NEC World Series of Golf

NEC World Series of Golf

Tournament information
Location	Akron, Ohio
Established	1976
Course(s)	Firestone Country Club South Course
Par	70
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Month played	August
Tournament record score
Aggregate	262 José María Olazábal (1990)
To par	−18 as above
Final champion
David Duval

The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major championships.^[1] In 1976 it became an official PGA Tour event; the field expanded to 20 players and the event was lengthened to 72 holes.^[2] the victory and $100,000 winner's share went to Nicklaus.^[3] The field increased further in later years, though it never exceeded fifty. NEC began sponsoring the event in 1984.

The tournament was last played in 1998. In 1999 Firestone Country Club became the host of the newly-created WGC-NEC Invitational, and has since hosted that tournament (now known as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) every year except one.

History

The World Series of Golf was founded as a four-man invitational event in 1962, comprising the winners of the four major championships in a 36-hole event.^[1] A made-for-television exhibition, the competitors played in one group for $75,000 in unofficial prize money, televised by NBC.

1962–1975

The inaugural edition in September 1962 included only the "Big Three" of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player. Palmer had won two majors that year and a fourth competitor was not added. Palmer shot a course record 65 in the first round on Saturday, but fell back with a 74 on Sunday. Nicklaus won with 135, four strokes ahead of Palmer and Player. Nicklaus, age 22, won a then-staggering $50,000, with $15,000 for second and $5,000 each for third and fourth, split between the other two for $12,500 each.^[4][5] The highest paying major at the time was the Masters with a winner's share of $20,000; Nicklaus had won $17,500 at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, which included a sizable $2,500 playoff bonus from the extra day's gate receipts, well-attended due to the presence of favorite son Palmer.

In 1963, Nicklaus won two majors, so a fourth player was added to the World Series via an 18-hole playoff between the three men who had lost playoffs in that year's majors; Palmer and Jacky Cupit in the U.S. Open and Phil Rodgers in the Open Championship.^[6] Palmer prevailed in the August playoff by five strokes.^[7] Nicklaus repeated as the World Series winner in September, one stroke ahead of Julius Boros, with Palmer in third and Bob Charles in fourth.^[8]

The first year with four players as reigning major champions was 1964, the first without Nicklaus.^[9] Tony Lema took the top spot, followed by Ken Venturi, Bobby Nichols, and Palmer.^[10][11]

In the final year of the four-man format in 1975, Tom Watson won with a two-stroke advantage over runner-up Nicklaus. The money was the same as in 1962, except that third place received $7,500, claimed by Tom Weiskopf.^[12] Nicklaus had won his second major of the year, the PGA Championship, at the same course a month earlier. In the fourteen editions of the event, Nicklaus played in ten, won four, and finished as runner-up in six.

In subsequent years, if one man won more than one major, the alternate was the Western Open or Canadian Open winner.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

The format of the four major winners in a 36-hole competition was later adopted by the PGA of America in 1979 for its PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

1976–1998

In 1976, it became a 72-hole, $300,000 PGA Tour event and its field was initially expanded to twenty;^[2] the victory and $100,000 winner's share went to Nicklaus.^[3] The largest first prize at a major in 1976 was $45,000 at the PGA Championship.

The World Series of Golf quickly became a leading event on the tour. For many years a victory in it gave a 10-year exemption on the PGA Tour, the same as was granted for a victory in a major championship at that time, and twice as long as is given even for winning a major now. The field consisted of the winners of all the high status men's professional golf tournaments around the world in the previous twelve months.

Winners

Year	Winner	Country	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share ($)
NEC World Series of Golf
1998	David Duval	United States	269	−11	2 strokes	Phil Mickelson	405,000
1997	Greg Norman (2)	Australia	273	−7	4 strokes	Phil Mickelson	396,000
1996	Phil Mickelson	United States	274	−6	3 strokes	Billy Mayfair Duffy Waldorf Steve Stricker	378,000
1995	Greg Norman	Australia	278	−2	Playoff	Billy Mayfair Nick Price	360,000
1994	José María Olazábal (2)	Spain	269	−15	1 stroke	Scott Hoch	360,000
1993	Fulton Allem	South Africa	270	−10	5 strokes	Jim Gallagher, Jr. Nick Price Craig Stadler	360,000
1992	Craig Stadler (2)	United States	273	−7	1 stroke	Corey Pavin	252,000
1991	Tom Purtzer	United States	279	−1	Playoff	Jim Gallagher, Jr. Davis Love III	216,000
1990	José María Olazábal	Spain	262	−18	12 strokes	Lanny Wadkins	198,000
1989	David Frost	South Africa	276	−4	Playoff	Ben Crenshaw	180,000
1988	Mike Reid	United States	275	−5	Playoff	Tom Watson	162,000
1987	Curtis Strange	United States	275	−5	3 strokes	Fulton Allem	144,000
1986	Dan Pohl	United States	277	−3	1 stroke	Lanny Wadkins	126,000
1985	Roger Maltbie	United States	268	−12	4 strokes	Denis Watson	126,000
1984	Denis Watson	Zimbabwe	271	−9	2 strokes	Bruce Lietzke	126,000
World Series of Golf
1983	Nick Price	Zimbabwe	270	−10	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus	100,000
1982	Craig Stadler	United States	278	−2	Playoff	Raymond Floyd	100,000
1981	Bill Rogers	United States	275	−5	1 stroke	Tom Kite	100,000
1980	Tom Watson	United States	270	−10	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd	100,000
1979	Lon Hinkle	United States	272	−8	1 stroke	Larry Nelson Bill Rogers Lee Trevino	100,000
1978	Gil Morgan	United States	278	−2	Playoff	Hubert Green	100,000
1977	Lanny Wadkins	United States	267	−13	5 strokes	Hale Irwin Tom Weiskopf	100,000
1976	Jack Nicklaus	United States	275	−5	4 strokes	Hale Irwin	100,000

Pre-1976 (unofficial event)

Major winners: M = Masters, U = U.S. Open, O = Open Championship, P = PGA Championship
Alternate winners: C = Canadian Open, W = Western Open

• Palmer won an 18-hole playoff between the three runners-up of the two majors' playoffs in 1963.

• Third place was $5,000 in first three editions.

References