1966 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates explained

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] 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.[2] Harry Toscano was medalist with a 4-under-par 572.[3] [4] 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

PlacePlayerNotes
1 Harry Toscano
2 Winner of 1966 Dunlop International
T3 Winner of 1963 South African Open
Winner of 1966 Western Amateur
5 William Emmons
6 Winner of 1963 U.S. Amateur Public Links
T7
Richard Martinez
Jim McPhate
11
12 Represented Puerto Rico for 1963 and 1964 Canada Cup
T13 Ettore Della Torre
Charles Lewis
15 Bob Boldt
T16 Ray Botts
Member of 1965 Walker Cup team
T18 Bruce Cudd
Sonny Methvin
T20 John Mark Hopkins
John Joseph
T23 Dave Gumlia
Winner of 1966 U.S. Amateur Public Links
25 George Smith
T26 Alex Antonio, Jr.
Don Headings
Roane Puett
29 John Molenda
T30 Leon DeCaire
Sources:[3] [7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: December 7, 2009 . Past champions: PGA Tour National Qualifying Tournament . PGA Tour . https://web.archive.org/web/20121026131549/http://www.pgatour.com/2009/qschool/12/07/past.winners/index.html . October 26, 2012.
  2. News: Johnson . Mark . Qualifying School PGA's Toughest Test . 2021-02-20 . January 17, 1988 . Chicago Tribune.
  3. News: 32 Young Pros Qualify To Play On PGA Tour . The Danville Register . Virginia . AP . October 28, 1966 . 12-A . newspapers.com . subscription.
  4. News: Stanton Qualifies . The Sun-Herald . Sydney, Australia . AAP . October 30, 1966 . 71 . newspapers.com . subscription.
  5. Book: Gould, David . Q School Confidential . St. Martin's Press . 2002 . 0-312-28917-0 . 2nd . New York, NY . 74 . English.
  6. News: 1968-08-23 . School Screens Pro Hopefuls; Must Pass Tough 144-Hole Test . 44 . The Hartford Courant . Billy . Booe . 2021-06-22 . newspapers.com.
  7. Book: Gould, David . Q-School Confidential: Inside Golf's Cruelest Tournament . St. Martin's Press . 1999 . 978-0312203559 . New York . 239−240.