The Buick Open was a PGA Tourgolf tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Regardless, many prominent players used it as a "tune-up" for the subsequent major.
For the event's first decade, the Buick Open Invitational was played at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. After 1969, professional golf events in the area fell off the PGA Tour schedule and a series of pro-ams and other similarly unofficial events took place, mostly at Flint Golf Club in Flint, Michigan.
Flint native, and PGA touring professional Larry Mancour had returned to Michigan to play in the Buick Open and stayed to build the Grand Blanc Golf Club. He then added nine holes at the Flint Elks Golf Club where he remained the professional for 20 years. He rescued the Buick Open when General Motors dropped sponsorship of the tournament. With local Buick dealers Mancour started the Little Buick Open in 1969. It drew players and fans and led to the rebirth of the Buick Open in 1977.
The Buick Open officially made its return to the PGA Tour in 1977 at the Flint Elks Club, and in 1978 the event returned to Warwick Hills G&CC, where it remained until its demise.
As in the 1970s, a series of pro-ams and other unofficial events now take place in Grand Blanc, with the AJGA's Randy Wise Open taking place at Warwick Hills and most pro-ams and a golf festival at the Jewel of Grand Blanc (the former Grand Blanc Golf Club).
In 2014, an unrelated tournament with the same name was started in China. The event is played on PGA Tour China.
In its final years, the tournament was dominated by long hitters. Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Brian Bateman, and Kenny Perry combined for eight wins in its final nine years. Several other players ranked highly in driving distance finished second during that span, including Woods, Jason Gore, Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, and John Daly.[3]
^"Buick Open Winners". Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
External linksedit
January 01, 1970
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The Buick Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament from 1958 to 2009 In 2007 the tournament was held at the end of June a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship Regardless many prominent players used it as a tune up for the subsequent major Buick OpenTournament informationLocationGrand Blanc MichiganEstablished1958Course s Warwick Hills Golf and Country ClubPar72Length7 085 yards 6 479 m Tour s PGA TourFormatStroke playPrize fundUS 5 100 000Month playedJuly AugustFinal year2009Tournament record scoreAggregate262 Robert Wrenn 1987 To par 26 as aboveFinal championTiger WoodsLocation mapWarwick Hills G amp CCLocation in the United StatesShow map of the United StatesWarwick Hills G amp CCLocation in MichiganShow map of Michigan For the event s first decade the Buick Open Invitational was played at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc Michigan After 1969 professional golf events in the area fell off the PGA Tour schedule and a series of pro ams and other similarly unofficial events took place mostly at Flint Golf Club in Flint Michigan Flint native and PGA touring professional Larry Mancour had returned to Michigan to play in the Buick Open and stayed to build the Grand Blanc