The 1966 PGA Championship was the 48th PGA Championship, played July 21–24 at the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Al Geiberger won his only major championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Dudley Wysong.
Sam Snead, age 54, was co-leader and leader after the first two days, but shot 75 in the third round on Saturday. Geiberger carded a two-under 68 to lead by four strokes over Wysong, who shot a 66. Both shot two-over 72 on Sunday as both bogeyed the first two holes. The lead shrank to two as Wysong birdied the third while Geiberger bogeyed the fourth, but then birdied the fifth and ninth holes to regain the four-stroke advantage.
The 1966 championship was originally scheduled to be held at Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver. A flash flood of the adjacent South Platte River in June 1965 caused significant damage to the course and forced a postponement. Firestone was scheduled to host in 1967, so the venues swapped years.
This was the second of three PGA Championships at the South Course, which previously hosted in 1960 and later in 1975. It is the current venue for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which began in 1976 as the "World Series of Golf" on the PGA Tour, preceded by the American Golf Classic, which debuted in 1961.
Course layout Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotalYards4005004504652304652254504653,6504053651804604102306253904653,5307,180Par454434344354434435443570
Round summaries First round Thursday, July 21, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Al Geiberger 68 −2 Sam Snead T3 Julius Boros 69 −1 Don January Doug Sanders 6 Jacky Cupit 70 E T7 Tommy Aaron 71 +1 Larry Beck Jim Ferrier Jack Fleck Walker Inman Source:
Second round Friday, July 22, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Sam Snead 68-71=139 −1 T2 Al Geiberger 68-72=140 E Don January 69-71=1404 Julius Boros 69-72=141 +1T5 Tommy Aaron 71-72=143 +3 Jacky Cupit 70-73=143 Billy Farrell 73-70=143 Gary Player 73-70=143 Doug Sanders 69-74=14310 Dow Finsterwald 74-70=144 +4 Source:
Third round Saturday, July 23, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Al Geiberger 68-72-68=208 −2 2 Dudley Wysong 74-72-66=212 +2 T3 Don January 69-71-73=213 +3 Gary Player 73-70-70=213T5 Frank Beard 73-72-69=214 +4 Billy Farrell 73-70-71=214 Sam Snead 68-71-75=214T8 Julius Boros 69-72-75=216 +6 Billy Casper 73-73-70=216 Jacky Cupit 70-73-73=216 Source:
Final round Sunday, July 24, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Al Geiberger 68-72-68-72=280 E 25,0002 Dudley Wysong 74-72-66-72=284 +4 15,000T3 Billy Casper 73-73-70-70=286 +6 8,334 Gene Littler 75-71-71-69=286 Gary Player 73-70-70-73=286T6 Julius Boros 69-72-75-71=287 +7 5,000 Jacky Cupit 70-73-73-71=287 Arnold Palmer 75-73-71-68=287 Doug Sanders 69-74-73-71=287 Sam Snead 68-71-75-73=287 Source:
Lema and wife killed Hours after the championship's conclusion on Sunday, Tony Lema and his wife Betty were among four fatalities in a chartered private plane crash near the Indiana-Illinois border. Lema, age 32, had finished tied for 34th and was heading west to a Monday tournament in the Chicago area. Both pilots of the twin-engine Beechcraft Bonanza were also killed as they attempted an emergency landing on a golf course in Lansing, Illinois, near the destination airport.
References
External links PGA Media Guide 2012 GolfCompendium.com: – 1966 PGA Championship PGA.com – 1966 PGA Championship