1966 PGA Championship Winner and Scores
Winner: Al Geiberger, 280
Where it was played: Firestone Country Club (South Course) in Akron, Ohio
Tournament dates: July 21-24, 1966
Leader after first round: Sam Snead and Al Geiberger, 68
Leader after second round: Sam Snead, 139
Leader after third round: Al Geiberger, 208
What Happened at the 1966 PGA Championship
Before he was "Mr. 59" — the nickname he earned by being the first golfer to shoot 59 in a PGA Tour round — Al Geiberger was "the Peanut Butter Kid" for his habit of munching on peanut butter sandwiches during tournaments to keep up his energy. This is where he picked up that nickname, his peanut butter habit becoming famous as he packed a pocket of his golf bag with them and munched his way to victory. Geiberger won his only major here by four strokes.Geiberger shared the first-round lead with Sam Snead, and Snead, who was 54 years old, held the lead alone after two rounds. But Snead's scores ballooned on the weekend, while Geiberger put together two more solid rounds for the win. And following his win, Geiberger picked up a peanut butter manufacturer as one of his sponsors.
Scoring was tough at this tournament. The best score was posted by runner-up Dudley Wysong in the third round with a 66. In the second round, not a single player broke par — the only time in PGA Championship history a round was played without any under-par scores.
The 1966 PGA Championship is also notable as the final tournament played by Tony Lema. Lema was one of the bigger stars on Tour in the early to mid-1960s, winning 12 times from 1962-66, including the 1964 British Open. Nicknamed "Champagne Tony," he was a fan and media favorite. Lema and his wife left Firestone Country Club and flew to Illinois where Lema was scheduled to play an exhibition. The plane they were in crashed into a water hazard of a golf course after running out of fuel. All aboard were killed.
1966 PGA Championship Final Scores
Al Geiberger | 68-72-68-72—280 |
Dudley Wysong | 74-72-66-72—284 |
Billy Casper | 73-73-70-70—286 |
Gene Littler | 75-71-71-69—286 |
Gary Player | 73-70-70-73—286 |
Julius Boros | 69-72-75-71—287 |
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 |
Frank Beard | 73-72-69-74—288 |
Dow Finsterwald | 74-70-73-72—289 |
Jay Hebert | 75-73-70-71—289 |
Don January | 69-71-73-76—289 |
Paul Harney | 74-73-71-72—290 |
Bill Martindale | 73-75-70-72—290 |
Ken Venturi | 74-75-69-72—290 |
Gardner Dickinson | 74-72-73-72—291 |
Raymond Floyd | 74-75-74-68—291 |
Dave Marr | 75-75-68-73—291 |
Ernie Vossler | 77-70-75-69—291 |
Tommy Aaron | 71-72-75-74—292 |
Frank Boynton | 73-74-73-72—292 |
Billy Farrell | 73-70-71-78—292 |
Jack Nicklaus | 75-71-75-71—292 |
Mason Rudolph | 74-73-76-69—292 |
Gay Brewer | 73-73-76-71—293 |
Butch Baird | 73-74-73-74—294 |
Bruce Devlin | 76-71-71-76—294 |
Ron Howell | 76-71-75-72—294 |
Don Massengale | 74-72-75-73—294 |
R.H. Sikes | 75-72-73-74—294 |
Dan Sikes | 72-76-74-72—294 |
Miller Barber | 76-71-72-76—295 |
Buster Cupit | 75-76-74-70—295 |
Tony Lema | 78-71-72-74—295 |
Bill Bisdorf | 76-72-76-72—296 |
Gene Borek | 75-76-75-70—296 |
Chick Evans | 73-75-74-74—296 |
Fred Haas Jr. | 78-73-75-70—296 |
Babe Lichardus | 72-75-73-76—296 |
Stan Thirsk | 74-77-70-75—296 |
Manuel De La Torre | 75-72-77-73—297 |
Bruce Crampton | 74-73-74-76—297 |
Rod Funseth | 73-74-74-76—297 |
Walker Inman | 71-76-76-74—297 |
George Knudson | 72-74-77-74—297 |
Bob Rosburg | 73-76-69-79—297 |
Jim Ferrier | 71-79-76-72—298 |
Jack Fleck | 71-74-78-75—298 |
Ed Furgol | 74-77-71-76—298 |
Bob Goalby | 76-73-73-76—298 |
Bob Keller | 72-76-72-78—298 |
Larry Laoretti | 73-77-72-76—298 |
Al Mengert | 72-77-76-73—298 |
Bob Shave | 78-72-77-71—298 |
Bert Yancey | 74-75-77-72—298 |
Al Chandler | 76-73-71-79—299 |
Robert Erickson | 79-71-74-75—299 |
Ed Griffiths | 73-72-73-81—299 |
Bob McCallister | 74-76-73-76—299 |
Bo Wininger | 76-75-75-73—299 |
Joe Conrad | 77-74-76-73—300 |
Errie Ball | 77-74-78-72—301 |
Lionel Hebert | 75-74-75-77—301 |
Jack Burke Jr. | 75-76-79-72—302 |
Ed Kroll | 75-75-74-78—302 |
Horace Moore | 74-74-76-78—302 |
Ed Rubis | 76-72-77-77—302 |
Bob Verwey | 76-75-78-74—303 |
Wayne Yates | 73-76-79-75—303 |
Larry Beck | 71-79-78-76—304 |
Tom Weiskopf | 75-73-80-76—304 |
Bill Blanton | 78-72-80-76—306 |
James Riggins | 76-70-82-79—307 |
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