The 1966 PGA Tour was the 51st season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States.

1966 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 6, 1966 (1966-01-06) – November 27, 1966 (1966-11-27)
Number of official events40
Most winsUnited States Billy Casper (4)
Money listUnited States Billy Casper
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Billy Casper
1965
1967

Schedule edit

The following table lists official events during the 1966 season.[1][2]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner[a] Notes
Jan 9 Los Angeles Open California 70,000   Arnold Palmer (46)
Jan 16 San Diego Open Invitational California 45,000   Billy Casper (29)
Jan 23 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 104,500   Don Massengale (1) Pro-Am
Jan 31 Lucky International Open California 57,000   Ken Venturi (14)
Feb 6 Bob Hope Desert Classic California 80,000   Doug Sanders (15) Pro-Am
Feb 14 Phoenix Open Invitational Arizona 60,000   Dudley Wysong (1)
Feb 20 Tucson Open Invitational Arizona 45,000   Joe Campbell (3)
Mar 7 Pensacola Open Invitational Florida 50,000   Gay Brewer (7)
Mar 13 Doral Open Invitational Florida 100,000   Phil Rodgers (4)
Mar 20 Florida Citrus Open Invitational Florida 110,000   Lionel Hebert (5) New tournament
Mar 27 Jacksonville Open Florida 82,000   Doug Sanders (16)
Apr 3 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 100,000   Doug Sanders (17)
Apr 11 Masters Tournament Georgia 100,000   Jack Nicklaus (18) Major championship
Apr 17 Azalea Open Invitational North Carolina 22,800   Bert Yancey (1) Alternate event
Apr 18 Tournament of Champions Nevada 100,000   Arnold Palmer (47) Winners-only event
Apr 26 Dallas Open Invitational Texas 85,000   Roberto De Vicenzo (5)
May 1 Texas Open Invitational Texas 80,000   Harold Henning (1)
May 16 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational Louisiana 100,000   Frank Beard (3)
May 22 Colonial National Invitation Texas 110,000   Bruce Devlin (2) Invitational
May 29 Oklahoma City Open Invitational Oklahoma 42,500   Tony Lema (12)
Jun 5 Memphis Open Invitational Tennessee 100,000   Bert Yancey (2)
Jun 12 Buick Open Invitational Michigan 100,000   Phil Rodgers (5)
Jun 20 U.S. Open California 150,000   Billy Casper (30) Major championship
Jun 26 Western Open Illinois 100,000   Billy Casper (31)
Jul 9 The Open Championship Scotland £15,000   Jack Nicklaus (19) Major championship[b]
Jul 17 Minnesota Golf Classic Minnesota 100,000   Bobby Nichols (7)
Jul 24 PGA Championship Ohio 150,000   Al Geiberger (4) Major championship
Jul 31 500 Festival Open Invitation Indiana 100,000   Billy Casper (32)
Aug 7 Cleveland Open Ohio 100,000   R. H. Sikes (2)
Aug 14 Thunderbird Classic New Jersey 100,000   Mason Rudolph (4)
Aug 21 Insurance City Open Invitational Connecticut 100,000   Art Wall Jr. (13)
Aug 28 Philadelphia Golf Classic Pennsylvania 110,000   Don January (5)
Sep 3 Carling World Open England 175,000   Bruce Devlin (3)
Sep 18 Portland Open Invitational Oregon 50,000   Bert Yancey (3)
Sep 25 Greater Seattle-Everett Classic Washington 50,000   Homero Blancas (1)
Oct 2 Canadian Open Canada 100,000   Don Massengale (2)
Oct 15 Sahara Invitational Nevada 100,000   Jack Nicklaus (20)
Oct 30 Hawaiian Open Hawaii 42,500   Ted Makalena (1)
Nov 20
May 8
Houston Champions International Texas 110,000   Arnold Palmer (48)
Nov 27 Cajun Classic Open Invitational Louisiana 34,500   Jacky Cupit (4)

Unofficial events edit

The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winner(s) Notes
Nov 14 Canada Cup Japan 6,300   Jack Nicklaus and
  Arnold Palmer
Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy   George Knudson

Money list edit

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[3]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Billy Casper 121,945
2   Jack Nicklaus 111,419
3   Arnold Palmer 110,468
4   Doug Sanders 80,096
5   Gay Brewer 75,688
6   Phil Rodgers 68,360
7   Gene Littler 68,345
8   R. H. Sikes 67,349
9   Frank Beard 66,041
10   Al Geiberger 63,220

Awards edit

Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year   Billy Casper [4]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy)   Billy Casper [5]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
  2. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References edit

  1. ^ "1966 winners sorted by age". PGA Tour. July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  2. ^ Johnson, Sal; Seanor, Dave, eds. (2009). The USA Today Golfers Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 656–62. ISBN 978-1-60239-302-8.
  3. ^ "Casper Winnings Top For Year". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. November 29, 1966. p. 15. Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Casper Is Named Golfer Of Year; Billy Burke is Selected for Hall of Fame by P.G.A." The New York Times. UPI. November 2, 1966. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  5. ^ Cathey, John (December 21, 1966). "Gay Brewer Set For GGO Action". The Greensboro Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. p. 26 (C4 in paper). Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

External links edit