Played February 9-12, 1956 at El Rio Golf and Country Club

Purse: $10,000

Some top pros skipped the Tucson Open this year, including Arnold Palmer, Julius Boros, Cary Middlecoff, Doug Ford, Sam Snead, Jack Burke Jr., Chandler Harper and Jimmy Demaret. There was a strong field nevertheless with the likes of Dow Finsterwald, Gene Littler, Tommy Bolt, Lloyd Mangrum and many other named players.

During a Monday practice round, John Weitzel of Hershey, Pa. scored a hole-in-one on the 13th hole.

In qualifying at Randolph on Tuesday, 165 played for 25 places. The cutoff was 75.

Rain dampened the pro-am on Wednesday as the temperature fell to 39° in the afternoon. Not all groups finished, but there were winners. The best-ball event was won by Bill Collins and amateur Jack Braddock of Tucson with a score of 59. The weather improved and conditions were perfect for all four rounds of the tournament.

First round leaders: Gardner Dickinson and Bob Harris with 63s.

Second round leaders: Gardner Dickinson and Stan Leonard at 131.

Third round leader: Ted Kroll with 199.

The final round was a shoot-out between Ted Kroll and Dow Finsterwald. Kroll holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th to seal the victory.