1966 PGA Tour

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

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

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

Unofficial events

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

DateTournamentLocationPurse
($)
Winner(s)Notes
Nov 14Canada CupJapan6,300 Jack Nicklaus and
Arnold Palmer
Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy George Knudson

Money list

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

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

Awards

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

Notes

References