LAS VEGAS — First things first. The Las Vegas stop on the PGA Tour will always be foremost remembered for being the location of Tiger Woods’ first victory as a professional.
The date was Oct. 6, 1996, and a young Woods, six weeks after winning a third consecutive U.S. Amateur title, quickly lived up to the hype in Sin City, defeating Davis Love III in a playoff to claim his first oversized check.
Woods would go on to win 81 more times on the PGA Tour but would make only one other visit to Las Vegas. He returned in 1997 to defend his title but ended up tied for 37th.
Here is a look at a few other things you may not have known about the PGA Tour stop in Las Vegas.
Woods def. Love in a playoff
In 1996, the Las Vegas Invitational was held at three courses—Las Vegas Hilton Country Club, TPC Summerlin, Desert Inn—and spanned five days. And 90 holes weren’t enough as the young Woods and the veteran Love were tied at the end of regulation.
Woods, 20 years, 9 months and 6 days old at the time, opened his week with a 70 and followed that with scores of 63-68-67-64.
Love played that week with a wooden-headed driver. Yes, they still had those in 1996. A big hitter himself, Love drove the 341-yard, par-4 14th and made eagle. Missed birdie putts on 17 and 18 cost him a win in regulation and eventually a playoff loss.
“As disappointed as I am, I’m that much happy for him. He’s a great, great player, and he’s great for the Tour,” Love said.
Bright lights, big money
Las Vegas first became a regular PGA Tour stop in 1983 and from the get-go, it had the largest purse on tour.
In 1983, the first year of the event, the Panasonic Las Vegas Pro Celebrity Classic had a purse of $750,000 and Fuzzy Zoeller, who won the inaugural tournament, earned the $135,000 first-place check.
The next highest purse in 1983 was The Tournament Players Championship at $700,000. The Players, the flagship event for the PGA Tour, now has the biggest purse ($20 million) and the biggest first-place prize ($3,600,000), not counting the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
In its second year, 1984, Vegas became the first Tour event to showcase a purse of more than $1 million ($1,122,500 to be exact). Denis Watson won that year to earn $162,000.
By the time Woods won $297,000 for his 1996 victory, Vegas was the 14th-highest purse on Tour.
A dozen Vegas venues have hosted
The 2022 Shriners Children’s Open will measure 7,255 yards and play as a par 71 at TPC Summerlin, a course designed by Bobby Weed and Frank Urban “Fuzzy” Zoeller Jr.
It opened in 1991 and became part of a rotation of courses that hosted the Tour stop. TPC Summerlin was in the rota when Woods won it and since 2008 has been the sole venue for the tournament.
Twelve different venues in Las Vegas have served as host sites. Some of those golf courses are no longer in operation.
Furyk headlines list of multi-year winners
The year before Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour event in Las Vegas, Jim Furyk did it, hoisting the trophy and posing with two showgirls in celebration.
Furyk went on to win in two more times (1998, 1999) and is the lone three-time winner.
Five golfers have won the event twice: Dwight Nevil (1973, 1974), Brian Henninger (1994, 1999), Fred Funk (1998, 2004), Kevin Na (2011, 2019) Martin Laird (2009, 2020).
Past champs who won't be back
In 2021, Kevin Na withdrew from the Shriners Children’s Open because of a rib injury. In 2022, he is ineligible due to his defection to the LIV Golf Series.
Bryson DeChambeau, who won in Vegas in in 2018, edging Patrick Cantlay by a shot, is also a member of LIV Golf and therefore, also not allowed back.
Greg Norman the CEO and public face of LIV Golf, won the PGA Tour’s Vegas stop in 1986 when it was called the Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational for the third of his 20 PGA Tour wins.
