The Kentucky Derby is a world renown event that captivates not only the locals, but people from afar. The first Derby was run on May 17, 1875, and in 2024 they will celebrate the 150th Run for the Roses, but many seem to forget that a PGA Tour event took place from 1957-1959 that was played just before or the weekend following the Kentucky Derby in late April and early May.
The PGA Tour event was named the Kentucky Derby Open and held at Seneca Golf Course for three years spanning from 1957 to 1959. Back then, Seneca had a different layout, which was eventually altered when Interstate 64 was built. There was a treacherous hill on #17 labeled “Cardiac Hill” as many claimed it would bring on a heart attack if one continued to walk up it regularly. Tommy Bolt famously chastised the hill and course because of this so-called monstrosity and stated, “They should let goats graze the hillsides of this course”. Bolt was a hot-tempered golfer with a fiery disposition, who never failed to express his emotions and definitely wouldn’t hold back when giving his opinion. Of course, the layout of Seneca has immensely changed since those early days much to the appreciation of the golfers who have walked those fairways.
The inaugural winner of the KY Derby Open was Billy Casper in 1957 with a score of 277. Casper beat Peter Thomson by one stroke capturing his third career win on the PGA Tour. Late Kentucky Golf Professional and former Senior PGA Tour player, Jim O’Hern, caddied for Casper when he was a teen in the 1957 tournament. When Casper approached his 2nd shot on the 17th of the final round, O’Hern recalled his ball being directly behind a tree with no way to go around or over it, but enough room to make a swing on this blind shot. Casper hit his shot directly through the top portion of the tree and miraculously missing branches and barely clipping leaves with the ball landing on the green, where Casper proceeded to two put and maintain his one-shot lead.
Gary Player won the event in 1958 with a total of 274, making it his first career PGA Tour win and legend has it he won $2800 and a racehorse. Winning the thoroughbred is what propelled Player into the world of horse racing, where he established the very successful Black Knight International Racing as well as a horse farm in South Africa named the Gary Player Horse Stud. The farm has since been changed to the Big Sky Ranch. Player, nicknamed the Black Knight, has had many successful racehorses run all over the world and ironically one of those ran in a stakes race at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.
The tournament’s last winner, Don Witt, won this event with a score of 274, one week after winning the Memphis Open capping off his only two wins on the PGA Tour. So just like Kentucky Derby winners Monarchos, Mine That Bird, Super Saver, Always Dreaming, Rich Strike and Mage, Witt also never won again after capturing the Kentucky Derby “Open”.
The event also had an infamous incident take place in 1957 when multiple players intentionally played poorly so they would miss the cut and get a head start on their travel plans to the next tour stop. Needless to say, many players were not fond of Seneca, especially Cardiac Hill, where a pickup truck was often used to transport players and caddies up the severe incline. George Bayer ensured he would miss the cut by using his 7-iron to chip up Cardiac Hill and play out the rest of the hole with it eventually making a 17 on #17. All the players who “intentionally” missed the cut, were suspended by the PGA Tour, but those suspensions were later lifted.
Louisville will always be famous for being home to the Kentucky Derby and very well known for hosting the 1996, 2000, 2014 & 2024 PGA Championships; the 2008 Ryder Cup; and the Senior PGA Championship in 2004 & 2011 at Valhalla Golf Club…But will be forever infamous for the Kentucky Derby Open.
