The World Championship of Golf was a championship played on the PGA Tour

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...

 in the 1940s and 1950s that, in its latter years, boasted a purse that dwarfed every other event on the tour, including even the U.S. Open

U.S. Open (golf)

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...

. It was played in August of each year at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club, in Niles, Illinois

Niles, Illinois

Niles is a village in Maine and Niles Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 29,803.The current mayor of Niles is Robert M. Callero.-History:Niles was first settled in 1827....

. The same course was the venue for the All American Open

All American Open

The All American Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was run by George S. May and was also known as the Tam O'Shanter Open. From 1944 to 1946 it offered $10,000 winner's prize...

 played the preceding week; both tournaments were instigated by course owner George S. May

George S. May

George S. May was an American businessman.George Storr May was born in Windsor, Illinois. He graduated with a degree from the Illinois States Teacher College...

. In 1953, the championship was the first golf tournament to be shown live on national television, and happily for the promoters, ended in incredible fashion, with Lew Worsham

Lew Worsham

Lewis Elmer Worsham, Jr. was an American professional golfer.Worsham was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. In 1947, he won the U.S. Open by defeating Sam Snead in an 18-hole playoff at the St. Louis Country Club in Clayton, Missouri after the two men had finished tied at 282 in regulation....

 holing a wedge shot from the fairway for eagle and victory.

From 1946 to 1948, the event was a 36-hole, winner-take-all exhibition event, with fields of four, eight, and twelve golfers, respectively. The winner took home prizes of $10,000, $5,000, and $10,000, respectively, and the losers were given generous travel expenses.

Beginning in 1949, however, the event grew to a full-fledged 72-hole championship with a large invited field, became part of the main tour, and with its huge prize fund, became undoubtedly one of the most important tournaments for the professionals. From 1949 to 1951, its winner would go home with a check for over $10,000 - this in the days when most tour events had a first prize of $2,000 - but it was from 1952 to 1957 that the purse grew to astronomical levels. The winner took home $25,000 in 1952 and 1953, and starting in 1954, $50,000 with an additional $50,000 available in the form of a contract with May for 50 worldwide exhibition events.

In each of those years (1952-1957), the winner of the Championship topped the tour's money list by some distance - in 1954, for example, Bob Toski

Bob Toski

Robert John Toski, born Algustoski , is an American golfer and teacher.He was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts of Polish descent. He learned to play at Northampton Country Club, where he caddied and two of his elder brothers were assistant professionals...

 led the season's money earnings with $64,000, while Jack Burke, Jr. was second with just $20,000. Without the $50,000 from his one victory at Tam O'Shanter, he would have finished just tenth in earnings, despite winning three other tournaments. In 1957, Dick Mayer

Dick Mayer

Alvin Richard Mayer was an American professional golfer.Mayer was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He apprenticed with renowned player and teacher Claude Harmon at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York City....

 won both the U.S. Open - and a check for $7,200 - and this championship, and a check for $50,000.

The event provided one of the few showcases of its time for leading international players to compete against the best U.S. professionals, who rarely travelled outside of their country to play. Although none would win the title, players like Bobby Locke

Bobby Locke

Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke was the first internationally successful South African professional golfer. He won four Open Championships.-Early years:...

, Norman Von Nida

Norman Von Nida

Norman Guy Von Nida was an Australian professional golfer.Von Nida was born in Strathfield and grew up in Brisbane. He turned professional in 1933, after attracting attention by winning the Queensland Amateur aged just 18...

, Roberto De Vicenzo, and Peter Thomson would all enjoy high finishes in the tournament, De Vicenzo and Thomson in particular regularly collecting big checks.

In 1958, May decided to pull the plug on the event in a dispute with the PGA over player entrance fees, and it disappeared from the tour. The leading money winner for 1958, Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...

, won less money during the entire season than Dick Mayer

Dick Mayer

Alvin Richard Mayer was an American professional golfer.Mayer was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He apprenticed with renowned player and teacher Claude Harmon at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York City....

 had won at Tam O'Shanter in 1957.

Winners

Year	Winner	Runners-up
1957	Dick Mayer Dick Mayer Alvin Richard Mayer was an American professional golfer.Mayer was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He apprenticed with renowned player and teacher Claude Harmon at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York City....	Sam Snead Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S... , Al Balding Al Balding Allan George Balding was a Canadian professional golfer, who won four events on the PGA Tour. In 1955 he became the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in the United States; Canadians Ken Black and Jules Huot had won PGA Tour events in Canada in the 1930s.Balding was born in Toronto,...
1956	Ted Kroll	Fred Hawkins Fred Hawkins Fred Hawkins is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour from the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s.Hawkins was born in Antioch, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois and the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy . He turned professional in 1947...
1955	Julius Boros Julius Boros Julius Nicholas Boros was a Hungarian-American professional golfer.-Early years:Boros was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut...	Fred Haas Fred Haas Frederick T. "Freddie" Haas, Jr. was an American professional golfer.Hass was born in Portland, Arkansas...
1954	Bob Toski Bob Toski Robert John Toski, born Algustoski , is an American golfer and teacher.He was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts of Polish descent. He learned to play at Northampton Country Club, where he caddied and two of his elder brothers were assistant professionals...	Jack Burke, Jr., Earl Stewart Earl Stewart Earl Richard Stewart, Jr. was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s; and was a college head golf coach in the 1970s and 1980s....
1953	Lew Worsham Lew Worsham Lewis Elmer Worsham, Jr. was an American professional golfer.Worsham was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. In 1947, he won the U.S. Open by defeating Sam Snead in an 18-hole playoff at the St. Louis Country Club in Clayton, Missouri after the two men had finished tied at 282 in regulation....	Chandler Harper Chandler Harper John Chandler Harper was an American professional golfer best known for winning the 1950 PGA Championship. He won seven times on the PGA Tour and played on the 1955 Ryder Cup team....
1952	Julius Boros Julius Boros Julius Nicholas Boros was a Hungarian-American professional golfer.-Early years:Boros was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut...	Cary Middlecoff Cary Middlecoff Emmett Cary Middlecoff was a dentist who gave up his practice to become a professional golfer on the PGA Tour in the 1940s....
1951	Ben Hogan Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan was an American golfer, generally considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game...	Jimmy Demaret Jimmy Demaret James Newton Demaret was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters....
1950	Henry Ransom	Chick Harbert
1949	Johnny Palmer Johnny Palmer John C. Palmer was an American professional golfer.Palmer was born in Eldorado, North Carolina. A seven time winner on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s, he represented the United States on the 1949 Ryder Cup team....	Jimmy Demaret Jimmy Demaret James Newton Demaret was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters....
1948	Lloyd Mangrum Lloyd Mangrum Lloyd Eugene Mangrum was an American professional golfer. He was known for his smooth swing and his relaxed demeanour on the course, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Icicle".Mangrum was born in Trenton, Texas...	Sam Snead Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...
1947	Ben Hogan Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan was an American golfer, generally considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game...	Bobby Locke Bobby Locke Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke was the first internationally successful South African professional golfer. He won four Open Championships.-Early years:...
1946	Sam Snead Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...	Byron Nelson Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson, Jr. was an American PGA Tour golfer between 1935 and 1946.Nelson and two other well known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912... , Lloyd Mangrum Lloyd Mangrum Lloyd Eugene Mangrum was an American professional golfer. He was known for his smooth swing and his relaxed demeanour on the course, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Icicle".Mangrum was born in Trenton, Texas...