The Tacoma Open Invitational was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played in 1948 and won by Ed Oliver in a one-hole playoff with Cary Middlecoff after the two had survived a five-man, 18-hole playoff — the first in tour history. Oliver eagled the final playoff hole; Middlecoff birdied it. [1] Byron Nelson, who in 1945 won a record-setting 18 tournaments including 11 consecutively, ended up tied for ninth in the tournament — his worst finish of the year. [2] In 1945, the event played as the Tacoma Open and was won by Jimmy Hines by one stroke over Harold "Jug" McSpaden. [1]
Both events were held at Fircrest Golf Club, an 18-hole, par-71 private club located just west of Tacoma. Construction on the course began in 1923 under the direction of Arthur Vernon Macan. It opened in 1924. [2] [3] Fircrest hosted the Carling Open Invitational in 1960.
Winners
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up | Winner's share ( $) |
Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma Open Invitational | ||||||||
| 1948 | Ed Oliver | 
United States |
274 | −10 | Playoff |
Chuck Congdon
Vic Ghezzi
Fred Haas
Cary Middlecoff |
2,150 | [4] |
| 1946–1947: No tournament | ||||||||
| Tacoma Open | ||||||||
| 1945 | Jimmy Hines |
United States |
275 | −5 | 1 stroke |
Jug McSpaden |
2,000 | [5] |
References
- ^ a b Paul Nyhan (August 21, 2002). "Tour History in Washington". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ a b "Fircrest Golf Club - About Us". Archived from the original on 2009-02-14. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
- ^ "Welcome to Fircrest Golf Club". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
- ^ "Ed Oliver Wins 5-man Playoff". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. September 21, 1948. p. 16.
- ^ "Jimmy Hines Tocama Winner". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. October 8, 1945. p. 7.