1966 Pga Championship

Al Geiberger won his only major championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Dudley Wysong.

1966 PGA Championship

Tournament information
Dates	July 21–24, 1966
Location	Akron, Ohio
Course(s)	Firestone Country Club South Course
Organized by	PGA of America
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	7,180 yards (6,565 m)
Field	162 players, 77 after cut
Cut	151 (+11)
Prize fund	$149,360
Winner's share	$25,000
Champion
Al Geiberger
280 (Even)
← 1965 1967 →

Firestone CC

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Location in the United States

Firestone CC

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Location in Ohio

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 shrunk 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.

First round

Thursday, July 21, 1966

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	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   United States
	Jack Fleck
	Walker Inman

Source:

Second round

Friday, July 22, 1966

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Sam Snead	68-71=139	−1
T2	Al Geiberger	68-72=140	E
	Don January	69-71=140
4	Julius Boros	69-72=141	+1
T5	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=143
10	Dow Finsterwald	74-70=144	+4

Source:

Third round

Saturday, July 23, 1966

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	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=213
T5	Frank Beard	73-72-69=214	+4
	Billy Farrell	73-70-71=214
	Sam Snead	68-71-75=214
T8	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

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Al Geiberger	68-72-68-72=280	E	25,000
2	Dudley Wysong	74-72-66-72=284	+4	15,000
T3	Billy Casper	73-73-70-70=286	+6	8,334
	Gene Littler	75-71-71-69=286
	Gary Player	73-70-70-73=286
T6	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:

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.