Looking Back: Eastern Open Invitational on PGA Tour

The Eastern Open Invitational was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s. It was played annually in Maryland, for the first nine years and last two years at Mt. Pleasant Municipal in Baltimore, and for three years in-between at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Lutherville, near Towson.

First played: 1950

Last played: 1962

This tournament was named just "Eastern Open" for its first seven years. The "Invitational" was added to the tourney name beginning with the eighth year.

Winners of the PGA Tour Eastern Open Invitational

1950 — Lloyd Mangrum, 279
1951 — Cary Middlecoff, 279
1952 — Sam Snead, 275
1953 — Dick Mayer, 279
1954 — Bob Toski, 277
1955 — Frank Stranahan, 280
1956 — Arnold Palmer, 277
1957 — Tommy Bolt, 276
1958 — Art Wall Jr., 276 (def. Jack Burke Jr. and Bob Rosburg in playoff)
1959 — Dave Ragan, 273
1960 — Gene Littler, 273
1961 — Doug Sanders, 275
1962 — Doug Ford, 279

There were no multiple winners — 13 years, 13 different champions. Art Wall Jr. and Gene Littler came closest, each finishing runner-up by one stroke and then later claiming the title. Littler did it in back-to-back years: second to Dave Ragan in 1959, winner in 1960. Doug Ford, winner in the final year of 1962, also had a second-place finish earlier.

The largest winning margin was seven strokes by Bob Toski over Jack Burke Jr. in 1954. The 72-hole scoring record was 273, first set by Ragan in 1959 and tied by Littler in 1960.

Arnold Palmer's victory in the 1956 Eastern Open was the third of his 62 career PGA Tour wins. Ford's win in the 1962 Eastern Open Invitational was the second-to-last of his 19 career PGA Tour victories.

The 1950s/60s Eastern Open should not be confused with the Doral-Eastern Open, which was the name under which the long-running PGA Tour event at Doral Resort in Florida was played for a time. There was also a different tournament known as the Eastern Open (or Eastern Open Championship) played in the 1920s.