Looking Back: Dunlop International Tournament (Australia)
First played: 1965
Last played: 1972
The tournament's strength of field was due to its position on the schedule: The Dunlop International typically followed the Australian Open by one week. PGA Tour stars, at the time, commonly made the trip Down Under to play the Australian Open, and many stuck around for the Dunlop International.
Winners of the Dunlop International
1965 — Bruce Devlin, 2851966 — Bob Stanton, 294 (def. Arnold Palmer in playoff)
1967 — Bob Stanton, 285
1968 — Bruce Devlin, 281
1969 — Bruce Devlin, 276 (def. Lee Trevino in playoff)
1970 — Gary Player, 282
1971 — Jack Nicklaus, 274
1972 — Tony Jacklin, 277
One week after winning the 1971 Australian Open, Nicklaus set the Dunlop International's scoring and margin-of-victory records in his 7-shot win. His 62 in the second round and 274 total were both tournament records.
Australian golfers won the first five years, Bruce Devlin taking the inaugural event in 1965 (by one stroke over Aussie legend Peter Thomson), and winning again in 1968 and 1969. In his third win, Devlin defeated Lee Trevino on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Bob Stanton was the other Aussie winner, taking the title in 1966 and 1967. In his 1966 victory, Stanton beat Arnold Palmer on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. Devlin was runner-up to Stanton in 1967.
Gary Player broke the Australian's hold on the trophy with a one-stroke win in 1970, with Trevino among the runners-up. Like Nicklaus would a year later, Player won a week after claiming the Australian Open.
Golf courses: The Dunlop International rotated to different courses each year, with two hosting multiple times. Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Victoria was the only tree-time host; Royal Canberra hosted twice. Royal Queensland near Brisbane, Manly Golf Club in New South Wales, and The Australian near Sydney were also tournament sites.