize purse to $150,000 from the previous year’s $71,000. In 1967 Bob Goalby won the tournament and the $13,200 first-place check while the winner of the 1968 event would pocket $30,000. The two-day pro-am, unusual for a PGA TOUR event, helped raise funds for the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, and to increase the purse of the tournament. The more amateur entry fees, the bigger the purse for the tournament.
Williams helped attract a star-studded amateur field for the pro-am with such luminaries as Bob Hope, Bob Newhart, Danny Thomas, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jim Backus, Robert Wagner, Vic Damone, Jack Lemmon, and Ray Bolger. And, of course, Williams himself.
The city of San Diego, the owner of Torrey Pines, pumped $65,000 into renovations of the course to bring it up to PGA standards. The renovations were conducted under the watchful eye of Paul Runyan, head pro at La Jolla Country Club, just down the road from Torrey.
Billy Casper, playing in his hometown, was the odds-on favorite to win as he was off to the best start of his 14 years on tour. He had already won $36,897 for the year including a win at the Los Angeles Open in January. Casper would have a lot of competition from players such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Julius Boros, and Al Geiberger.
One player who flew under the radar was young Tom Weiskopf who often struggled with his emotions on the golf course. He was also known as a player who couldn’t seal the deal when he got into contention. In one case, at the 1967 Colonial National Invitational, he was leading going into the fourth round. He opened that round with two birdies and then bogeyed 13 of the last 16 holes, shot an 81, and ended in a tie for 11th.
“Heck, the course is easy. I missed only three greens, and I reached all the par fives in two shots.”
After the first day of the pro-am opening act, Ray Floyd held a one-stroke lead shooting a six-under-par 66 at the 6,808-yard Torrey Pines. He won $750 for the round that included six birdies and an eagle.
“Heck, the course is easy,” Floyd said after his round. “I missed only three greens, and I reached all the par fives in two shots. Of course, the weather was nice, and it might play harder with some wind.”
Floyd added another $750 to his pocketbook after he added a 67, at Stardust Country Club, to his first round 66 to win the pro-am.
The tournament kicked off for real with the first round on Thursday, February 8th at Torrey Pines and Floyd’s hot streak continued as he shot a 66. It wasn’t good enough for the lead however, as Jimmy Powell, a 33-year-old teaching pro at Indian Hills Country Club in Riverside, CA, came in two strokes lower. Floyd was in second place along with Rod Funseth, Ronnie Reif, and Tom Weiskopf.
Nicklaus came in with a 67 along with Dave Hill and Marty Fleckman. Casper thrilled the hometown fans with a 68. Also at 68 were six other players: rookie Eldridge Miles, Johnny Pott, winner of the Crosby National Pro-Am in January, Al Geiberger, Kermit Zarley, Al Balding, and Steve Spray.
“I’m very fortunate to have shot a round like this with so many great players here,” Powell said after his round. “But I’ve been playing well lately, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself.”
All the players were complimentary about the condition of the course, especially the greens which they described as smooth.
“The greens are super,” said Dave Hill who only needed 29 putts while Powell and Weiskopf only needed 27 putts.
Palmer was disappointed with his opening round 72 saying, “I’m pretty tired—wound up from playing so much golf lately. But that’s no excuse for not shooting a good round.”
Powell was not able to keep up his good play in the second round as he slipped to a 76 for a two-round total of 140. Weiskopf kept his putter hot and shot a 68 for a 134 total, 10-under-par. He held a one-stroke lead over Dave Hill who shot a second round 68. At 136 was Nicklaus (67-69) while Geiberger was at 137 along with Bob Smith.
“I’m driving this course like a wild man. I don’t think I hit two fairways all day. I should be 10 over.”
Weiskopf credited a new mindset for his good play telling reporters, “My attitude is a lot better this year. I’m trying to be patient out there and not get disappointed with myself when I make a bad shot. I’m trying to think myself around the golf course.”
Dave Hill was amazed that he was able to score so well.
“I’m driving this course like a wild man,” he told reporters. “I don’t think I hit two fairways all day. I should be 10 over.”
Nicklaus looked like he was going to make a move after shooting a 32 on the front nine. Then the weather turned cold and blustery as he played the back nine.
“I was going pretty good,” he said after the round. “Then I got cold and turned off like a faucet.”
Palmer barely made the cut after a second straight 72 while Casper came in with a 72 for a 140 total.
“There are no scoreboards on the course, and we were talking on 17 about where we might stand. All three of us thought several players had passed us and that somebody would be at least 13 or 14 under par. We were quite surprised when 11-under held up.”
