The Vintage Invitational on the PGA Champions Tour
First played: 1981
Last played: 1993
Note that although the tournament was first played in 1981, it did not become part of the Champions Tour until 1984. The tournament began as a 72-hole (four rounds) tournament. In 1990 it switched to a 54-hole (three rounds) format, which it used through the end.
Also known as: The name was Vintage Invitational in 1981-86; Vintage Chrysler Invitational, 1987-90; Vintage ARCO Invitational, 1991-92; and, in its final year, it was called the Gulfstream Aerospace Invitational.
Winners of the Vintage Invitational
1984 — Don January, 2801985 — Peter Thomson, 280
1986 — Dale Douglass, 272
1987 — Bob Charles, 285
1988 — Orville Moody, 263
1989 — Miller Barber, 281
1990 — Lee Trevino, 205
1991 — Chi Chi RodrÃguez, 206
1992 — Mike Hill, 203 (def. Tommy Aaron, Jim Colbert in playoff)
1993 — Raymond Floyd, 194
The final tournament in 1993 was the only played on the Indian Wells Golf Resort course, and Ray Floyd's winning score of 193 that year tied the Champions Tour's all-time record at that time for lowest 54-hole winning total.
Another all-time Champions Tour record of its time was matched here, too: Orville Moody's 11-stroke margin of victory in the (72-hole) 1988 Vintage Chrysler Invitational. His winning score of 263 was a new 72-hole scoring record on the tour that stood for two years.
And another one: Peter Thomson's victory in 1985 was one of nine wins the Australian legend had on the U.S. senior tour that year. And that remains tied for the most wins in any single season in Champions Tour history.
Bob Charles' win in 1987 was the first of his 25 career Champions Tour victories. (There was a 7-way tie for second that year, four strokes behind Charles: Bobby Nichols, Bruce Crampton, Butch Baird, Gary Player, Howie Johnson, Dale Douglass and Chi Chi Rodriguez.) Dale Douglass, who won 11 times on the senior circuit, also notched his first in this event in 1986. Miller Barber's win in 1989 was the last of his 24 career senior tour wins.
Unofficial Winners
The tournament was played for three years in the early 1980s before becoming part of the Champions Tour. These are the winners in those years, but they are not credited with official Champions Tour victories:
1981 — Gene Littler
1982 — Miller Barber
1983 — Gene Littler
Golf courses: The tournament was played at (and in most years named after) The Vintage Club in Indian Wells, California. In its last year only it took place at Indian Wells Golf Resort.
Sources:
PGA Tour. 1994 Senior PGA Tour Official Media Guide, Tour Histories, 1984-1993.
