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 The Buick Open
N 42° 54.061 W 083° 35.980
17T E 287759 N 4753102
Located at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club. This is simple, there is quite a bit of parking - walk to the side of the building and it's right behind the center of the building. If anyone asks just say you're taking a picture of the marker.
Waymark Code: WMJWXM
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 01/08/2014
Views: 6
One year after Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club opened in 1957, Waldo McNaught used his unique position as club president and public relations director of the Buick Motors Division of the General Motors Corporation (GM) to organize a tournament here. The collaboration between Warwick Hills, Buick, and the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) resulted in the first Buick Open held in June 1958. The event coincided with GM's "Golden Milestone" fiftieth anniversary. Company officials allowed the use of the Buick name and provided each golfer with a new car to use during the tournament. This marked the first corporate sponsorship of a PGA Tour event. The success of the 1958 open created a partnership that continued into the twenty-first century.
For five days in June 1958, golfers from across the country came to Grand Blanc to play in the first Buick Open. The field included what Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour supervisor Harvey Raynor called the Greatest field in PGA Tour history. A fifty-two-thousand-dollar purse, the largest of the 1958 season, was a big draw for many players, while "big-time golf," one-dollar admission, and free parking drew more than fifty thousand fans. On the eighteenth hole of the final round, any one of four golfers had a chance to win the open. In near darkness and chilling temperatures, Billy Casper, with the final shot of the tournament, sank a putt of three and one-half feet to win by one stroke and claim the nine thousand dollars - and a brand new Buick.
Description:
One year after Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club opened in 1957, Waldo McNaught used his unique position as club president and public relations director of the Buick Motors Division of the General Motors Corporation (GM) to organize a tournament here. The collaboration between Warwick Hills, Buick, and the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) resulted in the first Buick Open held in June 1958. The event coincided with GM's "Golden Milestone" fiftieth anniversary. Company officials allowed the use of the Buick name and provided each golfer with a new car to use during the tournament. This marked the first corporate sponsorship of a PGA Tour event. The success of the 1958 open created a partnership that continued into the twenty-first century.
For five days in June 1958, golfers from across the country came to Grand Blanc to play in the first Buick Open. The field included what Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour supervisor Harvey Raynor called the Greatest field in PGA Tour history. A fifty-two-thousand-dollar purse, the largest of the 1958 season, was a big draw for many players, while "big-time golf," one-dollar admission, and free parking drew more than fifty thousand fans. On the eighteenth hole of the final round, any one of four golfers had a chance to win the open. In near darkness and chilling temperatures, Billy Casper, with the final shot of the tournament, sank a putt of three and one-half feet to win by one stroke and claim the nine thousand dollars - and a brand new Buick.
Parking nearby?: yes
D/T ratings: 
Registered Site #: S0715
Historical Date: Not listed
Historical Name: Not listed
website: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:Take a photo of your GPS at the marker. We'd prefer a photo of you with your GPS, but we realize that sometimes that's just not possible or preferable.
Also include a bit about your visit to the marker.
NEW: Instructions for logging Missing Marker Visits.
If the Marker is missing, but still listed here, you must provide a photo of you at the actual item historically honored. (This should be the waymark's "default" image). Indicate in your log that you took your photo at the Historical Location instead of the marker, because the marker was missing. Please also still include a bit about your visit to the site.
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