Played February 7-10, 1957 at El Rio Golf and Country Club

Purse: $15,000

Some controversy preceded the start of the 1957 Tucson Open. Ricki Rarick, president of the Tucson Golf Association which sponsored the tournaments at that time, accused the PGA of a "breach of faith" by not doing enough to ensure the top pros played in Tucson. 10 of the top 20 money winners of 1956 were expected to skip the 1957 Tucson event, including defending champion Ted Kroll. Others not expected to play were Cary Middlecoff, Jack Burke Jr., Gene Littler, Don January, Bob Rosburg, and 2-time Tucson Open winners Jimmy Demaret, Tommy Bolt and Lloyd Mangrum. It was suggested that many top players skipped Tucson because they felt El Rio was not enough of a challenge, but Rarick staunchly defended the course. It was suggested the tournament be moved to the newer and plusher Tucson Country Club, but they had turned it down two years in a row. There were proposals to pay appearance money or even salaries to top pros if they played all the winter tour events. As it turned out, 3 of those pros expected to skip the event did show up, including Littler and Doug Ford, and there was record-breaking attendance. It was the most successful Tucson Open to date, and Ricki Rarick turned out to be very happy with the 1957 tournment. Part of the excitement was the prospect of young, up and coming golf stars of the future. Among them, but getting no attention in the press whatsoever, was one Arnold Palmer. Arnie would win his first Masters the following year, putting him on the road to golf super-stardom.

In Tuesday qualifying at Randolph, 145 played for 80 spots. 50 broke par.

The pro-am best-ball event on Wednesday was won by Paul Harney and Tucson amateur Dean Short with a 59. The individual low score was Paul Harney's 65.

First round leader: Howie Johnson with a 64.

Second round leader: Billy Casper at 131. Casper had won the Phoenix Open the previous week, his first career PGA win.

Third-round leader: Billy Casper with a record 197 and a 4-stroke lead.

During the third round, George Bayer, the NFL player turned professional golfer, missed a short putt on the 5th hole. He tossed his ball in the air and swung his putter at it like a baseball bat. His putter head broke off upon contact with the ball. He putted using a 2-iron for the remainder of the round.

Billy Casper's 4-stroke lead disappeared as he shot a 75 in the final round. Dow Finsterwald won the 12th Tucson Open in an 18-hole playoff on Monday, the first playoff in the history of the event, over Don Whitt. Finsterwald missed a 4-foot putt on the 72nd hole which would have given him the win in regulation, but he had to settle for a tie and a playoff. Whitt sank a 52-foot chip shot on the 16th hole to get into the playoff. Finsterwald won the playoff by shooting a 65, while Whitt shot 69.