1966 PGA Championship

1966 PGA Championship
Tournament information
Dates	July 21–24, 1966
Location	Akron, Ohio
Course(s)	Firestone Country Club; South Course
Organized by	PGA of America
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	7,180 yards (6,565 m)
Field	162 players, 77 after cut
Cut	151 (+11)
Prize fund	$149,360
Winner's share	$25,000
Champion
	Al Geiberger
	280 (Even)
	← 1965 1967 →

Firestone CC

class=notpageimage|

Location in the United States

Firestone CC

class=notpageimage|

Location in Ohio

The 1966 PGA Championship was the 48th PGA Championship, played July 21–24 at the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Al Geiberger won his only major championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Dudley Wysong.^[2]^[3]

Sam Snead, age 54, was co-leader and leader after the first two days, but shot 75 in the third round on Saturday. Geiberger carded a two-under 68 to lead by four strokes over Wysong, who shot a 66.^[4] Both shot two-over 72 on Sunday as both bogeyed the first two holes. The lead shrunk to two as Wysong birdied the third while Geiberger bogeyed the fourth, but then birdied the fifth and ninth holes to regain the four-stroke advantage.^[5]

The 1966 championship was originally scheduled to be held at Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver. A flash flood of the adjacent South Platte River in June 1965 caused significant damage to the course and forced a postponement. Firestone was scheduled to host in 1967, so the venues swapped years.^[6]

This was the second of three PGA Championships at the South Course, which previously hosted in 1960 and later in 1975. It is the current venue for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which began in 1976 as the "World Series of Golf" on the PGA Tour, preceded by the American Golf Classic, which debuted in 1961.

Course layout

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	400	500	450	465	230	465	225	450	465	3,650	405	365	180	460	410	230	625	390	465	3,530	7,180
Par	4	5	4	4	3	4	3	4	4	35	4	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	4	35	70

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, July 21, 1966

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Al Geiberger	68	−2
T1	Sam Snead	68	−2
T3	Julius Boros	69	−1
	Don January
	Doug Sanders
6	Jacky Cupit	70	E
T7	Tommy Aaron	71	+1
	Larry Beck
	Jim Ferrier United States
	Jack Fleck
	Walker Inman

Source:^[7]

Second round

Friday, July 22, 1966

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Sam Snead	68-71=139	−1
T2	Al Geiberger	68-72=140	E
T2	Don January	69-71=140	E
4	Julius Boros	69-72=141	+1
T5	Tommy Aaron	71-72=143	+3
	Jacky Cupit	70-73=143
	Billy Farrell	73-70=143
	Gary Player	73-70=143
	Doug Sanders	69-74=143
10	Dow Finsterwald	74-70=144	+4

Source:^[8]

Third round

Saturday, July 23, 1966

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Al Geiberger	68-72-68=208	−2
2	Dudley Wysong	74-72-66=212	+2
T3	Don January	69-71-73=213	+3
T3	Gary Player	73-70-70=213	+3
T5	Frank Beard	73-72-69=214	+4
	Billy Farrell	73-70-71=214
	Sam Snead	68-71-75=214
T8	Julius Boros	69-72-75=216	+6
	Billy Casper	73-73-70=216
	Jacky Cupit	70-73-73=216

Source:^[9]

Final round

Sunday, July 24, 1966

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Al Geiberger	68-72-68-72=280	E	25,000
2	Dudley Wysong	74-72-66-72=284	+4	15,000
T3	Billy Casper	73-73-70-70=286	+6	8,334
	Gene Littler	75-71-71-69=286
	Gary Player	73-70-70-73=286
T6	Julius Boros	69-72-75-71=287	+7	5,000
	Jacky Cupit	70-73-73-71=287
	Arnold Palmer	75-73-71-68=287
	Doug Sanders	69-74-73-71=287
	Sam Snead	68-71-75-73=287

Source:^[3]

Lema and wife killed

Hours after the championship's conclusion on Sunday, Tony Lema and his wife Betty were among four fatalities in a chartered private plane crash near the Indiana-Illinois border. Lema, age 32, had finished tied for 34th and was heading west to a Monday tournament in the Chicago area. Both pilots of the twin-engine Beechcraft Bonanza were also killed as they attempted an emergency landing on a golf course in Lansing, Illinois, near the destination airport.^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

References

^ "Tournament Info for: 1966 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
^ Jenkins, Dan (August 1, 1966). "A happy stroll for golf's smiling Gei". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
^ ^a ^b Mooshil, Joe (July 25, 1966). "Geiberger's par-matching 280 captures PGA title at Akron Firestone". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 20.
^ "Geiberger grabs lead from Sam". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 24, 1966. p. 1B.
^ "Lema's death shocks golf world, we were like brothers, says Ken". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. July 25, 1966. p. 2B.
^ Wright, Alfred (July 31, 1967). "Two Dons in quest of a title". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
^ "Snead, Geiberger lead PGA with 68s". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. July 22, 1966. p. 2, part 2.
^ "Swinging, not slamming Sammy holds PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 23, 1966. p. 1B.
^ "Geiberger grabs lead from Sam". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 24, 1966. p. 1B.
^ "Lema plane crash probed". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. July 26, 1966. p. 2, part 2.
^ "Lema crash probed by aviation group". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 26, 1966. p. 19.
^ Fimrite, Ron (July 31, 1995). "The Toast Of Golf". Sports Illustrated: G14.
^ "Muncie, Ind., crash probed". Eugene Register-Guard. wire reports. July 26, 1966. p. 3B.

External links

PGA Media Guide 2012
GolfCompendium.com: – 1966 PGA Championship
PGA.com – 1966 PGA Championship

41°00′29″N 81°30′29″W / 41.008°N 81.508°W / 41.008; -81.508

[pgamedia66-1] "Tournament Info for: 1966 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 31, 2012.

[ahsfgsg-2] Jenkins, Dan (August 1, 1966). "A happy stroll for golf's smiling Gei". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.

[gpmte-3] Mooshil, Joe (July 25, 1966). "Geiberger's par-matching 280 captures PGA title at Akron Firestone". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 20.

[gglfs-4] "Geiberger grabs lead from Sam". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 24, 1966. p. 1B.

[ldsgwwlb-5] "Lema's death shocks golf world, we were like brothers, says Ken". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. July 25, 1966. p. 2B.

[sijly67-6] Wright, Alfred (July 31, 1967). "Two Dons in quest of a title". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.

[sglpwse-7] "Snead, Geiberger lead PGA with 68s". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. July 22, 1966. p. 2, part 2.

[swnotslm-8] "Swinging, not slamming Sammy holds PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 23, 1966. p. 1B.

[ggldfsam-9] "Geiberger grabs lead from Sam". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 24, 1966. p. 1B.

[lemacr-10] "Lema plane crash probed". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. July 26, 1966. p. 2, part 2.

[lcpbag-11] "Lema crash probed by aviation group". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 26, 1966. p. 19.

[ttogtl-12] Fimrite, Ron (July 31, 1995). "The Toast Of Golf". Sports Illustrated: G14.

[micp-13] "Muncie, Ind., crash probed". Eugene Register-Guard. wire reports. July 26, 1966. p. 3B.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

v t e PGA Championships
1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024