1966 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

This is a list of the 1966 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates. The tournament was played over 144 holes at the PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in late October.[1][2][3] The tournament represented the totality of the year's PGA Tour Qualifying School; there were no local or regional sections.

Tournament summary

There were 99 players in the tournament and 32 earned their tour cards.[3][4] Harry Toscano was medalist with a 4-under-par 572.[1][2] The professional Marty Bohen was well within the cut-off entering the final day. However, he played poorly and failed to graduate by one shot. "I was destroyed," Bohen said later in life.[5]

In general, according to Billy Booe, PGA Tournament Administrator, this class "was considered substantially stronger" than the inaugural class from the previous year. A full year after qualifying school, 12 players were still playing full-time on the PGA Tour.[6]

List of graduates

Place Player Notes
1 United States Harry Toscano
2 Australia Bob Stanton Winner of 1966 Dunlop International
T3 South Africa Allan Henning Winner of 1963 South African Open
United States Jim Wiechers Winner of 1966 Western Amateur
5 United States William Emmons
6 United States Bob Lunn Winner of 1963 U.S. Amateur Public Links
T7 United States Bert Greene
United States Richard Martinez
United States Jerry McGee
United States Jim McPhate
11 Canada Wilf Homenuik
12 Puerto Rico David Jimenez Represented Puerto Rico for 1963 and 1964 Canada Cup
T13 United States Ettore Della Torre
United States Charles Lewis
15 United States Bob Boldt
T16 United States Ray Botts
United States Dave Eichelberger Member of 1965 Walker Cup team
T18 United States Bruce Cudd
United States Sonny Methvin
T20 United States John Mark Hopkins
United States John Joseph
United States Walt Zembriski
T23 United States Dave Gumlia
United States Monty Kaser Winner of 1966 U.S. Amateur Public Links
25 United States George Smith
T26 United States Alex Antonio, Jr.
United States Don Headings
United States Roane Puett
29 United States John Molenda
T30 Canada Leon DeCaire
United States Rives McBee
United States DeWitt Weaver

Sources:[1][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "32 Young Pros Qualify To Play On PGA Tour". The Danville Register. Virginia. AP. October 28, 1966. p. 12-A – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Stanton Qualifies". The Sun-Herald. Sydney, Australia. AAP. October 30, 1966. p. 71 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Past champions: PGA Tour National Qualifying Tournament". PGA Tour. December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012.
  4. ^ Johnson, Mark (January 17, 1988). "Qualifying School PGA's Toughest Test". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Gould, David (2002). Q School Confidential (2nd ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. p. 74. ISBN 0-312-28917-0.
  6. ^ Booe, Billy (August 23, 1968). "School Screens Pro Hopefuls; Must Pass Tough 144-Hole Test". The Hartford Courant. p. 44. Retrieved June 22, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Gould, David (1999). Q-School Confidential: Inside Golf's Cruelest Tournament. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 239−240. ISBN 978-0312203559.