PGA Tour's Labatt Open Tournament in Canada
First played: 1953
Last played: 1957
The tournament used a 72-hole, stroke-play format. It was discontinued after 1957 due to a dispute over playing dates. The title sponsor was beermaker Labatt Brewing Company.
Winners of the PGA Tour Labatt Open
1953 — Doug Ford, 2651954 — Bud Holscher, 269
1955 — Gene Littler, 272 (def. Stan Leonard in playoff)
1956 — Billy Casper, 274
1957 — Paul Harney, 278
Doug Ford's winning score of 265 in the first year held up as the tournament's 72-hole scoring record.
Three of the five winners gained their victories very early in Hall-of-Fame careers: Ford, plus childhood friends from San Diego, Calif., Gene Littler and Billy Casper. For Ford, his 1953 win was the third of his 19 career PGA Tour victories.
Littler's victory was the fifth of his 29 career wins. He earned that victory in a sudden-death playoff against Stan Leonard, winning on the first hole. Leonard's runner-up finish in 1955 was the closest any Canadian golfer came to winning the Labatt Open.
And for Casper in 1956, his Labatt Open victory was the very first of his PGA Tour career, a 2-stroke win over second-place Jimmy Demaret. Casper only won another 50 times on tour after that.
Golf courses: The tournament was played in Quebec four times and Ontario once. The Ontario course was Scarboro Golf & Country Club in Toronto. The Quebec courses were Summerlea Golf & Country Club (twice), Royal Quebec Golf Club, and Islesmere Golf & Country Club.
