Page 41 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Fall 2018

watching great golf, there are set the bar incredibly high when it comes to greatness on TOUR.
also a ton of outside-the-ropes
opportunities for fans. We And who can forget Jonathan Byrd’s walk-off hole-in-one in 2010 (yes,
have a great event,” Lindsey it’s been that long)? Byrd beat Martin Laird and Cameron Percy (as well
says. “The weather is usually as darkness) in a playoff to win his fourth PGA TOUR title. There’s also
ideal and when fans come out, the hometown story of Kevin Na winning his first PGA title, hoisting
they are guaranteed to see the trophy and cashing the check right here in Vegas in 2011.
great golf and a lot of drama.”
And most recently, there’s last year’s event when Cantlay beat Alex
In the 35 previous years, the Cejka and Whee Kim in a playoff to earn his first PGA TOUR title—
Shriners Hospitals for Chil- the most recent of many who have claimed victory in Las Vegas as their
dren Open has been the sight inaugural win on the PGA TOUR.
of some of the most historic
moments on the PGA TOUR. On the course, TPC Summerlin has been there from the beginning.
Don’t believe us? Well, here are a few highlights that will jog your When the tournament started, it was a 90-hole event that featured three
memory. courses in rotation, always centered around TPC Summerlin. Since
2008 when the tournament revamped the format, the 72-hole event has
Las Vegas was the first PGA TOUR event to offer a $1,000,000 purse strictly been held at TPC Summerlin.
way back in 1984. Denis Watson won $162,000 as the winner. (As a
side note, Patrick Cantlay, the 2017 champ, pocketed $1.2 million, TPC Summerlin is a Bobby Weed-designed layout that winds over,
while the six players who tied for 10th last year each earned more than around and through canyons. The par-71 course reaches 7,255 yards
$150,000.) from the tips and features a pair of holes late that can make or break a
round.
Then there’s 1996 when a promising young golfer stepped into the
winner’s circle on TOUR for the first time right here in Las Vegas. Tiger The driveable par-4 15th and the reachable-in-two par-5 16th give play-
Woods accepted his first winner’s check ($297,000) and has gone on to ers the option to be aggressive if they need to make up ground in an

W W W.L ASVEGASGOLFANDLEISURE.COM Fall 2018 LVG&L 39