"You Wonder What You Have To Do To Win"

Lee Elder's attempt to win a Masters invitation at the 1972 Greater Hartford Open

Jun 23, 2022

How much fun was it to watch the U.S. Open at The Country Club? What a great venue. Congratulations to Matt Fitzpatrick for a gutsy final round and adding a U.S. Open title at The Country Club to go along with his 2013 U.S. Amateur title at the same course.

This week, the PGA TOUR returns to action in the Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. This tournament dates back to 1952 when it was known as the Insurance City Open. It was renamed the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and then Sammy Davis, Jr. added his name as tournament host in 1973. Canon was a title sponsor from 1983 to 2002, when Buick took over title sponsorship. In 2006, Travelers Insurance became the title sponsor. We’re backspinning to 1972 when Lee Trevino played the spoiler.

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“He Wants So Bad To Play In The Masters”

Lee Trevino hoists the Greater Hartford Open trophy in 1972 (photo: Hartford Courant)

It’s Monday, September 4th, 1972, on the 18th green at Weatherford Country Club in Weathersfield, CT. It’s the final round of the Greater Hartford Open and Lee Elder is staring down a six-foot birdie putt that would win him not only his first PGA TOUR tournament, but a coveted Masters Invitation as well. Lee Trevino had just birdied the 18th hole to tie Elder and now watched to see if he would be in playoff, or have to settle for a runner-up finish.

Would Elder secure his first PGA TOUR title, and an invitation to Augusta for the Masters? Let’s backspin to find out.

The 1972 Greater Hartford Open began on a Friday, an anomaly of scheduling to take advantage of the long Labor Day weekend that would feature a Monday finish. Bert Yancy grabbed the first-round lead with a score of 63.

Yancy said it was “the best round I’ve shot all year. Usually, I get uptight after a couple of birdies, but I was relaxed all the way through.”

“If today’s round is my worst of the tournament,” Trevino declared, “then I have an excellent chance to win.”

Trevino and Elder were tied for second at 64 and a group of three players, Larry Wood, Curtis Sifford, and Joe Carr were another stroke back.

Deane Beman, who shot a 65 in the first round, teed off early on Saturday in the second round and after firing a 66, hung around the clubhouse to see if that was good enough to give him possession of first place going into the third round.

Trevino started his second round with a bogey but was able to secure four birdies, including one on the final hole, for a round of 68 which was good enough to tie Beman for the lead.

“If today’s round is my worst of the tournament,” Trevino declared, “then I have an excellent chance to win.”

Lee Elder added a 69 to his first round 64 and stood one-stroke back of the leaders. Elder was tied with Paul Moran (67-66), Rick Rhoades (67-66), Tom Shaw (67-66) and Dave Stockton (66-67).

Bert Yancy lost the magic that he felt in the first round and shot an even-par 71 for a total of 134, three strokes off the lead.

“It seemed like I was hitting with the wrong club all day,” Yancy said after his round, adding that the wind fooled him more than a couple of times during his round. “I feel lucky to be just two back.”

“I just go out and play.”

Earlier in the year, Curtis Sifford decided on a different approach to his game, and it paid off on Sunday in the third round.

“I’m not shooting for scores,” he informed reporters after his round. “I started out that way early in the year, but I decided to stop. I just go out and play.”

Sifford, the nephew of Charles Sifford, shot a 67 that included four birdies and it was good enough to propel him into a tie for the lead with Ralph Johnston, playing his second year on the tour, who shot his third straight 67.

“I’ve picked up some confidence in the last week or so,” Johnston said after his round.

The round featured strong wind gusts causing problems for the players. Second-round leaders Beman and Trevino fell off the lead. Beman shot a 70 and sat one-stroke off the lead while Trevino shot a 72 and trailed the leaders by three. Elder remained in contention with a round of 69 putting him just one-stroke off the lead. Rhoades was three strokes back as was Tom Shaw and Paul Moran. The best round of the day was a 65 by Ken Still.

Labor Day, 1975 dawned as a fair day with mild temperatures in the mid-60s. The temperature would hoover around the mid-70s with winds around 10 mph as the leaders teed off in the final round of the Greater Hartford Open.

