The Inverness Club is one of the most respected and historic golf clubs in the country. Byron Nelson was a former Head Professional. Frank Stranahan grew up playing the course and became one of the greatest amateur golfers of his era before becoming a successful professional golfer.
Inverness has hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, the 1973 U.S. Amateur, two U.S. Senior Opens, the U.S. Junior Amateur, two NCAA Men’s Championships and the 2021 Solheim Cup.
A little know fact is that the Inverness Four-Ball annually drew the best professionals to Toledo from 1935 to 1952. Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Henry Picard and Walter Hagen all competed in the event during its tenure.
Eight two-man teams were invited to compete in a round robin format that would encompass a total of seven rounds of four-ball format. The teams earned, or lost points on each hole, in match-play. The team that accumulated the most points over the seven rounds won.
Ben Hogan paired with his good friend, Jimmy Demaret and dynamic duo won the event on four separate occasions.
The following was taken from a newspaper account of the 1946 Inverness Four-Ball won by Demaret and Hogan.
Hogan teamed with Demaret to win the Inverness Four-Ball Tournament at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, earning $1,625.00 each.
Over the seven rounds they defeated teams comprised of, Sam Byrd/E.J. Harrison, Sam Snead/Vic Ghezzi, Chandler Harper/Heman Keiser, Tony Penna/Herman Barron, Byron Nelson/Harold ‘Jug’ McSpaden and Bob Hamilton/Dick Metz.
Hogan/Demaret defeated Nelson/McSpaden by a single shot and the closely contested match included 13 birdies.
The ultimate winners lost only one match, in 1946, to LLoyd Mangrum /Lawson Little
This was the second time the Hogan / Demaret team won the tournament, having previously won in 1941. After WWII, the pair returned to capture two more Inverness Four-Ball titles, in 1947 and 1948.
