1966 PGA Championship
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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.
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. Both shot two-over 72 on Sunday as both bogeyed the first two holes. The lead shrank 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.
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.
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 | United States Al Geiberger | 68 | −2 |
| United States Sam Snead | |||
| T3 | United States Julius Boros | 69 | −1 |
| United States Don January | |||
| United States Doug Sanders | |||
| 6 | United States Jacky Cupit | 70 | E |
| T7 | United States Tommy Aaron | 71 | +1 |
| United States Larry Beck | |||
| Australia Jim Ferrier | |||
| United States Jack Fleck | |||
| United States Walker Inman |
Source:
Second round
Friday, July 22, 1966
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Sam Snead | 68-71=139 | −1 |
| T2 | United States Al Geiberger | 68-72=140 | E |
| United States Don January | 69-71=140 | ||
| 4 | United States Julius Boros | 69-72=141 | +1 |
| T5 | United States Tommy Aaron | 71-72=143 | +3 |
| United States Jacky Cupit | 70-73=143 | ||
| United States Billy Farrell | 73-70=143 | ||
| South Africa Gary Player | 73-70=143 | ||
| United States Doug Sanders | 69-74=143 | ||
| 10 | United States Dow Finsterwald | 74-70=144 | +4 |
Source:
Third round
Saturday, July 23, 1966
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Al Geiberger | 68-72-68=208 | −2 |
| 2 | United States Dudley Wysong | 74-72-66=212 | +2 |
| T3 | United States Don January | 69-71-73=213 | +3 |
| South Africa Gary Player | 73-70-70=213 | ||
| T5 | United States Frank Beard | 73-72-69=214 | +4 |
| United States Billy Farrell | 73-70-71=214 | ||
| United States Sam Snead | 68-71-75=214 | ||
| T8 | United States Julius Boros | 69-72-75=216 | +6 |
| United States Billy Casper | 73-73-70=216 | ||
| United States Jacky Cupit | 70-73-73=216 |
Source:
Final round
Sunday, July 24, 1966
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Al Geiberger | 68-72-68-72=280 | E | 25,000 |
| 2 | United States Dudley Wysong | 74-72-66-72=284 | +4 | 15,000 |
| T3 | United States Billy Casper | 73-73-70-70=286 | +6 | 8,334 |
| United States Gene Littler | 75-71-71-69=286 | |||
| South Africa Gary Player | 73-70-70-73=286 | |||
| T6 | United States Julius Boros | 69-72-75-71=287 | +7 | 5,000 |
| United States Jacky Cupit | 70-73-73-71=287 | |||
| United States Arnold Palmer | 75-73-71-68=287 | |||
| United States Doug Sanders | 69-74-73-71=287 | |||
| United States Sam Snead | 68-71-75-73=287 |
Source:
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.
External links
- – 1966 PGA Championship
- – 1966 PGA Championship
41°00′29″N 81°30′29″W/41.008°N 81.508°W/ 41.008; -81.508