playing pros

In 1895, 10 professional golfers and one amateur played in the first U.S. Open in Newport, R.I. Shortly thereafter, tournaments began to pop up across the country. There was the Western Open in 1899. But this was not "tour" golf. The events lacked continuity.
Interest in the game, however, continued to grow. American professionals were rapidly improving. And when John McDermott became the first American-born player to win the U.S. Open in 1911, interest in the game blossomed.
That interest became enthusiasm in 1913 when Englishmen Harry Vardon and Ted Ray came to the United States to play an exhibition tour and compete in the U.S. Open. When 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet defeated the pair in a playoff for the Open at Brookline, Mass., golf became front-page news and a game for everyone.

In the early 1920s, a series of tournaments was held on the West Coast, in Texas and Florida. These events were held in the winter, and the golfers played their way east and up to Pinehurst, N.C., in the spring. By the middle of the decade, the tour was doing relatively well -- offering $77,000 in total prize money.

The first "playing pros" organization was formed in 1932. Two years earlier, Bob Harlow had been named manager of the PGA Tournament Bureau. The tour became more structured following World War II and exploded in the late 1950s and early '60s. When Arnold Palmer, televised golf and President Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived on the scene in the late 1950s, the eyes of the world were on golf. This exposure inspired millions to try the game.
Most golf historians would trace the "formal" beginning of the PGA TOUR to late 1968, when the "Tournament Players Division" split from the PGA of America and hired Joseph C. Dey as its first commissioner. That organization became the modern-day PGA TOUR. Dey served from early 1969 through Feb. 28, 1974, and was succeeded by Deane R. Beman on March 1, 1974.

During Beman's administration, the value of tournament purses escalated at an unprecedented rate: PGA TOUR assets grew from $730,000 in 1974 to more than $200 million, and total revenues increased from $3.9 million to $229 million in 1993.
Timothy W. Finchem, previously the TOUR's Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, became the TOUR's third Commissioner on June 1, 1994. In 1995, Finchem undertook a restructuring program designed to strengthen the PGA TOUR's core business, which is its competitions; expand the TOUR's international scope and prepare it to enter the 21st century. In 1996, Finchem helped spearhead formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours, as golf's five world governing bodies laid the groundwork for taking competition into the next millennium.

In 1997, the Federation announced the World Golf Championships, which made their debut in 1999 with three events-the Accenture Match Play Championship, NEC Invitational and American Express Championship. The World Cup joined this group in 2000.
Since 1938, PGA TOUR events have donated more than $800 million to charity, making a mark in the communities in which the TOUR plays through its charity campaign, "Giving Back...The Heart of the PGA TOUR."
The competitive scope of the PGA TOUR also is much broader today. The Champions Tour, formerly called the Senior PGA Tour, has been labeled the most successful senior sports venture in history. An interactive element with fans and television viewers has brought new exposure to the Tour. Since starting out with just two cosponsored events and $250,000 in prize money in 1980, the Champions Tour has grown to more than 30 events. And the Charles Schwab Cup will be competed for the fourth time in 2004.

The Nationwide Tour, under that sponsorship umbrella for the first time in 2003, has been recognized as a virtual extension of the PGA TOUR with its excellent level of play that saw 55 percent of its alumni making up the 2003 PGA TOUR. The Nationwide Tour provides outstanding golf competition in 30 communities while raising significant charity dollars. Among the former players on this TOUR who have gone on to star on the PGA TOUR are David Duval, Tom Lehman, Jeff Maggert, Stuart Appleby, Stewart Cink, David Toms, 2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk and 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel.

Also continuing to grow is the Tournament Players Club Network. When the PGA TOUR opened the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in 1980, it introduced the era of stadium golf and record-breaking attendance. Owned and/or operated by the TOUR, these courses are the only major-league sports venues owned by the players themselves.