What Happened to Frank Sinatra's Golf Tournament? The Richest Purse in the Desert

#Americanfairways #golf #documentary In 1963 Frank Sinatra hosted his own PGA Tour event in Palm Springs. It was played exactly once. Four years later he tried again — offering $175,000, nearly twice Bob Hope's purse and the richest in the desert. The players voted yes. The PGA said no, to protect Bob Hope. That veto lit the fuse on the fight that split professional golf in 1968 and created the PGA Tour. This is the story of the Frank Sinatra Invitational: the copper Sinatra putter on Pawn Stars, a 24-year-old named Frank Beard who won and ate pancakes alone while the Rat Pack partied, the phone call Sinatra made to Beard's mother, the four decisions that killed the tournament, and the Great Breakaway that followed. Do you remember the Sinatra Invitational at Canyon Country Club, or own one of those putters? Tell me in the comments. Part of our series on the stars who once put their names on American golf tournaments: Bob Hope · Bing Crosby · Jackie Gleason · Sammy Davis Jr. · Andy Williams · Glen Campbell · Frank Sinatra. *Chapters* 00:00 The putter in the pawn shop 02:10 Sinatra: the biggest singer in America, twice 03:51 A home in the desert 05:32 Decision 1: the Frank Sinatra Invitational 08:50 November 1963: Frank Beard's week 13:23 The party and the putters 14:37 Autumn 1963: the world falls in 16:57 Decision 2: no TV, no tournament 19:02 Sinatra's phone call 20:51 Club pros vs. tour pros 23:45 Decision 3: the richest purse in the desert 25:26 Decision 4: the veto 28:53 The war 31:21 1968: the Great Breakaway 37:04 What became of everyone 39:49 Canyon Country Club today 41:02 The answer Sources: The Desert Sun (Aug. 14, Oct. 29, Nov. 6–13, 1963; Mar. 28, Aug. 10/22/24, 1964; Feb. 20, Jun. 14/19, Jul. 7/17, 1967 — via California Digital Newspaper Collection); Oakland Tribune (May 25, 1967); UPI (1963, 1967); Global Golf Post ("A Tale of Two Franks," Nov. 1, 2022); The Irish Times (June 13, 1998); Golf.com (Jim Gorant, Aug. 8, 2018); Golfdom (fall 1967); Golf Digest; Palm Springs Life (Jan. 23, 2019); Mob Museum; Wikipedia (Frank Sinatra, Frank Beard, 1963/1964/1967/1968/1969 PGA Tour, The American Express); Heritage Auctions; Golden Age Auctions; Pawn Stars (History, "Captain Rick," 2014). News footage, broadcast excerpts and press photos are used for commentary and historical documentation. Public-domain and Creative Commons photos are credited in the pinned comment.