History

As one of golf’s favorite places for the past century, our legacy of both amateur and professional golf makes us proud stewards of the game, beginning with our very first tournament, the Minnesota State Open.

Legends of the game including Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Lehman, Payne Stewart, Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson, and Nancy Lopez have all strolled the fairways of MGC.

The Club was chosen to host its first tournament in 1924, The Minnesota State Open, and hosted the United States Amateur in 1950. The PGA Championship came to Minneapolis Golf Club in 1959—which also marked CBS Television’s first Minnesota golf tournament to be aired nationally.

The Dayton's Challenge was a charity golf event held at MGC from 1996 to 2003.  Organized by Tom and Jim Lehman, this annual tournament benefited Children's Cancer Research Fund, the fundraising arm for the Pediatric Oncology Department at the University of Minnesota.  The year 1998 was truly memorable for this event as it featured golf legends Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the headliners competing along with many other top players.  Dayton’s Challenge winners over the years included David Duval, Phil Mickelson, Payne Stewart, Tom Watson, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw and Nancy Lopez many of whom lavished praise on Minneapolis Golf Club's classic, traditional design.

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