500 Festival Open Invitation

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]

Tournament information
LocationSpeedway, Indiana
Established1960
Course(s)Speedway Golf Course
Par72
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play – 72 holes (2018)
Prize fund$100,000
Month playedJune (1968)
Final year1968
Final champion
Billy Casper
Location Map
Indianapolis
Location in United States
Indianapolis
Location in Indiana

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
YearDatesPlayerCountryScoreTo parMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-upWinner's
share ($)		Ref
1968Jun 6–9Billy Casper (3) United States70-71-69-70=280−81 stroke Frank Beard
Mike Hill		20,000[3]
1967Jul 6–9Frank Beard United States70-71-69-69=279−93 strokes Rod Funseth
Rives McBee		20,000[4]
1966Jul 28–31Billy Casper (2) United States69-70-68-70=277−113 strokes R. H. Sikes16,400[5]
1965May 24–27Bruce Crampton Australia71-70-67-71=279−51 stroke Jacky Cupit
Lionel Hebert		15,200[6]
1964May 27–31Gary Player South Africa70-66-70-67=273−111 stroke Doug Sanders
Art Wall Jr.		12,000[7]
1963May 31 – Jun 3Dow Finsterwald United States68-68-64-68=268−162 strokes Tommy Aaron
Julius Boros
Tony Lema
Bobby Nichols		10,000[8]
1962May 24–27Billy Casper United States66-67-67-64=264−181 stroke George Bayer
Jerry Steelsmith		9,000[9]
1961May 25–28Doug Ford (2) United States69-69-67-68=273−11Playoff Arnold Palmer9,000[10]
1960May 26–29Doug Ford United States66-68-68-68=270−142 strokes 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
  3. Casper nips Hill for fourth win
  4. Beard Wins Speedway
  5. Billy Casper Is Winner at Indianapolis
  6. Crampton Scores Narrow Victory in 500 Tourney
  7. Player Plans Brief Vacation
  8. Finsterwald Wins Golf Tournament
  9. Casper Grabs First Money in 500 Open
  10. Ford Golf Playoff Winner
  11. Doug Ford Wins Speedway Golf

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