Al Mengert
Alfred John Mengert (born June 21, 1928) is an American former professional golfer.[2]
Al Mengert | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Born | Spokane, Washington | June 21, 1928
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st) |
Nationality | |
Spouse | Donna (Jacobson) Mengert[1] |
Children | 4 |
Career | |
College | Stanford University (attended) |
Turned professional | 1952 |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Senior PGA Tour |
Professional wins | At least 17 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T9: 1958 |
PGA Championship | T18: 1970 |
U.S. Open | T13: 1954 |
The Open Championship | DNP |
Biography
Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, he was the son of local businessman Otto Mengert and his wife Otelia Johnson who was the sister of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Albert Johnson.[3]
Mengert played football at Gonzaga Prep, briefly attended Stanford University in the late 1940s, and served in the Washington Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s.[4] Mengert was runner-up in the 1952 U.S. Amateur to Jack Westland.[5][6]
Mengert turned professional in 1952 and worked mainly as a club pro while also playing on the PGA Tour. He won several non-PGA Tour events. His best finish in a major came at the 1958 Masters Tournament. After three rounds, he was tied for fourth, two shots off the lead,[7] and finished tied for ninth. Mengert was the first round leader at the U.S. Open in 1966 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.[8] He was tied for seventh after 54 holes, but a final round 81 resulted in a tie for 26th place.[9] Mengert played several tournaments on the Senior PGA Tour in the 1980s, and was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Association's Hall of Fame in 2001.[10]
After turning pro in 1952, Mengert's first job was as an assistant club pro under Masters champion Claude Harmon at Winged Foot, north of New York City. He was a head pro at clubs in New Jersey, St. Louis, and Sacramento.[2] Mengert returned to the Northwest as the head pro at Tacoma Country Club in the 1960s[8] then went to Oakland Hills in the suburbs north of Detroit, Michigan.[11]
Amateur wins
- 1946 International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament[12]
- 1947 International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament
- 1949 Washington State Amateur
- 1950 Mexican Amateur, Pacific Northwest Amateur,[11] Washington State Amateur
Tournament wins
this list may be incomplete
- 1952 Northwest Open (as an amateur)
- 1957 New Jersey State Open
- 1958 New Jersey State Open
- 1960 New Jersey State Open, New Jersey PGA Championship, Metropolitan Open, Arizona Open
- 1963 Washington Open
- 1964 Washington Open
- 1965 Washington Open, Northern California PGA Championship, British Columbia Open
- 1966 Northwest Open
- 1968 Pacific Northwest PGA Championship
- 1969 Pacific Northwest PGA Championship
- 1971 Washington Open
- 1976 Michigan PGA Championship
References
- "Al has a new title; it's Daddy Mengert". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 21, 1951. p. 11.
- "Mengert's biography". Spokesman-Review. Chicago Tribune press service. June 17, 1966. p. 24.
- "Spokane jockey Albert Johnson among latest inductees into Washington Sports Hall of Fame". The Spokesman-Review. April 16, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- "Around golf many years". Ottawa Citizen. NEA. April 15, 1955. p. 28.
- 1952 U.S. Amateur Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Hanson, Scott (August 19, 2010). "Northwest golfer tells of his near miss at 1952 U.S. Amateur in Seattle". Seattle Times. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
- "Snead, Palmer Lead Masters". The Gadsden Times. Gadsden, Alabama. April 6, 1958. p. 8. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
- Grimsley, Will (June 17, 1966). "Mengert takes Open lead with great first-round 67". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. p. 24.
- "U.S. Open golf scores". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 20, 1966. p. 24.
- PNGA Hal of Fame profile
- Van Sickel, Charlie (August 10, 1977). "Al Mengert, No.1". Spokesman-Review. p. 40.
- "Looking back: Spokane golfer Al Mengert and others in 1946". Spokesman-Review. April 4, 2005. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
External links
- Al Mengert at the PGA Tour official site
- PNGA Hall of Fame