In Saturday’s third round, Nicklaus got hot at the end of his front nine. He hit his second shot at the 527-yard par-5 9th hole to two feet and made the putt for an eagle. He headed to the back nine with his playing partners Al Geiberger and Tom Wieskopf. When the three players reached the final hole, they all were surprised that they were leading the tournament.
“There are no scoreboards on the course, and we were talking on 17 about where we might stand,” Weiskopf explained to Dave Lewis of the Long Beach Independent Press Telegram. “All three of us thought several players had passed us and that somebody would be at least 13 or 14 under par. We were quite surprised when 11-under held up.”
“Don’t worry about me, I’m all right. Go get your birdie four.”
Nicklaus and Geigberger caught Weiskopf at the 18th hole with birdies. Weiskopf’s second shot hit a spectator in the head. When he reached the man, who was being attended to by a doctor, about 75-yards from the green, the man said, “Don’t worry about me, I’m all right. Go get your birdie four.”
Weiskopf almost did as his 30- foot birdie putt just missed. Sunday’s round would begin with a three-way tie for the lead.
Geiberger laughed as he talked with Lewis about his round saying, “If I could have just putted better.” He sank a pair of 20-foot putts for birdies, another from 18-feet for birdie, and two more from 13-feet for birdies.
Nicklaus had mixed feelings about his round saying, “I’m quite pleased to be in this position and I’m fortunate to have scored as well as I did when I wasn’t really playing too good.”
Weiskopf, on the other hand, did not have good feelings about his round telling Lewis, “I played both good and bad . . . very badly, in fact, on the last four holes.”
Bob Lunn shot up the leader board with a Saturday 66 and was at 206, just one shot behind the leaders. Hill’s erratic driving cost him in the third round as he shot a 72 and was at 207. Floyd and Marty Fleckman both shot 69 and were at 208. Casper was well down the leader board at 211 and Palmer was even further down at 215. It was all setting up for an exciting final round on Sunday.
“If you shoot a 68 in the last round, you’ll win it,”
On Saturday night, Weiskopf, his wife Jeanne, and R.H. Sikes attended a basketball game between the San Diego Rockets and the Cincinnati Royals. Between the halves Weiskopf leaned over to Sikes.
“R.H., I feel if I can shoot a 68 in the last round, I’ll have a good chance to win it,” Weiskopf said.
“If you shoot a 68 in the last round, you’ll win it,” Sikes replied.
Under dark skies and cool temperatures, Sunday’s round delivered bigtime on the excitement meter. Six of the seven leaders birdied the first hole before Weiskopf grabbed the lead for himself with a birdie on the fourth while his co-leaders, Geiberger and Nicklaus, both bogeyed the hole. Nicklaus added another bogey on the next hole and fell from contention.
“Coming on as hot as a grass fire.”
Meanwhile, Floyd began a charge that Lewis of the Independent Press Telegram described as, “coming on as hot as a grass fire,” with birdies on three of his first six holes. His charge petered out when his birdie putts on the 16th and 17th holes spun out of the cup. He kept his hopes alive when he stuck his approach shot at the final hole to three-feet and made the putt to finish at 13-under for the week. After signing his card, he went to the pressroom to talk with reporters and watch the finish on television.
Geiberger caught Weiskopf on the 6th hole when he buried a 20-foot birdie putt. There was now a three-way tie for the lead as Bob Lunn had also birdied the 6th hole. Geiberger then grabbed the solo lead on the next hole when both Weiskopf and Lunn made bogey.
Weiskopf had to put his new mental attitude to work after that bogey.
“Stick in there and do the best you can,” Weiskopf told himself as he related to Bill Shirley, writer for Los Angeles Times.
The pep talk helped as he sank a 25-footer for birdie at the 8th hole to take the lead as Geiberger’s approach shot went over the green and he took a bogey. Weiskopf went into the 15th hole with a two-shot lead but he dropped a shot when he missed a short putt after a spectacular bunker shot. Geiberger then caught Weiskopf with a birdie at the 16th.
“Goodness gracious! Take it easy and drive it in the middle.”
The two players arrived at the 18th tee, still tied, and they finally caught a glimpse of the leader board.
“Goodness gracious!” Weiskopf said to himself when he saw that Floyd was also tied for the lead. “Take it easy and drive it in the middle.”
“I knew exactly what I had to do,” Geiberger said after his round.
Weiskopf followed his self-advice and hit one of his best drives that went almost 300-yards down the fairway giving him a chance to reach the green in two on the par-5 hole. Geiberger, who had been out-driven by Weiskopf all day, hit a good drive giving him a chance to get home in two, as well.
Geiberger’s second shot ended up 70 feet from the hole, just off the green while Weiskopf’s second shot ended up a foot off the green, about 30 feet from the hole. Geiberger faced a tricky shot from a bad lie. He tried to hit his chip shot into the apron to kill the speed, but his ball ran downhill 15 feet past the hole.
