It was first played in 1973 as the World Open Golf Championship and was a unique event. It was a 144-hole tournament (twice the normal size) contested over two weeks. The 240 player field was cut after 72 holes to the top 70 plus ties who played the remaining 72 holes. It offered the largest purse ($500,000) and first place prize ($100,000) in PGA Tour history. For the rest of its existence it was played as a standard 72-hole event with purses in line with other PGA Tour events. The purse for the 1982 event was $250,000 with $45,000 going to the winner.
