The Motor City Open was a PGA Tour event played at various clubs in and around Detroit, USA, eight times between 1948 and 1962.
The PGA Tour record for the longest sudden-death playoff was established at the 1949 Motor City Open. Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum played 11 holes at Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville, Michigan and were still stalemated when darkness arrived. Tournament officials, with their mutual consent, declared them joint winners.-
In 1955, the Motor City Open was originally to be played at Meadowbrook Country Club. This was abandoned however, when Meadowbrook's professional, Chick Harbert, won the PGA Championship in 1954. Meadowbrook petitioned for and won the opportunity to host the 1955 PGA Championship and, because of this development, the Motor City Open was not held in 1955. This is the only time that a defending champion of a major championship has hosted the tournament the following year.
In 2019, the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in the city of Detroit replaced The National in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
Tournament hosts 1948, 1949, 1954, 1959 Meadowbrook Country Club (Northville, Michigan) 1950, 1952 Red Run Golf Club (Royal Oak, Michigan) 1956 Western Golf and Country Club (Redford, Michigan) 1962 Knollwood Country Club (West Bloomfield, Michigan)
Winners YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up 1948 Ben Hogan 275 −9 Playoff Dutch Harrison 1949 Lloyd Mangrum Cary Middlecoff 273 −11 Title shared 1950 Lloyd Mangrum (2) 274 −14 1 stroke Sam Snead1951: No tournament 1952 Cary Middlecoff (2) 274 −14 Playoff Ted Kroll1953: No tournament 1954 Cary Middlecoff (3) 278 −6 2 strokes Tommy Bolt Marty Furgol Gene Littler 1956 Bob Rosburg 284 −4 Playoff Ed Furgol1957–58: No tournament 1959 Mike Souchak 268 −16 9 strokes Billy Casper Doug Ford1960–61: No tournament 1962 Bruce Crampton 267 −17 3 strokes Dave Hill Don Massengale
References