| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Australia |
| Established | 1947 |
| Final year | 1959 |
| Final champion | |
| Kel Nagle and Gary Player | |
The Ampol Tournament was the richest golf event of its time in Australia. From 1952 the sponsor, Ampol Petroleum, offered great prize money to attract the leading American and European players to compete.
Total prize money was initially A£1,000, rising to A£1,300 in 1951. In 1952 and 1954, two tournaments were arranged a few weeks apart. Prize money was A£3,500 for each of the 1952 events while each of the 1954 events had prize money of A£1,500. The A£10,000 in 1956 was the biggest purse outside the United States. [1] Prize money was A£2,500 in 1953 and 1955 and A£3,000 in 1957 and 1959. Prize money often exceeded the advertised figures since part of the proceeds from gate receipts was sometimes added. [2]
The 1959 tournament was played the week before the 1959 Canada Cup.
In October 1952 Von Nida beat Oliver 72 to 77 in the 18-hole playoff. In November 1954 the first round was played at Huntingdale Golf Club. The 1959 event was over 54 holes. Ampol sponsored a 36-hole tournament in 1958 with total prize money of A£500. This event was won by an amateur, Bob Stevens. [19]
Lewis Alan Hoad was an Australian world No. 1 tennis player whose career lasted from the early 1950s until the early 1970s.
Horace Lindrum was an Australian professional snooker and billiards player. The dominant snooker player in Australia, he lived in Britain for long periods and played in the major British tournaments. From his arrival in Britain in 1935 he was regarded as the second best player in the world, behind Joe Davis. Lindrum contested three World Championship finals against Davis, in 1936, 1937 and 1946, losing all three to Davis but coming close to beating him on several occasions. Horace Lindrum won the 1952 World Championship which, because of a dispute between the governing body and the players' association, was only contested by himself and New Zealander Clark McConachy.
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Kelvin David George Nagle AM was an Australian professional golfer best known for winning The Open Championship in 1960. He won at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975.
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Norman Guy Von Nida was an Australian professional golfer.
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The New South Wales PGA Championship was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
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The Pelaco Tournament was a golf tournament held in Australia from 1955 to 1959. Peter Thomson won the event four of the five times it was contested. Total prize money for the 90-hole tournament was £2,500. The sponsor was Pelaco, an Australian shirt manufacturer.
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The Wills Classic was a series of golf tournaments held in Australia and New Zealand from 1960 to 1964. The first event in 1960 was contested by four players over nine different courses between 17 September and 2 October; the winner determined by the aggregate score. Total prize money was A£5,100. The players were Stan Leonard, Gary Player, Mike Souchak and Peter Thomson. In 1961 the event became a 72-hole tournament with prize money of A£3,000. From 1963 the Australian tournament was replaced by the Wills Masters and the Classic event was moved to New Zealand. The New Zealand tournaments had prize money of NZ£2,000. The sponsor was W.D. & H.O. Wills, a cigarette manufacturer.
The Sun-Herald Tournament was a golf tournament held in Australia from 1924 to 1926. It was the first Australian tournament with significant prize money and was run along the lines of the British News of the World Match Play. The first event in 1924 was sponsored by The Sun newspaper in Sydney and was called the Sun Tournament. In 1925 and 1926 the events were co-sponsored by The Herald newspaper in Melbourne. The 1925 event was held in Melbourne and was called the Herald-Sun tournament while 1926 the event returned to Sydney and was called the Sun-Herald Tournament. The 1926 event was combined with the Australian PGA Championship.
