Robinson Open Golf Classic (Former PGA Tour)
First played: 1968
Last played: 1973
The Robinson Open Golf Classic was played in the Southern Illinois town of Robinson, population in the 7,000s at the time of the tournament. The tournament's history dates to 1962 when the city first offered a tournament with a purse of $2,000. The event kept growing until, in 1968, locals managed to put up a purse of $25,000 and draw the PGA Tour. But even though the purses continued growing (up to $125,000), it only lasted six years.
Bob Goalby's win in 1969 was his first since the 1968 Masters. He set the tournament's 18-hole scoring record with a 62 that year. The 72-hole scoring record was set by George Knudson in 1970 with a 268.
Labron Harris Jr.'s only PGA Tour win happened here in 1971. Deane Beman, future PGA Tour commissioner, earned the last of his four wins here in 1973, which turned out to be the final tournament.
Five of the six times the Robinson Open Golf Classic was played, it ended in a playoff. Those winners appear below; the losers in those playoffs (starting from 1969 and running through 1973, respectively) were Jim Wiechers, George Archer, Bert Yancey, Dave Marad, and, the last time, Bob Dickson and Bunky Henry.
Also known as: The tournament debuted as the Robinson Open, then, for three years, was known as the Robinson Open Golf Classic. In its final two years, the tournament names were Robinson's Fall Golf Classic and Shrine-Robinson Open Golf Classic.
Winners of the Robinson Open Golf Classic
1968 — Dean Refram, 2701969 — Bob Goalby, 273 (def. Jim Wiechers in playoff)
1970 — George Knudson, 268 (def. George Archer in playoff)
1971 — Labron Harris Jr., 274 (def. Bert Yancey in playoff)
1972 — Grier Jones, 273 (def. Dave Marad in playoff)
1973 — Deane Beman, 271 (def. Bob Dickson and Bunky Henry in playoff)
Golf course: The host site for all six years was Crawford County Country Club in Robinson, Illinois.
