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Azalea Open Invitational

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The Azalea Open Invitational was a golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour, held at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington. Last played in November 1971 as an unofficial event;[1][2] it was an official PGA Tour event in 1945 and from 1949 through 1970. The Heritage in South Carolina debuted in 1969 and soon displaced it on the schedule.[3]

Azalea Open Invitational
Tournament information
LocationWilmington, North Carolina
Established1945
Course(s)Cape Fear Country Club
Par71
Length6,575 yards (6,012 m)[1]
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$35,000
Month playedNovember
Final year1971
Tournament record score
Aggregate270 Billy Maxwell (1955)
To par−18 as above
Final champion
United States George Johnson
Location map
Cape Fear Country Club is located in the United States
Cape Fear Country Club
Cape Fear Country Club
Location in the United States
Cape Fear Country Club is located in North Carolina
Cape Fear Country Club
Cape Fear Country Club
Location in North Carolina

It was also played under the names of the Azalea Open and the Wilmington Azalea Open; all were centerpieces of the city's Azalea Festival. Cape Fear was designed by noted course architect Donald Ross.[3]

From 1950 through 1965, the Azalea Open was a tune-up event for the first major of the year, The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Jerry Barber, the winner of the PGA Championship in 1961, won the Wilmington event three times (1953, 1961, 1963). Arnold Palmer won in 1957 and nearly repeated,[4] falling by a stroke in an 18-hole playoff in 1958; the difference was a penalty stroke he called on himself.[5][6]

Total prize money was initially $10,000, increasing to $12,500 in 1955 and $15,000 in 1958. It reduced to $12,000 in 1961 before increasing to $20,000 from 1962 to 1964. Prize money was $28,750 in 1965, $22,800 in 1966, $35,000 from 1967 to 1969 and $60,000 in 1970. The final non-tour event in 1971 had prize money of $35,000.

Tournament hosts

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  • 1949–1971 – Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington, North Carolina
  • 1945 – Mobile Country Club, Mobile, Alabama

Winners

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Year Tour[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)		 Ref.
Azalea Open Invitational
1971   George Johnson 274 −10 Playoff   Ralph Johnston 7,000 [1][2]
1970 PGAT   Cesar Sanudo 269 −15 1 stroke   Bobby Mitchell 12,000 [7]
1969 PGAT   Dale Douglass 275 −9 3 strokes   Jim Langley
  Larry Mowry
  Bob Stone
  Terry Wilcox		 5,000 [8]
1968 PGAT   Steve Reid 271 −13 Playoff   Gary Player 5,000 [9]
1967 PGAT   Randy Glover 278 −10 Playoff   Joe Campbell 5,000 [10]
1966 PGAT   Bert Yancey 278 −10 1 stroke   Bob Johnson 3,200 [11]
1965 PGAT   Dick Hart 276 −12 Playoff   Phil Rodgers 3,850 [12]
Azalea Open
1964 PGAT   Al Besselink (2) 282 −6 1 stroke   Lionel Hebert 2,700 [13]
1963 PGAT   Jerry Barber (3) 274 −14 5 strokes   Larry Beck
  Bruce Crampton
  Doug Ford
  Billy Maxwell
  Jack Rule Jr.		 2,800 [14]
1962 PGAT   Dave Marr 281 −7 Playoff   Jerry Steelsmith 2,800 [15]
1961 PGAT   Jerry Barber (2) 213 −3 Playoff   Chandler Harper 1,200 [16]
1960 PGAT   Tom Nieporte 277 −11 2 strokes   Gay Brewer 2,000 [17]
1959 PGAT   Art Wall Jr. 282 −6 3 strokes   Mike Souchak 2,000 [18]
1958 PGAT   Howie Johnson 282 −6 Playoff   Arnold Palmer 2,000 [5][6]
1957 PGAT   Arnold Palmer 282 −6 1 stroke   Dow Finsterwald 1,700 [4]
1956 PGAT   Mike Souchak 273 −15 1 stroke   Dick Mayer 2,200 [19]
1955 PGAT   Billy Maxwell 270 −18 1 stroke   Mike Souchak 2,200 [20]
1954 PGAT   Bob Toski 273 −15 3 strokes   George Fazio 2,000 [21]
1953 PGAT   Jerry Barber 276 −12 1 stroke   Doug Ford
  Ted Kroll
  Johnny Palmer		 2,000 [22]
1952 PGAT   Jimmy Clark 272 −16 3 strokes   George Fazio
  Jim Turnesa		 2,000 [23][24]
Wilmington Azalea Open
1951 PGAT   Lloyd Mangrum 281 −7 1 stroke   Jim Ferrier
  Ed Furgol
  Jim Turnesa		 2,000 [25][26]
1950 PGAT   Dutch Harrison 280 −8 2 strokes   George Fazio 2,000 [27]
Wilmington Open
1949 PGAT   Henry Ransom 276 −12 2 strokes   Fred Haas
  Bob Hamilton
  Bobby Locke
  Cary Middlecoff		 2,000 [28][29]
Azalea Open
1946   Al Besselink (a)  
1945 PGAT   Sammy Byrd 283 −5 Playoff   Dutch Harrison 2,000 [30][31]

