1880

Pacific Improvement Company, headed by the "Big Four" of railroad fame: Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington and Mark Hopkins open Hotel Del Monte near Monterey. Eleven years earlier, these ambitious gentlemen led the completion of the Trans-Continental Railway with the driving of the "Golden Spike." Tourists now arrive on the Monterey Peninsula via Southern Pacific's "Del Monte Express."

David Jacks sells his two ranches, which incorporate what is now the Del Monte Forest, most of Pacific Grove, and parts of Carmel to the Pacific Improvement Company.

1881

June 2 - The Pacific Improvement Company opens scenic 17-Mile Drive along the majestic coast that hugs what is now Pebble Beach Company's Del Monte Forest.

1887

April 1 - Hotel Del Monte burns to the ground, but is quickly rebuilt and the official re-opening is held in 1888.

1891

Hotel Del Monte, having built a reputation for fine taste, licenses Oakland Preserving Company the right to use "Del Monte" on their canned food products. The food brand continues to be quite successful.

1897

May 1 - Del Monte Golf Course opens as a nine hole golf course, making it the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi still on its original site. In 1903, it was made into an 18-hole golf course.

1901

Pacific Improvement Company collected their first toll for the 17-Mile Drive, charging liverymen from Monterey and Pacific Grove $0.25 per person to access the Drive.

1907

Pacific Improvement Company announces plans for a summer resort at Pebble Beach, with coastal lots available for $500 - $2,500.

1909

August 28 - The original lodge (made of logs) opens to serve meals to travelers on the 17-Mile Drive.

1915

Pacific Improvement Company hires the entrepreneurial 29-year-old Samuel F.B. Morse, a distant cousin of the inventor of the Morse Code, to liquidate all of the company's land holdings.

1916

Heinrich Schmidt wins the Western Golf Association Amateur Championship at Del Monte Golf Course marking the first time the event was played west of the Continental Divide.

1917

A fire destroys The Lodge. Morse convinces Pacific Improvement Company to rebuild a "modern" lodge, rather than recreate what he called the old "log lodge."

1919

Samuel F.B. Morse forms Del Monte Properties Company and buys the 18,000-acre Del Monte unit including Hotel Del Monte, The Lodge at Pebble Beach and two golf courses.

Both the new Lodge and Pebble Beach Golf Links open. The main part of The Lodge is still here after 85 years.

1924

September 27 - The main building of Hotel Del Monte burns to the ground. Dynamiting the connecting loops during the fire saved the wings built in 1888. They remain to this day with a rebuilt main building, which opened in 1926.

1926

December - Del Monte hosted the 1926 Monterey Peninsula Open on Pebble Beach Golf Links, putting up a $5,000 purse and attracting most of the top golfers - professionals and amateurs in the country. Harry "Light Horse" Cooper of Texas won with a 72-hole score of 293 - five over par.

1929

September - Pebble Beach hosted its first "Major" - the U.S. Amateur. Field favorite Bobby Jones tied for medalist honors but lost his first 18-hole Match. Minnesota's Harrison Johnston bested the field with a 4 & 3 win in the final 36-hole match against Oscar Willing.

1934

Hollywood brings Imperial Russia to Monterey using the Del Monte Equestrian fields for the filming of Anna Karenina, starring Greta Garbo. This was but one of dozens of movies filmed in the area.

1935

August - In the heart of the Depression, Pebble Beach Golf Links hosted the California State Open after a long hiatus and Pebble Beach head professional Cam Puget won the event on his home course, pocketing the $300 first place money. Pebble Beach hosted the event again in 1936 and 1948.

December - Three-time British Women's Amateur Champion Joyce Wethered made stops at the Del Monte and Pebble Beach courses as part of a worldwide exhibition tour.

1940

September - The USGA returns to Pebble Beach for the 1940 U.S. Women's Amateur, which was won by defending champion Betty Jameson. The USGA also scheduled the 1942 U.S. Men's Amateur for Pebble Beach Golf Links, but it was cancelled due to World War II.

1941

Artist Salvador Dali designs an elaborately decorated costume party at Hotel Del Monte.

1943

The U.S. Navy leases Hotel Del Monte as a naval pre-flight school "for the duration" of the war. Morse changes the corporate focus from the large hotel to the operation around Pebble Beach.

1947

January - The Bing Crosby National Pro-Am golf tournament is played for the first time at Pebble Beach after being played for 6 years at Rancho Santa Fe before World War II.

September - The U.S. Amateur returns to Pebble Beach and was won by Skee Riegel.

1948

The U.S. Navy buys Hotel Del Monte from the Del Monte Properties Company for $2.2 million. It is now the Naval Postgraduate School.

September - The U.S. Women's Amateur returns to Pebble Beach. It is won by Grace Lenczyk.

1950

The first annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is held at The Lodge at Pebble Beach in conjunction with the short lived (1950-1956) Pebble Beach Road Races.

