The Buick Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Regardless, many prominent players used it as a "tune-up" for the subsequent major.

Buick Open
Tournament information
LocationGrand Blanc, Michigan
Established1958
Course(s)Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club
Par72
Length7,085 yards (6,479 m)
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$5,100,000
Month playedJuly/August
Final year2009
Tournament record score
Aggregate262 Robert Wrenn (1987)
To par−26 as above
Final champion
United States Tiger Woods
Location map
Warwick Hills G&CC is located in the United States
Warwick Hills G&CC
Warwick Hills G&CC
Location in the United States
Warwick Hills G&CC is located in Michigan
Warwick Hills G&CC
Warwick Hills G&CC
Location in Michigan

For the event's first decade, the Buick Open Invitational was played at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. After 1969, professional golf events in the area fell off the PGA Tour schedule and a series of pro-ams and other similarly unofficial events took place, mostly at Flint Golf Club in Flint, Michigan.

Flint native, and PGA touring professional Larry Mancour had returned to Michigan to play in the Buick Open and stayed to build the Grand Blanc Golf Club. He then added nine holes at the Flint Elks Golf Club where he remained the professional for 20 years. He rescued the Buick Open when General Motors dropped sponsorship of the tournament. With local Buick dealers Mancour started the Little Buick Open in 1969. It drew players and fans and led to the rebirth of the Buick Open in 1977.

The Buick Open officially made its return to the PGA Tour in 1977 at the Flint Elks Club, and in 1978 the event returned to Warwick Hills G&CC, where it remained until its demise.

The Associated Press reported July 28, 2009, that General Motors would end its sponsorship of the Buick Open after the 2009 tournament, in order to devote its marketing resources to cars and trucks.[1] The PGA Tour replaced the tournament with the Greenbrier Classic at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.[2]

As in the 1970s, a series of pro-ams and other unofficial events now take place in Grand Blanc, with the AJGA's Randy Wise Open taking place at Warwick Hills and most pro-ams and a golf festival at the Jewel of Grand Blanc (the former Grand Blanc Golf Club).

In 2014, an unrelated tournament with the same name was started in China. The event is played on PGA Tour China.

In 2018, the former General Motors financing arm, now Ally Bank, returned to Warwick Hills to sponsor a PGA Tour Champions event, The Ally Challenge. Jim Furyk (2003, 2020) and Vijay Singh (2004, 2005, 2023) have won both events.

Long hitters

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In its final years, the tournament was dominated by long hitters. Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Brian Bateman, and Kenny Perry combined for eight wins in its final nine years. Several other players ranked highly in driving distance finished second during that span, including Woods, Jason Gore, Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, and John Daly.[3]

