1966 PGA Tour

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 →

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

Schedule

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

Unofficial events

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 United States Jack Nicklaus and
United States Arnold Palmer 		Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy Canada George Knudson

Money list

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

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

Awards

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

Notes

  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

  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.