Richland hosted first PGA event

Nashville has a 100-year history of hosting golf tournaments, but the first major PGA event was The Nashville Invitational Golf Tournament held at Richland Country Club.

The four-day event was initially held Sept. 1-4, 1944, and included amateurs. As the country was in the final stages of World War II, the prize money was $10,000 in war bonds.

In the inaugural event, Byron Nelson would shoot a course record 64 in the first round on his way to a one-stroke victory over Philadelphia pro Harold McSpaden and collect $2,400 first prize in war bonds.

Nelson returned the next year and found himself six strokes behind Ben Hogan after the first day. Hogan