Winter 2023

94 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 How it All Began Bing Crosby and the Pro-Am at Pebble Beach B Y NE A L HOT E L L I NG T his year marks the 77th winter that the PGA Tour has made an annual trek to the Monterey Peninsula for the grandfather of all pro-am golf tournaments— known today as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. However, the tournament actually began 87 winters ago at Rancho Santa Fe in Southern California. It was the idea of entertainer Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby who, in 1925 at age 22, came to Los Angeles from Spokane, Washing- ton, and launched what quickly became a remarkable career. As a singer, he had his first number one hit in 1929 with “Ol’ Man River” and he eventually record- ed more than 1,600 songs. In 1931 he launched his first radio show and, the same year, signed a movie contract. Throughout his career, he made more than 70 feature films, winning a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Father O’Malley in “Going My Way” (1944). As technology advanced, he also became a tele- vision star. Crosby had two passions beyond his career—golf and horse racing. Crosby worked with Ampex to advance recording technology so his radio show, which previously required two live performances (one for the East Coast and one for the West Coast), could be prerecorded, allowing him more time for his passions. Crosby was a member of the Lakeside Country Club in Burbank, where he developed close friendships with other Hollywood golfers and many professional golfers. In the mid-1930s, Crosby part- nered with Lindsay Howard, breeding racehorses for their Binglin Stable near the Del Mar track at Rancho Santa Fe. Howard’s father, Charles, also had a stable, Howard Farms, and in 1936 began racing a 3-year-old thoroughbred by the name of Seabiscuit. Binglin’s horses were not quite as famous, but won sev- eral races, despite the “glue facto- ry” jokes foisted by Crosby cohort Bob Hope. The economic depression of the 1930s reduced sponsor money for his professional golfer friends, so in November 1936, Crosby decided to combine his passions and announced that he would sponsor a pro-am golf tournament while wintering at Rancho Santa Fe. He scheduled a 36-hole tournament there on February 6-7, 1937, shortly after the Los Angeles and Southern California opens. Crosby put up a $3,000 purse for the pros and other prizes for the amateurs. It was billed as “The Bing Crosby Invitational Amateur-Pro Golf Tournament.” The 70 pros had to qualify under PGA conditions, and included most of the top pros, including Jimmy Thompson, George Von Elm, Harry Cooper and youngsters Lawson Little and Sam Snead.The 70 amateurs were Crosby’s invitees and included Fred Astaire, Richard Arlen, Alan Hale, Johnny Dawson and sportswriter Grantland Rice. Golfers teed off Saturday morning but were interrupted by a deluge of rain and play was canceled. Crosby himself was even par through six holes Entertainer Bing Crosby provided a $10,000 purse for the 1947 Crosby at Pebble Beach—double the 1942 purse at Rancho Santa Fe. Photo: Pebble Beach Co. Lagorio Archive