U.S. Professional Match Play Championship Explained

U.S. Professional Match Play Championship
Location:Cary, North Carolina
Establishment:1971
Course:MacGregor Downs Country Club
Par:71
Tour:PGA Tour
Format:Match play
Month Played:August
Final Year:1973
Aggregate:71 DeWitt Weaver (1971)
To-Par:−1 as above
Score:2 and 1 Jack Nicklaus (1972)
Final Champion: John Schroeder
Map:USA#USA North Carolina
Map Relief:yes
Map Label:MacGregor Downs CC
Coordinates:35.746°N -78.794°W

The U.S. Professional Match Play Championship was a PGA Tour event that was played in North Carolina in the early 1970s.

The event was first played as the Liggett & Myers Open Match Play Championship in 1971[1] at The Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst. The field of 64 players in 1971 consisted of the winners of tour events from the previous 12 months and the leaders from the 1971 money list. The tournament was played in medal match play. The purse in 1971 was $267,500 with $35,000 going to the winner.

For 1972, the tournament, now called the U.S. Professional Match Play Championship, was held in conjunction with the Liggett & Myers Open.[2] Eight players were exempt into the field of 16 with the other eight players being the leaders after the first two rounds of the Liggett & Myers Open. The tournament was played on Saturday and Sunday, two rounds each day, concurrently with the final two rounds of the Liggett & Myers Open. The tournament was played at normal match play. The purse in 1972 was $150,000 with $40,000 going to the winner. Losers in the first round received $5,000, or more than the fourth-place finisher in the Liggett & Myers Open.

In 1973, the format and purse remained the same but the events shifted to MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary, North Carolina.[3]

Winners

YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner-upRef.
U.S. Professional Match Play Championship
2 up [4]
2 and 1 [5]
Liggett & Myers Open Match Play Championship
71 −1 6 strokes [6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Career Milestones from DeWitt Weaver Golf Solutions LLC . 2007-11-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080704125030/http://www.dwgolfsolutions.com/milestones.html . 2008-07-04 .
  2. News: Golfers Slated For Doubleheader . The Victoria Advocate . Victoria, Texas . AP . 4C . August 24, 1972.
  3. News: Match Play could decide who wins golfer of the year . The Free Lance-Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia . AP . Bob . Green . 6 . August 24, 1973.
  4. News: Schroeder Captures Pro Match Play Title . The Spartanburg Herald . Spartanburg, South Carolina . AP . B! . August 27, 1973.
  5. News: Nicklaus Wins Match Title . The Argus-Press . Owosso, Michigan . AP . Bob . Green . 14 . August 28, 1972.
  6. News: DeWitt Weaver wins Match Play title . Wilmington Morning Star . Wilmington, North Carolina . UPI . 13 . August 30, 1971.