1958

January - For the first time television covers the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am. Bing Crosby hosts the broadcast of the final round live from the 18th green.

1961

September - Pebble Beach again hosts the U.S. Amateur attracting one of the top international showings to date as it followed just weeks after the Walker Cup was held in Seattle. Jack Nicklaus saw Pebble Beach Golf Links for the first time and decided he liked it - defeating Dudley Wysong 8 & 6 in the final match.

1966

Spyglass Hill Golf Course opens. The names given to most of the holes are derived from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, Treasure Island.

1969

Samuel F.B. Morse, who became known as "the Duke of Del Monte" dies at age 83, along with an era.

1972

Pebble Beach Golf Links hosts its first U.S. Open golf championship. Jack Nicklaus wins by 3 strokes with a 2-over par 290.

1977

January - Del Monte Properties Company reincorporated as Pebble Beach Corporation.

August - The Company hosts its first PGA Championship tournament. Lanny Wadkins wins on the third hole of sudden death.

1978

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation purchases Pebble Beach Corporation after the financial success of the movie Star Wars and reorganizes it as Pebble Beach Company.

Del Monte Lodge is renamed The Lodge at Pebble Beach.

1982

The U.S. Open is held at Pebble Beach Golf Links for the second time. It features the most talked about shot in golf: the battle between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. Watson needs birdie to win but completely misses the 17th green. To accomplish his mission, he sinks his legendary chip shot. He also birdies 18 and defeats Nicklaus by two strokes with a 6-under par 282.

1984

The Lone Cypress is a victim of arson; forest resident and "Lone Cypress Guardian Angel" Mrs. Larkey, calls PBC security in the middle of the night, just in time to save the tree.

1986

The Crosby Clambake becomes the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament.

The NCGA opens Poppy Hills Golf Course.

1987

November - The Inn and Links at Spanish Bay opens.

1990

Ben Hogan Properties, under the ownership of Japanese businessman Minoru Isutani, purchases Pebble Beach Company.

In preparation for the 1992 U.S. Open, Jack Nicklaus is hired as a consultant on a project that includes rebuilding Pebble Beach Golf Links greens 4, 5 and 7.

1992

March - Taiheiyo Golf Club of Japan purchases Pebble Beach Company and continues the Morse tradition of stewardship of the land.

June - Pebble Beach Resorts hosts the U.S. Open for the third time. Under brutal winds, Tom Kite shoots an incredible par round and wins his first Major with a 3-under 285.

1998

Pebble Beach Company constructs the new 5th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links as designed by Jack Nicklaus. It opens for use in November, during the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational.

1999

Casa Palmero opens in July. A group of American investors, headed by Peter Ueberroth, purchase Pebble Beach Company from The Lone Cypress Company, just in time to host the 99th U.S. Amateur Championship.

20-year old David Gossett of Tennessee defeats 17-year old, Korean champion, Sung Yoon Kim 9 & 8 to become the U.S. Amateur Champion.

2000

February - The Spa at Pebble Beach opens.

June - The U.S. Open returns for the 100th playing of the championship. Tiger Woods captures the trophy, besting his nearest competitor by 15 strokes and tying the lowest 72-hole score ever in the national championship.

2001

Golf Digest ranks Pebble Beach Golf Links as the No.1 Golf Course in America - the first time a public course has been so honored.

2010

The U.S. Open Championship returned for the fifth time to Pebble Beach Golf Links. A number of course enhancements, all under the direction of legendary Arnold Palmer, were completed to strengthen and enhance player appreciation, heighten the challenge and exceed guest and championship expectations.

It was an amazing week and quite a celebration at Pebble Beach Resorts. Congratulations to Graeme McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open Champion.

In a championship where a score of par is the most meaningful, the 30-year-old McDowell posted an even-par 284 for the 72 holes to become the first European winner of the championship since England's Tony Jacklin in 1970.

2012

The Bench restaurant opens in August. Symbolizing the iconic location where the current ownership group agreed to acquire Pebble Beach Company in 1999, The Bench features a dining experience marked by stunning views of the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, a casual atmosphere featuring outdoor dining and fire pits and an eclectic internationally-inspired menu using a wood-roasted cooking technique.

2018

In 2018 the U.S. Amateur for Pebble Beach is set to return.

The USGA's relationship with Pebble Beach goes back almost to the beginning of the links themselves. Pebble Beach hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1929, 1947 and 1999, and the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1940 and 1948. The 1942 U.S. Amateur was scheduled for Pebble Beach, but was cancelled because of World War II.

2019

Pebble Beach Golf Links and the USGA again will celebrate a Centennial together, when the U.S. Open Championship returns for a sixth time in 2019.

Pebble Beach, which hosted the USGA's Centennial U.S. Open in 2000, will welcome back the championship in 2019, when the legendary links is celebrating its own Centennial Anniversary.