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First Century, P.B.: The ultimate Pebble Beach Golf Links 100-year timeline

By Neal Hotelling
June 10, 2019

1919: Del Monte Properties Company (DMP) is formed; Pebble Beach Golf Links opens.

1922: 18th hole lengthened to a par 5.

1923: Fatality on PBGL when a plane crashes on the sixth fairway as Gloria Swanson is filming Bluebeard’s 8th Wife.

1924: Monterey Peninsula Country Club (MPCC) opens.

1925: DMP sells 150 acres for $150K for creation of Cypress Point Club.

The 18th hole at Pebble Beach
The 18th hole at Pebble Beach
Joann Dost

1926: MPCC Dunes Course opens, with Alister MacKenzie and Robert Hunter finishing it after the death of original architect Seth Raynor in January; the Monterey Open, a pro event, is held on PBGL and won by Harry Cooper.

1928: Cypress Point Club opens.

1929: The 33rd United States Amateur is played at PBGL. It’s the first USGA championship competed west of St. Louis.

1930: Aviation icon Charles Lindbergh and his new bride Anne Morrow visit PB and experiment with gliders.

1931: Actress Irene Dunn aces the seventh at PBGL during a practice round for the Del Monte Championship for Women.

1932: DMP builds nine-hole Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Course and sells it to the city.

1934: The Tap Room opens at Hotel Del Monte and the Monkeyshines Room opens at The Lodge; California lifts ban on liquor by the glass for hotels and restaurants.

1938: Charlie Chaplin spends most of the year on the Monterey Peninsula working on the script for The Great Dictator.

1940: 44th U.S. Women’s Amateur played at PBGL.

1944: Cypress Point Club member Bing Crosby buys a 2.5-acre lot on PBGL’s 13th hole and builds a home there after the war.

1945: Salvador Dali enters his “Atomic Era” and does 10 paintings at PB.

1946: Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour film My Favorite Brunette at PB.

1947: 47th U.S. Am played at PBGL; Bing Crosby brings his pro-am event to PB’s three courses.

Bing Crosby started the Crosby Clambake at Pebble Beach.
Bing Crosby started the Crosby Clambake at Pebble Beach.
Getty Images

1948: The Tap Room replaces the Monkeyshines Room at The Lodge.

1950: The fledgling LPGA plays the Weathervane Tournament, won by Babe Zaharias, at PBGL; Pebble Beach Road Races begin on the roads of PB; the Concours d’Elegance, an PB automotive charity event, is born.

1951: Weathervane returns to PBGL; Patty Berg wins.

1956: Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson play what is later known as “The Match” against Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward at Cypress Point Club.

Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, two of the game's greatest golfers.
Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, two of the game's greatest golfers.
Getty Images

1958: Crosby Pro-Am expands from 54 holes to 72 holes and the purse from $15K to $50K; televised for the first time.

1960: MPCC Shore Course opens.

1961: 61st U.S. Amateur played at PBGL.

Jack Nicklaus wins the 1961 U.S. Amateur.
Jack Nicklaus wins the 1961 U.S. Amateur.
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1963: Jack Nicklaus defeats Sam Snead at PBGL on Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf.

1966: Spyglass Hill Golf Course opens

1970: Dabney Coleman wins 2nd Annual Clint Eastwood Tennis Tournament at PB.

1972: 72nd U.S. Open played at PBGL.

Jack after winning the 1972 U.S. Open.
Jack after winning the 1972 U.S. Open.
Getty Images

1974: Johnny Miller wins the Crosby Pro-Am by four strokes.

1977: 59th PGA Championship played at PBGL; DMP reorganized as Pebble Beach Corporation (PBC).

Lanny Wadkins wins the 1977 PGA Championship, the only one to have ever been played at Pebble Beach.
Lanny Wadkins wins the 1977 PGA Championship, the only one to have ever been played at Pebble Beach.
Getty Images

1978: 20th Century Fox acquires PBC; Del Monte Lodge renamed The Lodge at Pebble Beach.

1981: 28th Walker Cup Match played at CPC.

1982: 82nd U.S. Open played at PBGL.

Tom Watson after winning the 1982 U.S. Open.
Tom Watson after winning the 1982 U.S. Open.
Getty Images

1986: AT&T becomes title sponsor of PGA Tour Pro-Am that had been the Crosby since 1947; Poppy Hills Golf Course opens.

1987: The Inn and Links at Spanish Bay opens.

1988: Curtis Strange wins the Nabisco Championships at PBGL to become the first golfer with more than $1 million in lifetime prize money.

1990: Japanese business tycoon Minoru Isutani acquires PBC.

1991: Poppy Hills replaces CPC in the AT&T PB Pro-Am.

1992: 92nd U.S. Open played at PBGL.

Tom Kite after winning the 1992 U.S. Open.
Tom Kite after winning the 1992 U.S. Open.
Getty Images

1993: Donald Trump aces the 12th hole at Spyglass Hill during the AT&T PB Pro-Am.

1995: Jack Nicklaus defeats Tom Watson at PBGL on an episode of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf.

1996: A rainout cancels the AT&T PB Pro-Am without a winner, for the only time; PBC buys former Jenkins property above Stillwater Cove to build a new fifth hole on the coastline.

1997: PBC replaces seawall on PBGL’s 17th and 18th holes and recovers 18th tee lost in ’83 storm.

1998: New fifth hole, designed by Jack Nicklaus, debuts; storm postpones the final round of the AT&T Pro-Am for six months; in August, Phil Mickelson records the win.

1999: 99th U.S. Amateur played at PBGL; ownership group led by Peter Ueberroth and Richard Ferris acquires PBGL.

2000: 100th U.S. Open played at PBGL.

Tiger Woods won his first U.S. Open title in 2000.
Tiger Woods won his first U.S. Open title in 2000.
Getty Images

2001: The landmark Monterey Pine situated front right of the 18th green is removed due to safety concerns.

2002: A treeless 18th green for the AT&T Pro-Am opens up the hole too much; an 85- foot Cypress tree is set in place; Caddy Services, Inc. takes on management of the caddie pro- gram at Pebble Beach Resorts.

2004: Champions Tour First Tee Open, now the PURE Insurance Championship, played for first time; a redesign of MPCC Shore Course opens.

2005: Hale Irwin wins First Tee Open, becoming first player to win at PB on the PGA Tour (1984) and Champions Tour.

2006: California Amateur played at PBGL for last time; first time was in 1920.

2007: Phil Mickelson wins the AT&T PB Pro-Am for third time.

2009: In just his second PB appearance, Dustin Johnson wins a rain-shortened AT&T PB Pro-Am.

2010: 110th U.S. Open played at PBGL.

Graeme McDowell after winning the 2010 U.S. Open.
Graeme McDowell after winning the 2010 U.S. Open.
Getty Images

2011: Comedian and avid golfer Bill Murray, with new pro partner D.A. Points, wins the AT&T PB Pro-Am team competition.

2017: USGA awards PBGL the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open and 2027 U.S. Open.

2018: 118th U.S. Amateur played at PBGL.

2019: Phil Mickelson ties Mark O’Meara’s record with five victories in the AT&T PB Pro-Am; PBGL hosts the U.S. Open for the sixth time.

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