The Lexington PGA

The Lexington PGA

The P.G.A., played the world over, is truly the 'professionals tournament". It is generally organised and run entirely by the professional association. In South Africa the P.G.A. was first held at Houghton in 1965.

It owes its origins to Gary player and Brian Henning, who put up their own money to get the tournament off the ground. Thereafter its success was assured. That first tournament was won by Harold Henning, who repeated the feat in the following two years. Gary player and Dale Hayes share with Harold the achievement of recording three wins each. The lowest score to win the P.G.A. belongs to Bobby Cole who won in 1986 with a score of 265. This was matched in 1993 by Mark McNulty.

In 1971 the redoubtable Louis Luyt approached the club with an attractive proposition to provide an underground fairway water irrigation system. This project was to be linked to his Luyt Lager becoming the sponsor of the future P.G.A. tournaments, with The Wanderers becoming the permanent home for this event. The deal was struck and the first P.G.A. was played at the wanderers in January 1972. It was won by Harold Henning and a year later by the great American player Tom Weiskopf. Thus began an association with the P.G.A. that endured 23 years Lexington took over the sponsorship in 1977, until they relinquished it in 1995. During this period, we were privileged to play host to many of the worlds' best golfers, including Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin, Hal Irwin, David Feherty and, of course, our well known South African players.

The P.G.A. was always regarded by the professionals as one of the best organised and run tournaments on the sunshine circuit. This was due to the part played by dedicated staff and extreme commitment from both lady and gentlemen members who looked forward to this annual event with joy.