The Inverness Invitational Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1935 to 1953. It was played at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The tournament featured an unusual team round robin format. From 1935 to 1951, the field consisted of eight two-man teams. They would play seven rounds totalling 126 holes in four-ball format. A team earned or lost points on each hole, in a match play style, based on their score versus the opposing team for that round. A team scored "+1" for each hole won and "−1" for each hole lost. The teams were shuffled after every round so that every team played one round against every other team. The team with the most points after seven rounds won. [1] [2]
In 1952, the field was six teams and they played over five rounds for a total of 90 holes.
In 1953, the format shifted to traditional 72-hole stroke play with a field of 30 players.
The women's invitational replaced the men's event in 1954.
Inverness Invitational
Inverness Invitational Four-Ball
James Newton Demaret was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters, with titles in 1940, 1947, and 1950.
Henry Gilford Picard was an American professional golfer.
The 1937 Masters Tournament was the fourth Masters Tournament, held April 1–4 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 1938 Masters Tournament was the fifth Masters Tournament, held April 2–4 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Due to adverse weather conditions, the first round was delayed until Saturday, rounds 2 and 3 were played on Sunday, and the final round was on Monday.
The 1939 Masters Tournament was the sixth Masters Tournament, held from March 31 to April 2 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Due to adverse weather conditions, the first round was postponed to Friday and the final two rounds were played on Sunday.
The 1940 Masters Tournament was the seventh Masters Tournament, held April 4–7 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 1946 Masters Tournament was the tenth Masters Tournament, held April 4–7 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. It was the first in four years, because of World War II. The purse was $10,000, double that of the previous Masters in 1942, with a winner's share of $2,500.
The 1947 Masters Tournament was the 11th Masters Tournament, held April 3–6 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The purse was $10,000 with a winner's share of $2,500.
The 1949 Masters Tournament was the 13th Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. This was the first year that the famous Green Jacket was awarded to the tournament winner, and previous champions were awarded theirs retroactively.
The 1950 Masters Tournament was the 14th Masters Tournament, held April 6–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jimmy Demaret won at 283 (−5) and became the first three-time Masters champion, with previous wins in 1940 and 1947. He played the par-five 13th hole (Azalea) in six-under-par for the week, with two eagles and two birdies at the pivotal 480-yard (440 m) hole.
The 1951 Masters Tournament was the 15th Masters Tournament, held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Ben Hogan, age 38, won the first of his two Masters titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Skee Riegel. It was the fifth of his nine major titles.
The 1952 Masters Tournament was the 16th Masters Tournament, held April 3–6 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 1953 Masters Tournament was the 17th Masters Tournament, held April 9–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 1954 Masters Tournament was the 18th Masters Tournament, held April 8–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Sam Snead defeated defending champion Ben Hogan by one stroke in an 18-hole Monday playoff to win his third Masters tournament. It was Snead's seventh and final major victory.
The 1955 Masters Tournament was the 19th Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. It was the last one before CBS began televising the tournament the following year.
The 1957 Masters Tournament was the 21st Masters Tournament, held April 4–7 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. This was the first Masters played with a 36-hole cut; 101 players started and forty made the cut at 150 (+6).
The 1958 Masters Tournament was the 22nd Masters Tournament, held April 3–6 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Arnold Palmer won the first of his four Masters titles, one stroke ahead of runners-up Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins. It was the first of his seven major titles.
The Miami International Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1924 to 1954. It was played primarily at what is now the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida. It was also played at the Miami Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Florida from 1939 to 1942 and at the Normandy Shore Club in Miami Beach, Florida from 1952 to 1954.
The 1947 PGA Championship was the 29th PGA Championship, held June 18–24 at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Jim Ferrier won the match play championship, 2 and 1 over Chick Harbert in the Tuesday final; the winner's share was $3,500 and the runner-up's was $1,500. The match was tied after the first round, and again after 22 holes. Ferrier won the next three and local resident Harbert could get no closer than two holes down for the rest of the match. It was the only major title for Ferrier, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Australia.
The Hershey Open was a golf tournament in Pennsylvania on the PGA Tour from 1933 to 1941. It was played at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey on what is now called the West Course. It was played as a 72-hole stroke play event every year except 1938. That year, it was played as a 126-hole round-robin match play tournament with eight two-man teams and called the Hershey Four-Ball; its format was identical to the one used by the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball. The event was not held in 1940, when the club hosted the PGA Championship.