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[lower-alpha 1] Notes
Jan 9Los Angeles OpenCalifornia70,000United States Arnold Palmer (46)
Jan 16San Diego Open InvitationalCalifornia45,000United States Billy Casper (29)
Jan 23Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia104,500United States Don Massengale (1)Pro-Am
Jan 31Lucky International OpenCalifornia57,000United States Ken Venturi (14)
Feb 6Bob Hope Desert ClassicCalifornia80,000United States Doug Sanders (15)Pro-Am
Feb 14Phoenix Open InvitationalArizona60,000United States Dudley Wysong (1)
Feb 20Tucson Open InvitationalArizona45,000United States Joe Campbell (3)
Mar 7Pensacola Open InvitationalFlorida50,000United States Gay Brewer (7)
Mar 13Doral Open InvitationalFlorida100,000United States Phil Rodgers (4)
Mar 20Florida Citrus Open InvitationalFlorida110,000United States Lionel Hebert (5)New tournament
Mar 27Jacksonville OpenFlorida82,000United States Doug Sanders (16)
Apr 3Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina100,000United States Doug Sanders (17)
Apr 11Masters TournamentGeorgia100,000United States Jack Nicklaus (18)Major championship
Apr 17Azalea Open InvitationalNorth Carolina22,800United States Bert Yancey (1)Alternate event
Apr 18Tournament of ChampionsNevada100,000United States Arnold Palmer (47)Winners-only event
Apr 26Dallas Open InvitationalTexas85,000Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo (5)
May 1Texas Open InvitationalTexas80,000South Africa Harold Henning (1)
May 16Greater New Orleans Open InvitationalLouisiana100,000United States Frank Beard (3)
May 22Colonial National InvitationTexas110,000Australia Bruce Devlin (2)Invitational
May 29Oklahoma City Open InvitationalOklahoma42,500United States Tony Lema (12)
Jun 5Memphis Open InvitationalTennessee100,000United States Bert Yancey (2)
Jun 12Buick Open InvitationalMichigan100,000United States Phil Rodgers (5)
Jun 20U.S. OpenCalifornia150,000United States Billy Casper (30)Major championship
Jun 26Western OpenIllinois100,000United States Billy Casper (31)
Jul 9The Open ChampionshipScotland£15,000United States Jack Nicklaus (19)Major championship[lower-alpha 2]
Jul 17Minnesota Golf ClassicMinnesota100,000United States Bobby Nichols (7)
Jul 24PGA ChampionshipOhio150,000United States Al Geiberger (4)Major championship
Jul 31500 Festival Open InvitationIndiana100,000United States Billy Casper (32)
Aug 7Cleveland OpenOhio100,000United States R. H. Sikes (2)
Aug 14Thunderbird ClassicNew Jersey100,000United States Mason Rudolph (4)
Aug 21Insurance City Open InvitationalConnecticut100,000United States Art Wall Jr. (13)
Aug 28Philadelphia Golf ClassicPennsylvania110,000United States Don January (5)
Sep 3Carling World OpenEngland175,000Australia Bruce Devlin (3)
Sep 18Portland Open InvitationalOregon50,000United States Bert Yancey (3)
Sep 25Greater Seattle-Everett ClassicWashington50,000United States Homero Blancas (1)
Oct 2Canadian OpenCanada100,000United States Don Massengale (2)
Oct 15Sahara InvitationalNevada100,000United States Jack Nicklaus (20)
Oct 30Hawaiian OpenHawaii42,500United States Ted Makalena (1)
Nov 20
May 8
Houston Champions InternationalTexas110,000United States Arnold Palmer (48)
Nov 27Cajun Classic Open InvitationalLouisiana34,500United 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]

PositionPlayerPrize money ($)
1United States Billy Casper121,945
2United States Jack Nicklaus111,419
3United States Arnold Palmer110,468
4United States Doug Sanders80,096
5United States Gay Brewer75,688
6United States Phil Rodgers68,360
7United States Gene Littler68,345
8United States R. H. Sikes67,349
9United States Frank Beard66,041
10United States Al Geiberger63,220

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the YearUnited 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.
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