As Weiskopf related to the press, including Lewis of the Independent Press Telegram and Shirley of the Los Angeles Times, what he was thinking after he’d watched Geiberger’s shot.
“I told myself to take it easy and just try to lag the putt close to the hole,” he said.
His putt for eagle ran down the hill, broke about a foot and a half before it straightened out, and as Weiskopf’s eyes widened in anticipation, it then dove into the cup for the title.
“I had no idea I was going to make it,” he said. “I just wanted to get it close. But when the ball got two inches from the cup, I knew it was in.”
Indeed, as a picture from the Associated Press shows, Weiskopf watched anxiously as the ball gets near the hole and then when it drops he chops the air with an overhand right fist pump as the spectators surrounding the green erupt.
After the crowd around the green had settled down, Geiberger got over his birdie putt that was worth $18,000 if he made it. Miss it and he would be in a tie with Floyd and his check would be $14,625. Back in the pressroom, Floyd nervously smoked a cigarette as he watched Geiberger line up his putt. The putt was worth $3,375 to Floyd, the difference between a tie for second finish, or a solo third finish. Geiberger completed a great putting week by ramming the 15-footer home for the birdie.
With the eagle at the last hole in a tight and exciting finish, Tom Weiskopf put any doubts about him being able to seal the deal when in contention to bed. His check for $30,000 vaulted him into the first-place position on the official money list. He would finish the year in the third spot on the money list with $152,947, behind Billy Casper ($205,169) and Jack Nicklaus ($155,286). He solidified a place in the upper echelons of the PGA TOUR and it all started at Andy William’s event in San Diego in 1968.
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BONUS STORY
Tom Weiskopf made 11 birdies and an eagle in his four rounds at the 1968 Andy Williams San Diego Open. He played the four par-5s on Sunday in 5-under-par. But it may have been his putting that secured the victory.
For the first time in his life, he played in a 72-hole tournament without a three-putt. If you went back a week, to the Bob Hope Desert Classic, his streak would be 144 holes.
“I’m not a great putter,” he told the press, “And I’m not a bad putter.”
His putting during those two weeks in 1968 would tend to tip the scales more toward the great putter label.
The Tour Backspin Show podcast episode with Chuck Courtney is unlocked for everyone. Chuck talks about his career on the PGA TOUR that lasted over a decade, growing up at La Jolla Country Club, his mentor Paul Runyan, and his friend Carl Welty. Listen HERE.
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WHAT HOLE IS IT?
Are you on the leader board?
Congratulations to Doug Poston who correctly identified #5 at PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, CA, in last week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest. Doug beat out three other correct answers in the random drawing and a prize pack is on its way to him. 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.
PGA TOUR Wrap-Up | The American Express
History was made on Sunday when Nick Dunlap became the seventh amateur to win on the PGA TOUR. At 20 years and 29 days of age, he becomes the second-youngest winner in tour history, behind Charles Kocsis who won the 1931 Michigan Open.
Dunlap entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over Sam Burns, a lead that evaporated after a double bogey six on the seventh hole where he hit his drive into the water. A birdie at the 16th got him back into a tie with Burns and after Dunlap hit the treacherous par-3 17th green while Burns hit his tee shot into the water, he took over the lead. A clutch up-and-down at the final hole gave him a one-stroke victory over the fast closing Christiaan Bezuidenhout
See all the highlights from the PGA TOUR HERE.
Clips You Might Have Missed
What a career—for a 20-year-old, no less.
We’ve been impressed with Joe Highsmith ever since we followed him in sectional qualifying for the 2021 U.S. Open. Nice start for the rookie.
So close for Justin Thomas.
Okay, what’s the punishment?
Tour Backspin Quiz | Palm Springs Golf Classic
Who is the only amateur to win the San Diego Open, and what year did he win it? Extra credit: What did he win?
Scroll down for answer
Swing Like a Pro
Tom Weiskopf’s swing.
Blind Shot
Click for something fun. 👀
More on Jack Burke, Jr. and the toughest Masters to win. From Golf Digest.
The Tour Backspin Music
Andy Williams and Burt Bacharach in 1968. Click HERE to listen.
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?
In 1968 it was all about the kilties, slip-ons, and buckles on your shoes.
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
San Diego native Gene Littler won the 1956 San Diego Open. He won a five-piece tea set. As a professional, he finished runner-up three times (1969, 1974, and 1978).
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Final Thoughts
Did you see the finish of The American Express? Dunlap was something else.
Andy Williams was one of those acts that both you and your parents could watch.
The Blind Shot is an oldie, but a goodie.