Cleveland Open Winners (Former PGA Tour Event)

The Cleveland Open is a former tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. It was a short-lived tournament, taking place only 10 times, but major champions won both the first and last playings.

First played: 1963

Last played: 1972

The Cleveland Open began with a bang: superstar Arnold Palmer beating two tough foes, Tommy Aaron and Tony Lema, to claim the first trophy in 1963. But the next year, it was Lema who beat Palmer in a playoff for the title. (Two weeks later, Lema won the 1964 British Open.)

The Sikeses won back-to-back in 1965 and 1966, Dan Sikes claiming the 1965 title and R.H. Sikes winning the following year. But they were not related. ... Two-time major championship winner David Graham earned the first of his eight career PGA Tour titles in this event in 1972. ... The Cleveland Open's 72-hole scoring record of 262 was set by Bobby Mitchell in 1971. Mitchell won by seven strokes, the tournament's largest margin of victory.

Winners of the PGA Tour Cleveland Open

1963 — Arnold Palmer, 273 (def. Tony Lema, Tommy Aaron in playoff)
1964 — Tony Lema, 270 (def. Arnold Palmer in playoff)
1965 — Dan Sikes, 272
1966 — R.H. Sikes, 268
1967 — Gardner Dickinson, 271
1968 — Dave Stockton, 276
1969 — Charles Coody, 271
1970 — Bruce Devlin, 268
1971 — Bobby Mitchell, 262
1972 — David Graham, 278 (def. Bruce Devlin in playoff)

Also known as: The first seven years it was played, the tournament's full named was "Cleveland Open Invitational." It was shortened to just Cleveland Open for its final three years.

Golf Courses: The tournament was played at Tanglewood Country Club, Beechmont Country Club, Aurora Country Club, Lakewood Country Club and Highland Park Municipal golf course over the course of its short history, all of them in Cleveland bedroom communities.