Johnston, the third-round co-leader, along with Curtis Sifford, came out like a man possessed shooting a 31 on the front nine. Lee Trevino and Lee Elder were not going to allow Johnston to walk away with the title, however.

Trevino started his round with an eagle on the 502-yard, par-5 second hole. He then added pars on every hole until he birdied the 10th hole. He then added three more birdies on the next four holes.

“I thought I pushed that putt a little.”

Elder picked up his first birdie on the short 5th hole but handed back that stroke gained to par with a bogey on the 9th hole after missing the green. He was able to add two more birdies before he arrived at the 17th tee. Trevino was playing the 18th hole and Johnston was mired in a disaster on the 15th hole.

Johnston had just birdied the 14th hole to take a three-stroke lead. On the 15th tee, Johnston sprayed his tee shot into the woods, then took two shots to get out of the woods before three-putting from 15-feet for a triple bogey.

Elder then birdied the 215-yard, par-3 17th hole while Trevino birdied the 18th hole, sinking a dramatic 16-foot putt. They were now tied for the lead with Johnston and Beman one-stroke back. Trevino signed his scorecard and then watched as first Elder finished, followed by Johnston and Beman.

“I thought I pushed that putt a little,” Trevino admitted. “But it didn’t go the way I thought it would go, and since it dropped in, I can’t complain.”

“It’s my jinx hole,”

Elder put his approach shot on the final hole to six feet but then missed the putt that would have given him the championship as well as the coveted invitation to the Masters, the first Black to receive an invitation.

Both Johnston and Beman faced short birdie putts that would put them in the playoff with Trevino and Elder. Both missed. Trevino and Elder headed back to the 15th tee to begin the playoff. Trevino had bogeyed the 15th hole in the last round while Elder had trouble with the 15th in every round.

“It’s my jinx hole,” Elder said later.

“But I wouldn’t let my wife beat me if I could help it.”

Trevino sent his tee shot down the middle of the fairway while Elder found the right rough. Both players found the putting surface with their approach shots with Trevino facing an 18-foot putt while Elder had a 20-footer. Elder watched as his putt refused to fall. Trevino then rammed in his putt for the title.

While he was very pleased with his win, Trevino also felt like “a heel” for denying Elder the title that would have rewarded him with the Masters invitation.

“I know how much this means to him, with the Masters and all,” Trevino said after the round. “I felt good that I had won, and then bad. But I wouldn’t let my wife beat me if I could help it.”

Elder was despondent after losing the playoff. “You wonder what you have to do to win,” he said.

Elder won $14,300 while Trevino pocketed $25,000. Trevino was off to Akron, OH to play in the World Series of Golf, qualifying as the “Champion Golfer of the Year” at the Open Championship. He would face Jack Nicklaus (Masters and U.S. Open), Gary Player (PGA Championship) and Gay Brewer, winner of the Canadian Open who qualifies if another player wins multiple majors.

For Lee Elder, he would have to wait for that Masters invitation. He finally secured his trip to Augusta by winning the 1974 Monsanto Open. He played in, and missed the cut, in the 1975 Masters. But two years earlier, he came so close to securing that invitation at the Greater Hartford Open before being deprived by Lee Trevino in a playoff.

Gary Player and Lee Elder during an exhibition in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November, 1971 (photo: Getty Images)

Lee Trevino played the role of a spoiler in 1972. Read our Bonus Story for more.

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Bonus Story

Lee Trevino played the role of spoiler during the 1972 PGA TOUR. Not only did he deny Lee Elder a Masters invitation, but he also spoiled Jack Nicklaus’ well-laid plans to win the Grand Slam, golf’s illusory achievement of winning all four major championships in one calendar year.

In July, at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, Trevino successfully defended his Open Championship title to retain ownership of the Claret Jug. A final round course-record tying 65 by Jack Nicklaus was marred by a one-over-par finish over the last three holes, and he came up one-stroke shy of Trevino.

Trevino shot an even-par 71 that included a chip-in on the 17th hole.