U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee
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The U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee is a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The tournament is held at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course. U.S. Bancorp is the main sponsor of the tournament. The 2006 purse was $3,500,000, with $630,000 going to the winner. The tournament is run by Milwaukee Golf Charities, Inc., with proceeds from the tournament going to a variety of Wisconsin charities.
Professional golf in Milwaukee started sporadically with events in 1940 and 1951 and a seven year run from 1955-1961. In 1968, the tournament made a strong reappearance on the Tour as the Greater Milwaukee Open (or GMO), competing against the British Open by offering a $200,000 purse (second highest on the Tour) with a $40,000 first prize. Lee Trevino, the 1968 U.S. Open winner, decided to play in the GMO instead of the British Open, in order to help the reborn tournament.
In 2004, U.S. Bank signed on as title sponsor. In July 2006, U.S. Bank and Milwaukee Golf Charities Inc. announced that U.S. Bank will remain the sponsor for at least three more years.[1]
The tournament has been played at various golf courses in and around Milwaukee:
- North Hills Country Club, Menomonee Falls, 1940, 1951, 1960-1
- Blue Mound Golf Club, Wauwatosa, 1955
- Tripoli Country Club, Milwaukee, 1956-9, 1971-2
- North Shore Country Club, Mequon, 1968-70
- Tuckaway Country Club, Franklin 1973-93
- Brown Deer Park Golf Course, Milwaukee, 1994-present.
The tournament has been nationally televised since 1989. Tiger Woods made his professional debut at the Milwaukee tournament in August 1996.
[edit] Winners
- 2006 Corey Pavin
- 2005 Ben Crane
U.S. Bank in Milwaukee
- 2004 Carlos Franco
Greater Milwaukee Open
- 2003 Kenny Perry
- 2002 Jeff Sluman
- 2001 Shigeki Maruyama
- 2000 Loren Roberts
- 1999 Carlos Franco
- 1998 Jeff Sluman
- 1997 Scott Hoch
- 1996 Loren Roberts
- 1995 Scott Hoch
- 1994 Mike Springer
- 1993 Billy Mayfair
- 1992 Richard Zokol
- 1991 Mark Brooks
- 1990 Jim Gallagher, Jr.
- 1989 Greg Norman
- 1988 Ken Green
- 1987 Gary Hallberg
- 1986 Corey Pavin
- 1985 Jim Thorpe
- 1984 Mark O'Meara
- 1983 Morris Hatalsky
- 1982 Calvin Peete
- 1981 Jay Haas
- 1980 Billy Kratzert
- 1979 Calvin Peete
- 1978 Lee Elder
- 1977 Dave Eichelberger
- 1976 Dave Hill
- 1975 Art Wall
- 1974 Ed Sneed
- 1973 Dave Stockton
- 1972 Jim Colbert
- 1971 Dave Eichelberger
- 1970 Deane Beman
- 1969 Ken Still
- 1968 Dave Stockton
Milwaukee Open Invitational
- 1961 Bruce Crampton
- 1960 Ken Venturi
Miller Open Invitational
- 1959 Gene Littler
- 1958 Cary Middlecoff
Miller High Life Open
- 1957 Ken Venturi
- 1956 Ed Furgol
- 1955 Cary Middlecoff
Blue Ribbon Open
- 1951 Joe Kirkwood, Jr.
Milwaukee Open
- 1940 Ralph Guldahl
