PGA Tour Tucson Open Golf Tournament
The Tucson Open (called the Chrysler Classic of Tucson when it was last played) was a PGA Tour golf tournament played from the 1940s into the 2000s. It boasted a rich history of champions and notable happenings, and was part of the tour's early season "desert swing."
First played: 1945
Last played: 2006
The quality of tournament fields declined in the 2000s when the PGA Tour began scheduling it the same week as the WGC Match Play Championship. In 2007, the WGC event moved to Tucson and took the place of the Tucson Open.
Johnny Miller led the way with four wins, including three in a row from 1974-76. Only four golfers in PGA Tour history have won the same event more than three consecutive years.
Miller's win in 1974 was his third win in a row on tour that season — and they were the opening three events on his schedule. He was the first PGA Tour player to win three in a row to start a season.
Miller Barber won the 1972 tournament in an 18-hole playoff against George Archer. It was the last time a non-major PGA Tour tournament used the 18-hole playoff format.
Phil Mickelson is the only other golfer who won the Tucson Open more than twice. The first of Mickelson's three wins happened in 1991 when he was playing as an amateur, still in college. Mickelson is the last golfer to win a PGA Tour event after getting in as a sponsor exemption, and also the last amateur to win on tour.
Among the two-time winners, Jimmy Demaret, Lee Trevino and Jim Thorpe won their titles in back-to-back years. ... Ray Mangrum won the first tournament in 1945, and his brother Lloyd Mangrum won in 1949 and 1951. ... The tournament used a match play format for three years, 1984-86. ... The Tucson Open is the only tournament in PGA Tour history whose official name included, at different times, two different celebrities. Dean Martin and Joe Garagiola both served as hosts and their names were part of the tournament names in those years. ... The first of Dave Hill's 13 career PGA Tour wins happened here in 1961.
Also known as: This tournament went by many names in addition to Tucson Open over the years, including Tucson Open Invitational, Home of the Sun Open, Dean Martin Tucson Open, NBC Tucson Open, Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open, Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship, Seiko Tucson Open, Northern Telecom Tucson Open, Nortel Open, Tucson Chrysler Classic, Touchstone Energy Tucson Open, and, finally, Chrysler Classic of Tucson.
Winners of the Tucson Open
2006 — Kirk Triplett, 2662005 — Geoff Ogilvy, 269
2004 — Heath Slocum, 266
2003 — Frank Lickliter, 269
2002 — Ian Leggatt, 268
2001 — Garrett Willis, 273
2000 — Jim Carter, 269
1999 — Gabriel Hjertstedt, 276
1998 — David Duval, 269
1997 — Jeff Sluman, 275
1996 — Phil Mickelson, 273
1995 — Phil Mickelson, 269
1994 — Andrew Magee, 270
1993 — Larry Mize, 271
1992 — Lee Janzen, 270
1991 — a-Phil Mickelson, 272
1990 — Robert Gamez, 270
1989 — Not played
1988 — David Frost, 266
1987 — Mike Reid, 268
1986 — Jim Thorpe
1985 — Jim Thorpe def. Jack Renner, 4 & 3
1984 — Tom Watson def. Gil Morgan, 2 & 1
1983 — Gil Morgan, 271
1982 — Craig Stadler, 266
1981 — Johnny Miller, 265
1980 — Jim Colbert, 270
1979 — Bruce Lietzke, 265
1978 — Tom Watson, 274
1977 — Bruce Lietzke, 275
1976 — Johnny Miller, 274
1975 — Johnny Miller, 263
1974 — Johnny Miller, 272
1973 — Bruce Crampton, 277
1972 — Miller Barber, 273
1971 — J.C. Snead, 273
1970 — Lee Trevino, 275
1969 — Lee Trevino, 271
1968 — George Knudson, 273
1967 — Arnold Palmer, 273
1966 — Joe Campbell, 278
1965 — Bob Charles, 271
1964 — Jacky Cupit, 274
1963 — Don January, 266
1962 — Phil Rodgers, 263
1961 — Dave Hill, 269
1960 — Don January, 271
1959 — Gene Littler, 266
1958 — Lionel Hebert, 265
1957 — Dow Finsterwald, 269
1956 — Ted Kroll, 264
1955 — Tommy Bolt, 266
1954 — Not played
1953 — Tommy Bolt, 265
1952 — Henry Williams Jr., 274
1951 — Lloyd Mangrum, 269
1950 — Chandler Harper, 267
1949 — Lloyd Mangrum, 263
1948 — Skip Alexander, 264
1947 — Jimmy Demaret, 264
1946 — Jimmy Demaret, 268
1945 — Ray Mangrum, 268
Golf courses: Many golf courses in and around Tucson, Ariz., were used as the tournament site, including the El Rio Golf & Country Club for the first 18 years. The most commonly used other host site was the Tucson National Golf Club, which had been renamed to the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa by the time the tournament wrapped up there in 2006. Among the other courses in use were the Randolph Park Golf Course and Starr Pass Golf Club.
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