Rio Pinar Country Club
The golf course at Rio Pinar was initially designed by Mark Mahannah in 1957, and featured medium-sized greens, strategically placed bunkers and narrow fairways framed by pine and oak trees. Lloyd Clifton was hired by the club in 1995 to give a refresh to Mahannah's then forty-year old design. Clifton put a focus on enlarging the greens and reshaping bunkers while staying true to the original vision for the course.
Florida Citrus Open
Established in 1957, the golf course was the original site of the Florida Citrus Open (now Arnold Palmer Invitational) on the PGA Tour from 1966 through 1978. with the initial purse being $110,000, with a $21,000 cut for the winner. The winner's share increased to $40,000 by 1975.
In the 13-year span that Rio Pinar hosted the Open, the tournament was a popular stop on the PGA Tour, with winners of the event including Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Julius Boros, and Arnold Palmer, all of which are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Palmer's win in the 1971 Citrus Open was his first of four wins during the 1971 PGA Tour, which would be his final tournament wins as a solo player. After purchasing the nearby Bay Hill Club and Lodge in 1974, Palmer lobbied PGA officials to move their Orlando tournament to his course, which they did in 1979.
After the departure of the PGA, Rio Pinar was the site of the LPGA Tour's Lady Citrus Open from 1979 to 1982 until the tournament moved to the Cypress Creek Country Club in 1983. The event was dropped from the LPGA schedule altogether after the 1984 tour season. Plaques commemorating winners of both tournaments and other course record-holders sit just outside the club's pro-shop.
Scorecard
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 79.3 / 130 | 569 | 380 | 414 | 194 | 391 | 410 | 566 | 213 | 422 | 3559 | 507 | 420 | 165 | 385 | 412 | 515 | 221 | 355 | 429 | 3409 | 6968 |
| Gold | 72.2 / 127 | 538 | 369 | 407 | 180 | 358 | 399 | 549 | 171 | 409 | 3380 | 484 | 398 | 151 | 359 | 388 | 490 | 197 | 342 | 401 | 3210 | 6590 |
| Blue | 70.4 / 125 | 520 | 353 | 391 | 159 | 344 | 384 | 533 | 152 | 389 | 3225 | 458 | 373 | 135 | 338 | 359 | 468 | 180 | 324 | 383 | 3018 | 6243 |
| White | 67.0 / 117 | 457 | 304 | 309 | 154 | 329 | 328 | 477 | 136 | 365 | 2859 | 424 | 339 | 100 | 308 | 299 | 418 | 163 | 280 | 307 | 2638 | 5497 |
| SI | Men's | 1 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 4 | |||
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 | |
| SI | Ladies' | 1 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 4 | |||
| Blue | 76.2 / 135 | 520 | 353 | 391 | 159 | 344 | 384 | 533 | 152 | 389 | 3225 | 458 | 373 | 135 | 338 | 359 | 468 | 180 | 324 | 383 | 3018 | 6243 |
| White | 72.0 / 128 | 457 | 304 | 309 | 154 | 329 | 328 | 477 | 136 | 365 | 2859 | 424 | 339 | 100 | 308 | 299 | 418 | 163 | 280 | 307 | 2638 | 5497 |
| Red | 71.0 / 125 | 453 | 300 | 304 | 141 | 315 | 324 | 473 | 129 | 352 | 2791 | 412 | 326 | 96 | 295 | 290 | 401 | 149 | 270 | 294 | 2533 | 5324 |
Tour winners
PGA Tour
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Winner's share ($) |
Purse ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Citrus Open | ||||||
| 1978 | Mac McLendon |  United States |
271 | −17 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| 1977 | Gary Koch | United States |
274 | −14 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| 1976 | Hale Irwin | United States |
270 | −18 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| 1975 | Lee Trevino | United States |
276 | −12 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| 1974 | Jerry Heard (2) | United States |
273 | −15 | 30,000 | 150,000 |
| 1973 | Buddy Allin | United States |
265 | −23 | 30,000 | 150,000 |
| 1972 | Jerry Heard | United States |
276 | −12 | 30,000 | 150,000 |
| Florida Citrus Invitational | ||||||
| 1971 | Arnold Palmer | United States |
270 | −18 | 30,000 | 150,000 |
| 1970 | Bob Lunn | United States |
271 | −17 | 30,000 | 150,000 |
| Florida Citrus Open Invitational | ||||||
| 1969 | Ken Still | United States |
278 | −10 | 23,000 | 115,000 |
| 1968 | Dan Sikes | United States |
274 | −14 | 23,000 | 115,000 |
| 1967 | Julius Boros | United States |
274 | −10 | 23,000 | 115,000 |
| 1966 | Lionel Hebert | United States |
279 | −5 | 21,000 | 110,000 |
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources:
LPGA Tour
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Winner's share ($) |
Purse ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Lady Classic | ||||||
| 1982 | Patty Sheehan | United States |
209 | −7 | 22,500 | 150,000 |
| Florida Lady Citrus | ||||||
| 1981 | Beth Daniel | United States |
281 | −7 | 15,000 | 100,000 |
| 1980 | Donna White | United States |
283 | −9 | 15,000 | 100,000 |
| 1979 | Jane Blalock | United States |
286 | −6 | 15,000 | 100,000 |
References
- ^ "Course Rating and Slope Database™: Rio Pinar CC". USGA. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ^ "Rio Pinar Country Club: A fixture on the Orlando golf scene for more than five decades". OrlandoGolf.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
- ^ "Dickinson takes lead in golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. March 19, 1966. p. 12.
- ^ Lenoir, Bob (March 6, 1978). "McLendon dream pays off - $40,000". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C.
- ^ By (1996-07-14). "TWO GOLF COURSE COMMUNITIES BUILT ON COW PASTURES HAVE RICH HISTORIES". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
- ^ Revell, Jay (2018-05-24). "A Small Slice of Paradise". Medium. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
- ^ "Rio Pinar Country Club - Detailed Scorecard | Course Database".
- ^ Arnold Palmer Invitational - Winners - at www.pgatour.com
- ^ Arnold Palmer Invitational - Winners Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine - at www.golfobserver.com
External links
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