To our younger generation of readers in the area it may seem that Philadelphia has a weak PGA TOUR golf history.  They may only know of Aronimink’s current two year stint as AT&T National host and the brief stint early in the 2000’s in which the SEI Pennsylvania Classic was held at Waynesborough Country Club as a poorly attended late season event.  That couldn’t be further from the truth and doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of Philadelphia’s rich PGA TOUR History.  Today we’ll take a look at Llanerch Country Club.

Llanerch Country Club in Havertown was fortunate enough to host professional events from 1935 through 1946 and it was the Philadelphia Inquirer Invitation Tournament of 1945 that was the one event that first put Llanerch on the National golf map. During his amazing eleven consecutive win streak, Byron Nelson posted win number seven at Llanerch, as he shot a record-setting 63 en route to victory.

It was the 1958 PGA Championship that brought Llanerch Country Club world-wide attention as host of the 40th annual event. The Llanerch tournament was the first Championship televised and the first four-day, 72-hole stroke-play contest in PGA Championship history (it was previously played under Match Play format).

Dow Finsterwald opened with a three-under 67, to take a one-shot lead over Jay Hebert. Finsterwald could only muster a two-over 72 on the second day and was tied with Hebert at one-under par. Following his second straight 67, Sam Snead moved into first place after round three, one ahead of Billy Casper and two clear of Finsterwald, who shot 70. On the final day, Finsterwald opened with a front-nine 31 to take the lead, and finished with a three-under 67 for a two-shot win over Billy Casper. Snead struggled on the final day with a 73 and finished third, as he bogeyed 12 and double-bogeyed 13 to fall out of contention.

The ‘58 championship marked the first appearance by Arnold Palmer in the PGA. Palmer, who was the reigning Masters champion, failed to break 71 all four days and tied for 40th. The stellar field also included future hall-of-famers and/or major championship winners: Tommy Bolt, Julius Boros, Jimmy Demaret, Jack Fleck, Claude Harmon, Cary Middlecoff, Bob Rosburg, Gene Sarazen, Denny Shute, Bob Toski and Ken Venturi.

To our younger generation of readers in the area it may seem that Philadelphia has a weak PGA TOUR golf history, only remembering the brief stint early in the decade in which the SEI Pennsylvania Classic was held at Waynesborough Country Club as a poorly attended late season event.

As Aronimink Golf Club readies itself for the best players in the world as host of the AT&T Classic this summer (replacement for Congressional Country Club for two years while it undergoes renovations), its easy to forget that the Philadelphia area hosted some of the games all-time greats as a regular stop on the PGA TOUR schedule.

From 1963 to 1980 Whitemarsh Valley Country Club hosted a new tournament on the pro tour called the Whitemarsh Open, later the Philadelphia Classic and finally the IVB Golf Classic.  The private Lafayette Hill layout was designed by famed golf course architect George Thomas (of Riviera Country Club fame) and plays as a par 72 at just under 6,900 yards. Whitemarsh Valley is listed at No. 9 on the PhillyGolfGuide.com Top 20 Private clubs of the Philly area ranking.

The Philadelphia tournament started with a bang as Arnold Palmer claimed the first championship. The impressive list of winners continued from there with Jack Nicklaus winning back to back titles in ‘64 and ‘65.  Nicklaus would add a third title in 1978, his largest purse to date worth $24,000. Tom Kite won his first PGA Tour event there in 1976, and he along with Gary Player, each shot a course record 63 during the Pro-Am session.  If a list of tournament winners is any indication of the greatness of a course, then Whitemarsh Valley is without a doubt a world class golf course:

• 1980 Doug Tewell
• 1979 Lou Graham
• 1978 Jack Nicklaus
• 1977 Jerry McGee
• 1976 Tom Kite
• 1975 Tom Jenkins
• 1974 Hubert Green
• 1973 Tom Weiskopf
• 1972 J. C. Snead
• 1971 Tom Weiskopf
• 1970 Billy Casper
• 1969 Dave Hill
• 1968 Bob Murphy
• 1967 Dan Sikes
• 1966 Don January
• 1965 Jack Nicklaus
• 1964 Jack Nicklaus
• 1963 Arnold Palmer