Golf Club He then added nine holes at the Flint Elks Golf Club where he remained the professional for 20 years He rescued the Buick Open when General Motors dropped sponsorship of the tournament With local Buick dealers Mancour started the Little Buick Open in 1969 It drew players and fans and led to the rebirth of the Buick Open in 1977 The Buick Open officially made its return to the PGA Tour in 1977 at the Flint Elks Club and in 1978 the event returned to Warwick Hills G amp CC where it remained until its demise The Associated Press reported July 28 2009 that General Motors would end its sponsorship of the Buick Open after the 2009 tournament in order to devote its marketing resources to cars and trucks 1 The PGA Tour replaced the tournament with the Greenbrier Classic at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs West Virginia 2 As in the 1970s a series of pro ams and other unofficial events now take place in Grand Blanc with the AJGA s Randy Wise Open taking place at Warwick Hills and most pro ams and a golf festival at the Jewel of Grand Blanc the former Grand Blanc Golf Club In 2014 an unrelated tournament with the same name was started in China The event is played on PGA Tour China In 2018 the former General Motors financing arm now Ally Bank returned to Warwick Hills to sponsor a PGA Tour Champions event The Ally Challenge Jim Furyk 2003 2020 and Vijay Singh 2004 2005 2023 have won both events Contents 1 Long hitters 2 Winners 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksLong hitters editIn its final years the tournament was dominated by long hitters Tiger Woods Vijay Singh Brian Bateman and Kenny Perry combined for eight wins in its final nine years Several other players ranked highly in driving distance finished second during that span including Woods Jason Gore Geoff Ogilvy Bubba Watson and John Daly 3 Winners editYear Tour a Winner Score To par Margin ofvictory Runner s up Winner sshare Buick Open 2009 PGAT nbsp Tiger Woods 3 268 20 3 strokes nbsp Greg Chalmers nbsp John Senden nbsp Roland Thatcher 918 000 2008 PGAT nbsp Kenny Perry 2 269 19 1 stroke nbsp Woody Austin nbsp Bubba Watson 900 000 2007 PGAT nbsp Brian Bateman 273 15 1 stroke nbsp Woody Austin nbsp Jason Gore nbsp Justin Leonard 882 000 2006 PGAT nbsp Tiger Woods 2 264 24 3 strokes nbsp Jim Furyk 864 000 2005 PGAT nbsp Vijay Singh 3 264 24 4 strokes nbsp Zach Johnson nbsp Tiger Woods 828 000 2004 PGAT nbsp Vijay Singh 2 265 23 1 stroke nbsp John Daly 810 000 2003 PGAT nbsp Jim Furyk 267 21 2 strokes nbsp Briny Baird nbsp Chris DiMarco nbsp Geoff Ogilvy nbsp Tiger Woods 720 000 2002 PGAT nbsp Tiger Woods 271 17 4 strokes nbsp Fred Funk nbsp Brian Gay nbsp Mark O Meara nbsp Esteban Toledo 594 000 2001 PGAT nbsp Kenny Perry 263 25 2 strokes nbsp Chris DiMarco nbsp Jim Furyk 558 000 2000 PGAT nbsp Rocco Mediate 268 20 1 stroke nbsp Chris Perry 486 000 1999 PGAT nbsp Tom Pernice Jr 270 18 1 stroke nbsp Tom Lehman nbsp Ted Tryba nbsp Bob Tway 432 000 1998 PGAT nbsp Billy Mayfair 271 17 2 strokes nbsp Scott Verplank 324 000 1997 PGAT nbsp Vijay Singh 273 15 4 strokes nbsp Tom Byrum nbsp Russ Cochran nbsp Ernie Els nbsp Brad Fabel nbsp Naomichi Ozaki nbsp Curtis Strange 270 000 1996 PGAT nbsp Justin Leonard 266 22 5 strokes nbsp Chip Beck 216 000 1995 PGAT nbsp Woody Austin 270 18 