West Palm Beach Open Invitational

The West Palm Beach Open Invitational, first played as The West Palm Beach Open, was a PGA Tour event in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was held at the West Palm Beach Country Club,^[1] now known as the West Palm Beach Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-72 championship course established in 1921 and in its present location in the southwestern corner of West Palm Beach, Florida since 1947.^[2]

West Palm Beach Open

Tournament information
Location	West Palm Beach, Florida
Established	1954
Course(s)	West Palm Beach Country Club
Par	71
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	US$20,000
Month played	November/December
Final year	1972
Tournament record score
Aggregate	269 Pete Cooper (1958)
To par	−19 as above
Final champion
Wilf Homenuik
Location map
West Palm Beach CC Location in the United States Show map of the United States West Palm Beach CC Location in Florida Show map of Florida

The West Palm Beach Open was founded in 1954 as a 54-hole event with prize money of $2,000. Prize money increased to $5,000 in 1955 and $10,000 in 1956 and 1957. The 1957 event was run by the PGA.^[3] From 1958 to 1962 the tournament was a 72-hole PGA Tour event with prize money of $15,000 from 1958 to 1960 and $20,000 in 1961 and 1962. From 1963 the event returned to being a local event. The 1963 tournament was over 54 holes with a first prize of $500.

Winners

Year	Tour[a]	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share ($)	Ref.
West Palm Beach Open
1972		Wilf Homenuik						[4]
1964–1971: No tournament
1963		Jim McCoy
West Palm Beach Open Invitational
1962	PGAT	Dave Ragan	277	−11	Playoff	Doug Sanders	2,800	[5]
1961	PGAT	Gay Brewer	274	−14	4 strokes	Arnold Palmer	2,800	[6]
1960	PGAT	Johnny Pott	278	−10	3 strokes	Sam Snead	2,000	[7]
1959	PGAT	Arnold Palmer	281	−7	Playoff	Gay Brewer Pete Cooper	2,000	[8]
1958	PGAT	Pete Cooper	269	−19	Playoff	Wes Ellis	2,000	[9]
1957	PGAT	Al Balding	209	−7	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald Bert Weaver	1,200	[10]
West Palm Beach Open
1956		Gardner Dickinson
1955		Al Besselink
1954		Lloyd Wadkins

Notes

1. PGAT − PGA Tour.