Ampol Tournament Winners (Australian Golf Tournament)

The Ampol Tournament was a men's professional golf tournament played annually (sometimes twice annually) in Australia from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. It was named for its title sponsor Ampol, a petroleum company.

First played: 1947

Last played: 1959

Australian golfer Ossie Pickworth won the first four times the tournament was played, plus a fifth time. He was also runner-up three other times. He holds the tournament's 72-hole scoring record of 276 (1951), and the margin-of-victory record of 10 strokes (1949).

While the field was predominantly Australian, this event attracted an international audience for its high prize money. Americans Lloyd Mangrum and Dutch Harrison were among the champions.

So was South African Gary Player, who won it the final three years it was played (in the last year sharing the title with fellow future Hall-of-Famer Kel Nagle). Player's 1956 win was one of his earliest wins anywhere, and his first stroke-play win outside of South Africa.

Winners of the Ampol Tournament

(Note: The tournament was played twice in both 1948 and 1954.)

1947 — Ossie Pickworth, 294
1948 — Ossie Pickworth, 300
1948 — Ossie Pickworth, 293
1949 — Ossie Pickworth, 277
1950 — Alex Murray, 283
1951 — Ossie Pickworth, 276
1952 — Norman Von Nida, 288 (def. Ed "Porky" Oliver in playoff)
1952 — Lloyd Mangrum, 281
1953 — Ossie Pickworth, 288
1954 — Dutch Harrison, 292
1954 — Peter Thomson, 282
1955 — Eric Cremin, 285
1956 — Gary Player, 280
1957 — Gary Player, 281
1958 — No tournament
1959 — (tie) Kel Nagle, Gary Player, 212

Golf courses: The tournament was played at multiple golf courses around Australia, but it began and ended at The Australian Golf Club near Sydney. Other sites played multiple times included The Lakes Golf Club near Sydney and Yarra Yarra Golf Club near Melbourne.