2020 May Memorabilia Auction Featuring Ken Venturi Collection
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/24/2020
1948 Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Del Monte 'Clover' Contestant Badge - Rod Munday Collection
Presented in this lot is the 1948 Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Del Monte 'Clover' Contestant Badge. Two Purple Hearts recipient Lloyd Mangrum was the winner of this tournament, two years after claiming his US Open victory. A favorite tour stop among pros and celebrities alike, Bing Crosby held his annual tournament for the first time in 1937. The tournament was played at this location in San Diego prior to WWII, when it then traveled to Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Monterey Peninsula Country Club until 1966. The highly successful annual festivity surrounding the tournament was a none other than a non-traditional clambake for the lone golf tournament in which celebrities are partnered with professionals throughout its entirety to this day, now played under the 'AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am' name. This aesthetically pleasing contestant badge from the Rod Munday Collection shows little wear, especially after taking into account usage and 72 years of age.
Rod Munday Collection
A contemporary of Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, and Paul Runyan, Rod Munday traveled the same proving ground as many of the touring and club professionals in a career that spanned over 50 years. His friendship with those individuals and fellow teaching professionals lasted throughout his life as a pro golfer that started in Northern California and ended in Pennsylvania. Rod competed in many pro tournaments including both the 1940 and 1946 Masters Tournaments. He frequently qualified for and played in the PGA Championship from the 1930’s through the early 1960’s, and competed in the 1934, 1935, 1946, and 1947 US Open. If a putt would have fallen one way or another, Munday could have been a golfer that was mentioned in the same sentence as the legendary golfers of his day.
Munday, a World War II army vet who received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, was the preferred teaching professional for many celebrities and dignitaries, none larger than President and General Dwight D Eisenhower. Eisenhower became Rod’s #1 pupil at the Gettysburg Country Club in Pennsylvania. Munday was just as much a personal friend to these larger than life figures as a golf instructor. Many of the leading tour players such as 1941 Masters champion Craig Wood, considered Rod Munday one of the top putting minds of the 1950’s. Horton Smith, Byron Nelson, Henry Cotton, Jack Grout, and Gene Sarazen all kept in contact with Munday over the years. The allure to play exhibitions at Munday’s clubs at Highland Meadows in Toledo, Ohio and the Country Club of York in Pennsylvania was there for many, including visits and fundraisers attended by one of his closest friends, Ben Hogan.
The Golf Auction is proud to offer the Rod Munday Collection, helping to tell the story of the man himself.
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