Winter 2023

104 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 (Left) Johnny “Tarzan” Weissmuller played in Crosbys at both Rancho Santa Fe and Pebble Beach. (Below) Amateur Locke deBrettville (knee up) and Johnny Miller (seated) both sported long blonde locks as they won the 1974 Crosby. Los Angeles Open, the tournament would be played January 10-12 and “officially known as the Sixth Annual $10,000 National Pro-Am Championship, Sponsored by Bing Crosby.” It wasn’t until 1966, “the 25th” tournament, that the tournament program acknowledged the numbering error, which was blamed on forget- ting about the nearly washed-out event in 1937. Despite the acknowledgment, there was no correction. The errant numbering continued through 1985. The tournament came off nearly as planned, although neither the ladies nor Bob Hope made it that first year. Celebrities besides Crosby included Dennis O’Keefe, Randolph Scott, Richard Arlen, Edgar Kennedy and Johnny Weissmuller. The latter, famous as Tarzan, paired with Ed “Porky” Oliver as part of the top-drawing foursome that also included pretournament favorite Ben Hogan, winner of the prior week’s Los Angeles Open, who was paired with top-ranked ama- teur Frank Stranahan. On a picture-perfect Friday, Dick Metz led the professional scoring with a 5-under 67; seven birdies and two bogies at Cypress Point. George Fazio was second with a 68. Lloyd Mangrum aced the 7th hole for the events first hole-in- one, which helped him finish at par, 72. Pretournament favorite Ben Hogan shot a dis- appointing 78. With a team score of 64, Metz and partner Fred Dold tied with the team of Sam Snead and Roger Kelley, a Southern California attorney and two-time state champi- on. Crosby and MPCC pro Cam Puget were tied with Carmel-based teaching pro Newt Bassler and MPCC club champion Francis “Buck” Henneken, just one stroke back. Cooler temperatures on Saturday seemed to cool-off Metz, whose 77 at MPCC dropped him back to a tie for second place with Mangrum (72-68) and Oliver (70-70) at 140. In the lead by two strokes was Fazio 68-70—138. Snead and Kelly (64-66) led the teams, with Bassler- Henneken (65-66) tied for second with the Metz-Dold team (64-67). Puget-Crosby fell back to a tie for fifth. On Sunday at Pebble Beach, the good weath- er that had been enjoyed for two weeks turned. Snead (76- 70-70) and Bassler (71-74-71) finished early with the only sub- par rounds of the day, and were leaders in the clubhouse at 216 for most of the day, while the golfers on the course battled a drenching rain. Metz came in with a 79 and Mangum managed a 76 to tie the leaders until Fazio came in with a 75—213. There were no electric scoreboards back then, but with only a few golfers left on the course, Fazio was thought to be the winner. As the sun was setting, only a small gallery watched in the rain as Ed Furgol, with 72-69 for his first two rounds, hit a 5-iron from the 16th fairway The PGA would qualify the pros and Crosby would invite the top amateurs and celebrities, like Bob Hope and Johnny Weissmuller, and even four women. Photo: Julian P. Graham photo/Pebble Beach Co. Lagorio Archive Photo: William C. Brooks photo/Pebble Beach Co. Lagorio Archive