Fairways of History

Exploring the stories behind golf’s greatest moments. Majors, legends, rivalries & forgotten tournaments. Daily golf history from the archives. #thisdayingolf

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

@PGATUOR 🗑️

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

@NUCLRGOLF 🙄

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

@CarnoustieCad Amen brother.

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

@rayray73nj2va @NUCLRGOLF It’s not the quantity, it’s the material. Nobody wants plastic tees meeting the face of their driver all day. I guess you’re more of a DOD guy though. 🙄

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

Staff first and foremost. A good staff (shop, dining, and grounds) raises all other grades naturally.

Capital improvement: course conditions. You get your staff and course conditions fixed and everything else falls into place.

But staff is where I would invest first hands down.

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

@NUCLRGOLF B. We need some tour players to chime in so we can put this to rest. @PGATOUR

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

Boros’s win capped an extraordinary late-career surge. The “Quiet Man” of golf had already claimed two U.S. Opens (1952, 1963) and the PGA Championship a month earlier. The $50,000 check pushed his 1968 earnings near the top of the money list.

#pgatour

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

The Westchester Classic - 1968

Julius Boros Wins!

This was Boros’s 18th PGA Tour victory. At age 48, just one month after winning the 1968 PGA Championship at Pecan Valley, he added the biggest paycheck of the year.

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[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

Murphy could only manage a 72. Nicklaus charged hard (fighting a sore neck/shoulder after his playoff win at Firestone the previous week). Sikes also closed strongly.

Boros, playing with a sore back and with three of his seven children in the gallery, produced the clutch golf that defined his career. On the par-5 18th he hit a recovery from the sand, then sank a 12-foot birdie putt for the outright win.

Murphy, playing conservatively on the last hole, missed a putt that would have forced a playoff. Nicklaus and Sikes also birdied the last but finished one short.

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

Julius Boros — 70-65-69-68 = 272 (−16)

He finished one stroke ahead of a three-way tie for second:

• Jack Nicklaus (defending champion)
• Dan Sikes
• Bob Murphy (tour rookie)

All three finished at 273 (−15).

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

The Westchester Classic - 1968

Aug 17, 1968 - #thisdayingolf

Rookie Bob Murphy remains in control after round 3, sitting at -15.

Julius Boros, who won the PGA Championship earlier that August, sits 3 strokes back.

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[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

@Mike_kim714 @Titleist 67

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

His performance at Firestone in 1968 was the public breakthrough that announced Lee Elder as a legitimate PGA Tour force.

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[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

The American Golf Classic - 1968

August 11, 1968 - #thisdayingolf

Jack Nicklaus, Lee Elder, and Frank Beard are tied at the end of regulation with a 72 hole score of 280 (even par).

We’re headed to a sudden death playoff.

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[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

In 1979 he became the first African American player on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

He later received the USGA Bob Jones Award for distinguished sportsmanship and was an honors starter at the 2021 Masters alongside Nicklaus and Player.

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

He won three more times on Tour:

- 1976 Houston Open
- 1978 Greater Milwaukee Open
- 1978 Westchester Classic

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

He won the 1974 Monsanto Open. That victory earned him an automatic invitation to #themasters in 1975, making him the first African American player to compete at Augusta National.

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

In 1971 he accepted Gary Player’s invitation to play in the South African PGA Championship…the first integrated tournament in the country under apartheid.

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

He consistently stayed inside the top 60 on the money list (the exemption threshold of the era) for years.

[Fairways of History @fairwayshistory]

He played well his first year on tour (finishing 40th on the money list), but his defining moment was this tournament. His performance in the playoff against Nicklaus put him on the national map. The entire playoff was televised nationally and he made a major statement.