James R. Turnesa (December 9, 1912 – August 27, 1971) was an American professional golfer and winner of the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final.
Early life Turnesa was born in Elmsford, New York, one of seven brothers who became prominent in the golfing world: Phil (1896–1987), Frank (1898–1949), Joe (1901–1991), Mike (1907–2000), Doug (1909–1972), Jim (1912–1971), and Willie (1914–2001). The family was referred to as a "golf dynasty" in a 2000 New York Times article. All but Willie turned professional and Jim was the only one to win a major championship.
The Turnesa brothers were well known for their prowess on the links and they started out as caddies before competing in tournaments. Jim's father Vitale was a head greenskeeper at Fairview Country Club. It was at Fairview that Jim and his brothers would apprentice under the head pro John R. Inglis. So famous did they become as a dynasty of the sport that RKO Pictures filmed a newsreel about them in 1938 labeling the clip "The Golfing Brothers."
Professional career Turnesa faced and lost to Sam Snead in the 1942 PGA Championship final. In 1948, he held the record for low score (280) in the U.S. Open for about an hour. Ben Hogan (276) and Jimmy Demaret (278) finished later, erasing his record, and he finished third. He won one other PGA Tour event, the 1951 Reading Open.
He was a frequent participant in Westchester member-pro events beating out a duo that included Gene Sarazen in 1947 at a Knollwood Country Club best ball tournament.
Turnesa played on the 1953 Ryder Cup team.
After serving as pro at Briar Hall and Empire State course, he was named the head pro at Ryewood Country Club in 1959 and continued there in the early 1960s.
Death He died in his home town of lung cancer.
Professional wins (11) PGA Tour wins (2) 1951 Reading Open 1952 PGA Championship
Major championship is shown in bold.
Source:
Other wins (9) Note: This list may be incomplete. 1937 Rhode Island Open 1946 Westchester PGA Championship 1947 North and South Open 1950 Havana Invitational 1956 Westchester PGA Championship 1959 Metropolitan Open 1960 Haig & Haig Scotch Foursome (with Gloria Armstrong) 1964 Westchester PGA Championship 1968 Long Island PGA Championship
Major championships
Wins (1) YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up 1952 PGA Championship 1 up Chick Harbert Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Results timeline Tournament193719381939Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT50CUTT32The Open ChampionshipPGA Championship
Tournament1940194119421943194419451946194719481949Masters TournamentNTNTNTT37T44T4U.S. OpenCUTT33NTNTNTNTT393T4The Open ChampionshipNTNTNTNTNTNTPGA Championship2NTR16QFR16R64R16
Tournament1950195119521953195419551956195719581959Masters TournamentT46T27T6048T22CUTT35CUTU.S. OpenT38T17T33CUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipT5PGA ChampionshipR321R32R64R16R128CUTT38
Tournament1960196119621963196419651966196719681969Masters TournamentT39CUTCUTU.S. OpenT46CUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipT32CUTCUTCUTT62CUTCUTCUTT76
NT = no tournament CUT = missed the half-way cut R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 1 1 2 14 10U.S. Open 0 0 1 2 2 3 16 10The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1PGA Championship 1 1 0 3 7 9 23 16Totals 1 1 1 7 11 15 54 37 Most consecutive cuts made – 27 (1941 U.S. Open – 1956 PGA) Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1949 Masters – 1949 PGA)
U.S. national team appearances Professional Ryder Cup: 1953 (winners) Canada Cup: 1953 Lakes International Cup: 1952 (winners) Hopkins Trophy: 1953 (winners)
See also List of men's major championships winning golfers
References