Playoff nbsp Mike Brisky 216 000 1994 PGAT nbsp Fred Couples 270 18 2 strokes nbsp Corey Pavin 198 000 1993 PGAT nbsp Larry Mize 272 16 1 stroke nbsp Fuzzy Zoeller 180 000 1992 PGAT nbsp Dan Forsman 276 12 Playoff nbsp Steve Elkington nbsp Brad Faxon 180 000 1991 PGAT nbsp Brad Faxon 271 17 Playoff nbsp Chip Beck 180 000 1990 PGAT nbsp Chip Beck 272 16 1 stroke nbsp Mike Donald nbsp Hale Irwin nbsp Fuzzy Zoeller 180 000 1989 PGAT nbsp Leonard Thompson 273 15 1 stroke nbsp Billy Andrade nbsp Payne Stewart nbsp Doug Tewell 180 000 1988 PGAT nbsp Scott Verplank 268 20 2 strokes nbsp Doug Tewell 126 000 1987 PGAT nbsp Robert Wrenn 262 26 7 strokes nbsp Dan Pohl 108 000 1986 PGAT nbsp Ben Crenshaw 270 18 1 stroke nbsp J C Snead nbsp Doug Tewell 90 000 1985 PGAT nbsp Ken Green 268 20 4 strokes nbsp Wayne Grady 81 000 1984 PGAT nbsp Denis Watson 271 17 1 stroke nbsp Payne Stewart 72 000 1983 PGAT nbsp Wayne Levi 272 16 1 stroke nbsp Isao Aoki nbsp Calvin Peete 63 000 1982 PGAT nbsp Lanny Wadkins 273 15 1 stroke nbsp Tom Kite 63 000 1981 PGAT nbsp Hale Irwin 277 11 Playoff nbsp Bobby Clampett nbsp Peter Jacobsen nbsp Gil Morgan 63 000 Buick Goodwrench Open 1980 PGAT nbsp Peter Jacobsen 276 12 1 stroke nbsp Billy Kratzert nbsp Mark Lye 45 000 1979 PGAT nbsp John Fought 280 8 Playoff nbsp Jim Simons 27 000 1978 PGAT nbsp Jack Newton 280 8 Playoff nbsp Mike Sullivan 20 000 Buick Open 1977 PGAT nbsp Bobby Cole 271 17 1 stroke nbsp Fred Marti 20 000 1976 nbsp Ed Sabo 279 9 Playoff nbsp Randy Erskine 12 000 1975 nbsp Spike Kelley 208 8 1 stroke nbsp Randy Erskine nbsp Jim Marshall nbsp Mike McCullough 4 200 Flint Elks Open 1974 nbsp Bryan Abbott 136 8 Playoff nbsp Joe Porter 2 000 Lake Michigan Classic 1973 nbsp Wilf Homenuik 215 1 Playoff nbsp Jim Ferriell 3 200 Vern Parsell Buick Open 1972 nbsp Gary Groh 273 15 2 strokes nbsp John Mahaffey 4 000 Buick Open Invitational 1970 1971 No tournament 1969 PGAT nbsp Dave Hill 277 11 2 strokes nbsp Frank Beard 25 000 1968 PGAT nbsp Tom Weiskopf 280 8 1 stroke nbsp Mike Hill 25 000 1967 PGAT nbsp Julius Boros 2 283 5 3 strokes nbsp Bob Goalby nbsp R H Sikes nbsp Bert Yancey 20 000 1966 PGAT nbsp Phil Rodgers 284 4 2 strokes nbsp Johnny Pott nbsp Kermit Zarley 20 000 1965 PGAT nbsp Tony Lema 2 280 8 2 strokes nbsp Johnny Pott 20 000 1964 PGAT nbsp Tony Lema 277 11 1 stroke nbsp Dow Finsterwald 8 000 1963 PGAT nbsp Julius Boros 274 14 5 strokes nbsp Dow Finsterwald 9 000 1962 PGAT nbsp Bill Collins 284 4 1 stroke nbsp Dave Ragan 9 000 1961 PGAT nbsp Jack Burke Jr 284 4 Playoff nbsp Billy Casper nbsp Johnny Pott 9 000 1960 PGAT nbsp Mike Souchak 282 6 1 stroke nbsp Gay Brewer nbsp Art Wall Jr 9 000 1959 PGAT nbsp Art Wall Jr 282 6 Playoff nbsp Dow Finsterwald 9 000 1958 PGAT nbsp Billy Casper 285 3 1 stroke nbsp Ted Kroll nbsp Arnold Palmer 9 000Notes edit PGAT PGA Tour References edit AP Source GM to End Sponsorship of Buick Open The New York Times Retrieved 2009 07 28 dead link Defunct prior to 7 10 Greenbrier Classic Announcement Bloomberg 2009 08 05 Retrieved 2009 08 05 Buick Open Winners Archived from the original on 2012 09 07 Retrieved 2008 06 23 External links editCoverage on the PGA Tour s official site Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Buick Open amp oldid 1222091147, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