Notes

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  1. ^ PGAT − PGA Tour.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "George Johnson grabs Azalea golf tourney". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. November 22, 1971. p. 31.
  2. ^ a b Collins, Corky (November 22, 1971). "Johnson wins Azalea in playoff". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). p. 1D.
  3. ^ a b Blondin, Alan (May 4, 2017). "Wilmington used to be home to star-studded PGA Tour event". PGA of America. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Palmer captures Azalea by stroke". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. April 1, 1957. p. 1C.
  5. ^ a b "Johnson wins Azalea Open". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. April 1, 1958. p. 1C.
  6. ^ a b "Howie Johnson takes Azalea; penalty helps". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. April 1, 1958. p. 3, sec. 3.
  7. ^ "Sanudo by one". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. October 5, 1970.
  8. ^ "Douglass gets 1st win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 21, 1969. p. 11.
  9. ^ "Reid wins Azalea Open in sudden-death final". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. April 22, 1968. p. 6C.
  10. ^ "Glover tops Campbell to take Azalea play". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. April 17, 1967. p. 12.
  11. ^ "Azalea win goes to Yancey". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. April 18, 1966. p. 12.
  12. ^ "Hart captures Azalea playoff from Rodgers". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. March 29, 1965. p. 12.
  13. ^ "Triple bogey doesn't keep Al Besselink from victory". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 31, 1964. p. 8.
  14. ^ "Golf event win taken by Barber". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. April 1, 1963. p. 20.
  15. ^ "Playoff won by Dave Marr". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. April 2, 1962. p. 17.
  16. ^ "It's sudden-death...and Barber is killer". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. April 3, 1961. p. 1C.
  17. ^ "Tom Nieporte golf victor". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. April 4, 1960. p. 26.
  18. ^ "Azalea Open won by Wall; Souchak 2d". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. March 31, 1959. p. 2B.
  19. ^ "Souchak takes Azalea Open". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. April 2, 1956. p. 16.
  20. ^ "Billy Maxwell rallies to win Azalea golf". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. April 4, 1955. p. 19.
  21. ^ "Toski's 273 takes first place Azalea Open money". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. March 30, 1954. p. 14.
  22. ^ "Barber wins Azalea Open". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. April 6, 1953. p. 2B.
  23. ^ Williams, John (March 31, 1952). "Clark wins Azalea Open, breaks record with 272". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). p. 1.
  24. ^ "Clark cards 272 to take Azalea Open". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. March 31, 1952. p. 20.
  25. ^ "Mangrum wins Azalea tournament". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. April 2, 1951. p. 9.
  26. ^ "Lloyd Mangrum wins in Azalea". The Spokesman-Review. (Washington). Associated Press. April 2, 1951. p. 8.
  27. ^ "Dutch Harrison wins Azalea Open". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. April 3, 1950. p. 10.
  28. ^ "Henry Ransom Wins $10,000 Tourney". The Spokesman-Review. (Washington). Associated Press. April 25, 1949. p. 8.
  29. ^ "Wilmington Open taken by Ransom". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. April 25, 1949. p. 1, sec.4.
  30. ^ "Byrd, Harrison Finish in a Tie". The Spokesman-Review. (Washington). Associated Press. November 19, 1945. p. 9.
  31. ^ "Sam Byrd Cops Azalea Crown". The Spokesman-Review. (Washington). Associated Press. November 20, 1945. p. 8.
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34°13′12″N 77°55′05″W / 34.22°N 77.918°W / 34.22; -77.918

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