The 500 Festival Open Invitation was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played during the 1960s in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was sponsored by The 500 Festival, a not-for-profit volunteer organization created in 1957 to organize civic events to promote the Indianapolis 500.
The tournament was played at the Speedway Golf Course, located in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex; the exception was in 1965, when it was played at Greentree Country Club while the Speedway was undergoing renovations.
Tournament highlights In 1961 Doug Ford won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff over Arnold Palmer.
In 1963 the Indianapolis 500 was held on Thursday May 30, and the tournament was held over four days from Friday, May 31 to Monday, June 3. Previously the golf tournament was held prior to the running of the race. The one-day turnaround required grounds crews to quickly clean up the nine holes inside the track, used on race day for parking by fans. Considerable attention was given to the fact that several top names on the PGA Tour decided to skip the event. Among the reasons cited was the low purse, and the overall unchallenging nature of the course.
In 1964 the tournament was held from Wednesday, May 27 through Friday, May 29, then concluded Sunday May 31. The Indianapolis 500 was held Saturday May 30. Gary Player sank a birdie putt on the final hole to clinch the victory.
The 1965 tournament was held at Greentree Country Club. The Speedway Golf Course was undergoing a renovation project. In 1966 the tournament was moved out of the month of May and away from the activities directly surrounding the Indy 500. Billy Casper won the event three times while Doug Ford won it twice.
Winners YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-upWinner'sshare ($)Ref.1968 Billy Casper (3) 280 −8 1 stroke Frank Beard Mike Hill 20,000 1967 Frank Beard 279 −9 3 strokes Rod Funseth Rives McBee 20,000 1966 Billy Casper (2) 277 −11 3 strokes R. H. Sikes 16,400 1965 Bruce Crampton 279 −5 1 stroke Jacky Cupit Lionel Hebert 15,200 1964 Gary Player 273 −11 1 stroke Doug Sanders Art Wall Jr. 12,000 1963 Dow Finsterwald 268 −16 2 strokes Tommy Aaron Julius Boros Tony Lema Bobby Nichols 10,000 1962 Billy Casper 264 −20 1 stroke George Bayer Jerry Steelsmith 9,000 1961 Doug Ford (2) 273 −11 Playoff Arnold Palmer 9,000 1960 Doug Ford 270 −14 2 strokes Jerry Barber 9,000
See also 500 Ladies Classic – LPGA Tour event held in June 1968 Brickyard Crossing Championship – senior tour event was played from 1994 to 2000 Indy Women in Tech Championship – LPGA Tour event from 2017 to 2019
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