Now entering its ninth year, the Showdown Classic at Jeremy Ranch can boast of a tradition unsurpassed by few events on the PGA Senior Tour.
Of the 42 tournaments on the 1990 Senior Tour calendar, only eight can date back further than 1982, when the first Showdown - or Shootout as it was known originally - was held.That was only the third year the Senior Tour was officially in existence, and it consisted of just 11 events - with a total yearlong prize money that equaled $1,372,000.
By contrast, the 42 events in 1990 will combine for a purse of $17,950,000.
Only two senior tournaments predate the 1980 beginning of the Senior Tour - the PGA Seniors, which has been held annually since 1937, and the Legends of Golf, which began in 1978 and served as a catalyst for the Senior Tour.
Just four Senior Tour tournaments can trace their roots all the way back to the Tour's beginnings in 1980 - the USGA Senior Open, the PaineWebber Invitational in North Carolina, the NYNEX/Golf Digest Commemorative in New York, and the Fairfield Barnett Space Coast Classic in Florida.
Two tournaments date back to 1981 - the Digital Seniors Classic in Massachusetts and the Vintage Chrysler Invitational in California.
Then comes the class of '82, including the Showdown Classic and the MONY Syracuse Senior Classic in New York.
As a genuine Senior Tour pioneer event, the Showdown remains the only tournament to have used a best-ball format in conjunction with the Regular PGA Tour. From 1983 through 1986 the event crowned two-man teams as champions. During that four-year run, galleries watched some memorable pairings.
Arnold Palmer came with Greg Norman one year, and with Ray Floyd another year, and Gary Player yet another year. Miller Barber paired with Ben Crenshaw, and Lee Trevino. Billy Casper teamed with Johnny Miller. Tommy Bolt played with Tom Weiskopf, Sam Snead played with J.C. Snead, Bob Rosburg played with Curtis Strange.
Curiously, the best-ball format - which came about the second year the tournament was in existence - was conceived partly because there was some question whether senior golfers could draw a crowd all by themselves. In 1983 no one was aware that the Senior Tour would become the rousing success it has become.
By 1987, however, it was obvious that America had embraced a new golf tour - and the Showdown Classic returned to a Seniors-only format.
Still, the largest crowds to walk the Jeremy Ranch layout remain those that came during the best-ball era.
This year's tournament will be the fourth straight year for individual play, and the fourth straight year for a 54-hole format. The inaugural tournament in 1982 was 72 holes, as were the four best-ball tournaments.
In the early days of the Senior Tour, many of the events were 72 holes. Virtually all, with the exception of the PGA and USGA championships and the Legends of Golf, are now 54 holes, or three days in duration.
The Showdown has developed in many ways since the first tournament in 1982. There have been a number of innovations over the years, including electronic scoreboards on the course, corporate tents to the side of the 18th green, terraced seating above the 18th green, and a pre-tournament Skins Game that this year will feature Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Al Geiberger and defending Showdown Classic champion Tom Shaw.
The Jeremy Ranch tournament, by the way, was initially patterned after the Masters. Gerald Bagley, the Shootout originator, sent several of his tournament officials to the Masters in 1982 and 1983 to observe the techniques that makes that tournament the most successful, and most copied, in golf.
Like the Masters, the Jeremy Ranch Shootout/Showdown Classic has turned into an enduring and annual affair.