Episode 7, “Golf’s Giants Tour Texas” (35:07)
• [02:01] Two boys from Jersey. Vardon and Ray both grew up in Grouville on the Channel Island of Jersey and learned the game at what became Royal Jersey Golf Club.
• [04:21] Vardon’s career. His record six Open Championships, the “Vardon grip” (which he didn’t invent), knickers on the course, and his fight with tuberculosis.
• [08:21] Ted Ray. The longest hitter of his day, known for his pipe, his blunt advice (“hit it harder”) and his dislike of slow play.
• [12:10] The 1900 tour and the first endorsement. Spalding’s deal with Vardon came five years before Honus Wagner signed with Louisville Slugger.
• [16:12] Alex Findlay. The tour manager went from Scottish golfer to Nebraska cowboy to designer of more than 100 courses, including San Antonio Country Club. Also covered: where “par” comes from.
• [21:16] The 1913 U.S. Open. The USGA moved the Open to September so Vardon and Ray could play. Ouimet then won the playoff at Brookline.
• [24:45] A young Bobby Jones watches. An 11-year-old Jones saw Ray hit what he later called the greatest shot he’d ever seen.
• [25:32] Dallas, October 17. At Dallas Country Club, Texas Amateur champions George Rotan and Charles Dexter pushed Vardon and Ray hard. Perry Maxwell was in the crowd.
• [27:54] Houston, October 18. A 36-hole match at the original Houston Country Club, now Gus Wortham Park.
• [28:40] San Antonio, October 19. A best-ball medal match on a Findlay-designed course.
• [30:37] What came after. Ray won the 1920 U.S. Open, captained Britain in the first Ryder Cup, and Ouimet became the first American captain of the R&A.
• [32:33] The 19th Hole. Places you can visit: Gus Wortham, the Texas Golf Hall of Fame at Brackenridge Park and online at TexasGolfHOF.org, the World Golf Hall of Fame at Pinehurst, Ouimet’s boyhood home, and Royal Jersey.
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A San Antonio sportswriter did some math in 1921 and built the oldest golf tournament in Texas. From hickory clubs and rubber tees at Brackenridge Park to J.J. Spaun at TPC San Antonio, this is 104 years of Texas Open history — Hogan, Nelson, Palmer, Crenshaw, and the records that still stand.

In 1921, Jack O’Brien of the San Antonio Evening News noticed that the U.S. Open champion took home $500 while a single prize fight paid $25,000. He decided Texas golf deserved better — and the Texas Open was born.
Host Ken Wise traces 104 years and 95 playings of the tournament now known as the Valero Texas Open: the third-oldest event on the PGA Tour, and the only professional tournament held in the same city for its entire existence.
In This Episode
• Why a $25,000 boxing purse launched the oldest golf tournament in Texas
• Brackenridge Park, A.W. Tillinghast, and the rubber mats the pros teed off until the 1960s
• John Bredemus — Princeton man, Olympic-caliber athlete, and the first resident golf course architect in Texas
• Bob MacDonald, Cyril Walker, and the 1922 tournament that drew about 90 players and 6,000 spectators a day
• Gene Sarazen: “We’d play in a cow pasture for $5,000”
• The 1928 rain delay at Willow Springs when Tommy Armour drafted bylaws for a touring pros’ association
• A 17-year-old Ben Hogan’s first professional tournament — and why he went home to practice
• Byron Nelson’s 1939 playoff win, the only Texas Open he ever took
• Mike Souchak’s back-nine 27 and 72-hole 257 in 1955 — records that stood for decades
• Tony Holguin, the Pan American Golf Association, and a 1953 win on his home course
• Wesley Ellis Jr. and the last Texas Open at Brackenridge Park
• Arnold Palmer’s three straight titles — and the Pecan Valley plaque for a shot he missed
• Ben Crenshaw winning his first official start as a full PGA Tour member
• The 19th Hole: where to play San Antonio golf history yourself

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Show Notes
In this episode:
● The layers of history buried under one San Antonio park — irrigation, war, industry, and sport.
● How a parks commissioner, a herd of buffalo, and a golf course accidentally created a zoo.
● Why a city hired one of America's greatest architects to build a course anyone could play.
● A sportswriter's idea, a big purse, and the tournament that reshaped the professional game.
● The Mount Rushmore connection sitting quietly on the property.
● A refreshment stand by the 12th green and the four-star general who grew up beside it.
● The five golfers whose borrowed entry fee launched a national association.
● What a highway took away, what a restoration brought back, and how to go see it today.
Plus the 19th Hole, where we tell you how to go visit the places in this episode.
Connect With the Show
Website: wiseaboutgolf.com
Instagram: instagram.com/wiseaboutgolf
Facebook: Wise About Golf
Twitter/X: @WiseAboutGolfTX
Email your episode ideas and Texas golf connections: golf@wiseabouttexas.com
Support the Show
If you enjoy Texas golf history, the best free thing you can do is leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts — it helps like-minded folks find the show. Telling a friend works too.
Patreon: patreon.com/WiseAboutTexas