500 Festival Open Invitation
Tournament information
LocationSpeedway, Indiana
Established1960
Course(s)Speedway Golf Course
Par72
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$100,000
Final year1968
Tournament record score
Aggregate264 Billy Casper (1962)
To par−20 as above
Final champion
United States Billy Casper
Location Map
Speedway GC is located in the United States
Speedway GC
Speedway GC
Location in United States
Speedway GC is located in Indiana
Speedway GC
Speedway GC
Location in Indiana

The 500 Festival Open Invitation was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played during the 1960s in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was sponsored by The 500 Festival, a not-for-profit volunteer organization created in 1957 to organize civic events to promote the Indianapolis 500.[1]

The tournament was played at the Speedway Golf Course, located in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex; the exception was in 1965, when it was played at Greentree Country Club while the Speedway was undergoing renovations.

Tournament highlights

In 1961 Doug Ford won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff over Arnold Palmer.

In 1963 the Indianapolis 500 was held on Thursday May 30, and the tournament was held over four days from Friday, May 31 to Monday, June 3. Previously the golf tournament was held prior to the running of the race. The one-day turnaround required grounds crews to quickly clean up the nine holes inside the track, used on race day for parking by fans. Considerable attention was given to the fact that several top names on the PGA Tour decided to skip the event.[2] Among the reasons cited was the low purse, and the overall unchallenging nature of the course.

In 1964 the tournament was held from Wednesday, May 27 through Friday, May 29, then concluded Sunday May 31. The Indianapolis 500 was held Saturday May 30. Gary Player sank a birdie putt on the final hole to clinch the victory.

The 1965 tournament was held at Greentree Country Club. The Speedway Golf Course was undergoing a renovation project. In 1966 the tournament was moved out of the month of May and away from the activities directly surrounding the Indy 500. Billy Casper won the event three times while Doug Ford won it twice.

Winners

YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-upWinner's
share ($)		Ref.
1968United States Billy Casper (3)280−81 strokeUnited States Frank Beard
United States Mike Hill		20,000[3]
1967United States Frank Beard279−93 strokesUnited States Rod Funseth
United States Rives McBee		20,000[4]
1966United States Billy Casper (2)277−113 strokesUnited States R. H. Sikes16,400[5]
1965Australia Bruce Crampton279−51 strokeUnited States Jacky Cupit
United States Lionel Hebert		15,200[6]
1964South Africa Gary Player273−111 strokeUnited States Doug Sanders
United States Art Wall Jr.		12,000[7]
1963United States Dow Finsterwald268−162 strokesUnited States Tommy Aaron
United States Julius Boros
United States Tony Lema
United States Bobby Nichols		10,000[8]
1962United States Billy Casper264−201 strokeUnited States George Bayer
United States Jerry Steelsmith		9,000[9]
1961United States Doug Ford (2)273−11PlayoffUnited States Arnold Palmer9,000[10]
1960United States Doug Ford270−142 strokesUnited States Jerry Barber9,000[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The 500 Festival". Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Speedway Golf Sponsors Angry". Sarasota Journal. Florida. Associated Press. June 3, 1963. p. 16 – via Google News Archive.
  3. ↑ "Casper nips Hill for fourth win". The Gazette. Montreal. Associated Press. June 10, 1968. p. 25 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ↑ "Beard Wins Speedway". The Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Associated Press. July 9, 1967. p. 6 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ↑ Burgess, Dale (August 1, 1966). "Billy Casper is Winner at Indianapolis". The Gettysburg Times. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 5 – via Google News Archive.
  6. ↑ "Crampton Scores Narrow Victory in 500 Tourney". St. Joseph Gazette. Missouri. Associated Press. May 28, 1965. p. 3B – via Google News Archive.
  7. ↑ "Player Plans Brief Vacation". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press. June 1, 1964. p. 24 – via Google News Archive.
  8. ↑ "Finsterwald Wins Golf Tournament". Lakeland Ledger. Florida. Associated Press. June 4, 1963. p. 12 – via Google News Archive.
  9. ↑ "Casper Grabs First Money in 500 Open". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. May 29, 1962. p. 11 – via Google News Archive.
  10. ↑ "Ford Golf Playoff Winner". Ottawa Citizen. Associated Press. May 29, 1961. p. 15 – via Google News Archive.
  11. ↑ "Doug Ford Wins Speedway Golf". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Florida. Associated Press. May 30, 1960. p. 10 – via Google News Archive.

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