Winners

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Year Tour[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
Buick Open
2009 PGAT   Tiger Woods (3) 268 −20 3 strokes   Greg Chalmers
  John Senden
  Roland Thatcher
918,000
2008 PGAT   Kenny Perry (2) 269 −19 1 stroke   Woody Austin
  Bubba Watson
900,000
2007 PGAT   Brian Bateman 273 −15 1 stroke   Woody Austin
  Jason Gore
  Justin Leonard
882,000
2006 PGAT   Tiger Woods (2) 264 −24 3 strokes   Jim Furyk 864,000
2005 PGAT   Vijay Singh (3) 264 −24 4 strokes   Zach Johnson
  Tiger Woods
828,000
2004 PGAT   Vijay Singh (2) 265 −23 1 stroke   John Daly 810,000
2003 PGAT   Jim Furyk 267 −21 2 strokes   Briny Baird
  Chris DiMarco
  Geoff Ogilvy
  Tiger Woods
720,000
2002 PGAT   Tiger Woods 271 −17 4 strokes   Fred Funk
  Brian Gay
  Mark O'Meara
  Esteban Toledo
594,000
2001 PGAT   Kenny Perry 263 −25 2 strokes   Chris DiMarco
  Jim Furyk
558,000
2000 PGAT   Rocco Mediate 268 −20 1 stroke   Chris Perry 486,000
1999 PGAT   Tom Pernice Jr. 270 −18 1 stroke   Tom Lehman
  Ted Tryba
  Bob Tway
432,000
1998 PGAT   Billy Mayfair 271 −17 2 strokes   Scott Verplank 324,000
1997 PGAT   Vijay Singh 273 −15 4 strokes   Tom Byrum
  Russ Cochran
  Ernie Els
  Brad Fabel
  Naomichi Ozaki
  Curtis Strange
270,000
1996 PGAT   Justin Leonard 266 −22 5 strokes   Chip Beck 216,000
1995 PGAT   Woody Austin 270 −18 Playoff   Mike Brisky 216,000
1994 PGAT   Fred Couples 270 −18 2 strokes   Corey Pavin 198,000
1993 PGAT   Larry Mize 272 −16 1 stroke   Fuzzy Zoeller 180,000
1992 PGAT   Dan Forsman 276 −12 Playoff   Steve Elkington
  Brad Faxon
180,000
1991 PGAT   Brad Faxon 271 −17 Playoff   Chip Beck 180,000
1990 PGAT   Chip Beck 272 −16 1 stroke   Mike Donald
  Hale Irwin
  Fuzzy Zoeller
180,000
1989 PGAT   Leonard Thompson 273 −15 1 stroke   Billy Andrade
  Payne Stewart
  Doug Tewell
180,000
1988 PGAT   Scott Verplank 268 −20 2 strokes   Doug Tewell 126,000
1987 PGAT   Robert Wrenn 262 −26 7 strokes   Dan Pohl 108,000
1986 PGAT   Ben Crenshaw 270 −18 1 stroke   J. C. Snead
  Doug Tewell
90,000
1985 PGAT   Ken Green 268 −20 4 strokes   Wayne Grady 81,000
1984 PGAT   Denis Watson 271 −17 1 stroke   Payne Stewart 72,000
1983 PGAT   Wayne Levi 272 −16 1 stroke   Isao Aoki
  Calvin Peete
63,000
1982 PGAT   Lanny Wadkins 273 −15 1 stroke   Tom Kite 63,000
1981 PGAT   Hale Irwin 277 −11 Playoff   Bobby Clampett
  Peter Jacobsen
  Gil Morgan
63,000
Buick-Goodwrench Open
1980 PGAT   Peter Jacobsen 276 −12 1 stroke   Billy Kratzert
  Mark Lye
45,000
1979 PGAT   John Fought 280 −8 Playoff   Jim Simons 27,000
1978 PGAT   Jack Newton 280 −8 Playoff   Mike Sullivan 20,000
Buick Open
1977 PGAT   Bobby Cole 271 −17 1 stroke   Fred Marti 20,000
1976   Ed Sabo 279 −9 Playoff   Randy Erskine 12,000
1975   Spike Kelley 208 −8 1 stroke   Randy Erskine
  Jim Marshall
  Mike McCullough
4,200
Flint Elks Open
1974   Bryan Abbott 136 −8 Playoff   Joe Porter 2,000
Lake Michigan Classic
1973   Wilf Homenuik 215 −1 Playoff   Jim Ferriell 3,200
Vern Parsell Buick Open
1972   Gary Groh 273 −15 2 strokes   John Mahaffey 4,000
Buick Open Invitational
1970–1971: No tournament
1969 PGAT   Dave Hill 277 −11 2 strokes   Frank Beard 25,000
1968 PGAT   Tom Weiskopf 280 −8 1 stroke   Mike Hill 25,000
1967 PGAT   Julius Boros (2) 283 −5 3 strokes   Bob Goalby
  R. H. Sikes
  Bert Yancey
20,000
1966 PGAT   Phil Rodgers 284 −4 2 strokes   Johnny Pott
  Kermit Zarley
20,000
1965 PGAT   Tony Lema (2) 280 −8 2 strokes   Johnny Pott 20,000
1964 PGAT   Tony Lema 277 −11 1 stroke   Dow Finsterwald 8,000
1963 PGAT   Julius Boros 274 −14 5 strokes   Dow Finsterwald 9,000
1962 PGAT   Bill Collins 284 −4 1 stroke   Dave Ragan 9,000
1961 PGAT   Jack Burke Jr. 284 −4 Playoff   Billy Casper
  Johnny Pott
9,000
1960 PGAT   Mike Souchak 282 −6 1 stroke   Gay Brewer
  Art Wall Jr.
9,000
1959 PGAT   Art Wall Jr. 282 −6 Playoff   Dow Finsterwald 9,000
1958 PGAT   Billy Casper 285 −3 1 stroke   Ted Kroll
  Arnold Palmer
9,000

Notes

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  1. ^ PGAT − PGA Tour.

References

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  1. ^ "AP Source: GM to End Sponsorship of Buick Open". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-28. [dead link] (Defunct prior to 7/10)
  2. ^ "Greenbrier Classic Announcement". Bloomberg. 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  3. ^ "Buick Open Winners". Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
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