Arnold Daniel Palmer was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed "the King", Palmer was one of golf's most popular stars and seen as a trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.
The Masters Tournament is one of the four men's major golf championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the first major golf tournament of the year. Unlike the other major tournaments, the Masters is always held at the same location: Augusta National Golf Club, a private course in the city of Augusta, Georgia.
John Joseph Burke Jr. was an American professional golfer who was most prominent in the 1950s. The son of a professional golfer, Jack Burke Sr., he won two major titles, both in 1956, the Masters and PGA Championship, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Gary Jim Player DMS, OIG is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the career Grand Slam. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Nicklaus and Woods have performed the feat since. He won over 150 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Kenneth Paul Venturi was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in 2013, Venturi was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major championships. In 1976 it became an official PGA Tour event; the field expanded to 20 players and the event was lengthened to 72 holes. the victory and $100,000 winner's share went to Nicklaus. The field was increased to over 40 players in 1983, though it never exceeded 50; NEC began sponsoring the event in 1984.
The Milwaukee Open Invitational was a professional golf tournament in Wisconsin on the PGA Tour. It was played seven times from 1955 through 1961 at different courses in the Milwaukee area.
Edward Stewart "Porky" Oliver, Jr. was a professional golfer from the United States. He played on what is now known as the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s.
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 1956 Masters Tournament was the 20th Masters Tournament, held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
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 1961 Masters Tournament was the 25th Masters Tournament, held April 6–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 1962 Masters Tournament was the 26th Masters Tournament, held April 5–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Arnold Palmer won the third of his four Masters titles in the tournament's first three-way playoff. It was the fifth of his seven major titles.
The 1963 Masters Tournament was the 27th Masters Tournament, held April 4–7 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. 84 players entered the tournament and 50 made the cut at eight-over-par (152).
The American Golf Classic was a tournament on the PGA Tour from 1961 to 1976 at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the third event at the storied South course, after the Rubber City Open Invitational (1954–1959) and the PGA Championship in 1960.
The Kanto Pro Championship was a professional golf tournament in Japan. It was first played in 1931 and was an event on the Japan Golf Tour from 1973 to 1990. It was played in July at a variety of courses in Eastern Japan, mainly in the Kantō region.
Torakichi Nakamura was a Japanese golfer whose victory, with partner Koichi Ono, at the 1957 Canada Cup outside Tokyo helped to spur a boom in golf in Japan.
Yoshiro Hayashi was a Japanese golfer. He turned pro at the age of 16 and continued with 12 post-war wins. Hayashi was considered one of the big top four Japanese golfers along with Isao Aoki, Masashi Ozaki and Akiko Fukushima.
The 1957 Canada Cup took place 24–27 October on the East Course at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan. It was the fifth Canada Cup event, which became the World Cup in 1967. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with 30 teams. These were the same 29 teams that had competed in 1956 with the addition of Thailand. Each team consisted of two players from a country. The combined score of each team determined the team results. The Japanese team of Torakichi Nakamura and Koichi Ono won by nine strokes over the American team of Jimmy Demaret and Sam Snead. The individual competition was won by Torakichi Nakamura, seven shots ahead of Gary Player, Sam Snead and Dave Thomas.
Koichi Ono, born Son Shi-Kin in Dalian, Manchuria, was a Japanese professional golfer. He was one of the leading golfers on the Japanese circuit during the 1950s, winning the Japan Open Golf Championship three times and representing Japan on four occasions in the Canada Cup. He was inducted into the Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.
