PGA Tour 1958, 1959 Chicago Open Badges-plus 9 photos incl. Jack Nicklaus as Amateur in Event

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/21/2013

This lot contains two badges from the PGA's Tour stop to Chicago in the late 1950's. With a purse of $57,000 in 1959 it was the second largest payday of the year on the PGA, surpassed only by the $76,000 awarded at the Masters.(1)1958 Chicago Open Contestant Badge and (2)1959 Chicago Open Official Badge. Each badge measures at 2 1/8" diameter and remains in NR-MT condition with safety pin closure intact. Also with this lot are 9 small snapshot original photos including Ken Venturi (who won both the 1958 and 59 events), Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and one of a 19-year-old Jack Nicklaus. The young Nicklaus was playing as an amateur in his second Tour event outside of Majors (first 1958 Rubber City Open). In the 1959 Gleneagles-Chicago Open, Jack would shoot 67-69-76-73-285 to tie Palmer and Billy Maxwell for third after 36 holes and finish 26th in the event. An interesting lot containing seldom seen material from Jack's earliest PGA Tour moments.

This item comes from the Penna Family Collection. This highly successful and respected professional golfing family offers golf mementoes from the careers of brothers Toney Penna and Charley Penna, and Tommy Armour whom Toney and Charley worked under for many years as pros at Boca Raton in Florida and various courses in the Chicago area. Toney was a consistent top 20 money winner on the PGA Tour in the 1930's and 40's while his brother Charley competed in 20 U.S. Open and PGA Championships. We have it all from their storied careers in golf both on and off the course, including everything from contestant’s pins, to used sets of clubs, and prototypes for Penna's famous clubs. Toney is an icon when it comes to club making in the 20th Century, first with the MacGregor Golf Company as their chief of design and then later with his own brand of Penna clubs. Many of the designs of club heads used today were first developed by the genius of Toney. We introduce you to this extraordinary collection by offering various lots from the family’s collection in this special British Open offering. This is an opportunity to acquire golf history, possibly for the last time.

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