In the early 1940’s the course became a stop for golfing legends Sam Sneed, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan on a Southeastern states tour which pre-dated the official PGA tour. In 1944 Harold “Jug” McFadden won the Gulf Coast invitational.
In the 1945 Gulf Coast Invitational, referred to by locals as the Gulfport Open, Sam Sneed defeated Byron Nelson on the nineteenth hole of a sudden death playoff on hole No. 1. The prize was war bonds.
Through the 40’s and 50’s, golfing greats Patty Berg, Babe Zaharias, Betty Hicks, Gary Middlecoff, Buck White, Hugh “Jugs” McFadden, Johnny Rivolta, Henry Cotton, and Glenna Collett Vare played the course.
In 1962, Mrs. Joe W. Brown purchased the course from Charles H. Stewart for $1,000,000. The Stewart family had operated the course for 54 years.
The course became known as the Broadwater Sea Course and a part of the Broadwater Hotel Resort which was purchased by the President Casino in the early 1990’s.