Don January, who became the inaugural winner of what is now the PGA Tour Champions by winning the 1967 PGA Championship in a playoff, passed away on Sunday, according to the PGA Tour. He was 93.
Who Was Don January?
January, a native of Plainview, Texas, graduated from Dallas’ Sunset High School. He competed on the North Texas State golf team, which from 1949 through 1952 won four straight NCAA Division I championships. The Sunset High School Hall of Fame includes January.
As part of his scholarship, January taught a beginner’s golf course as a sophomore in college. It was in this class that he met Patricia “Pat” Rushing, the woman who would become his wife.
After earning their diplomas in 1953, they both fled to Ardmore, Oklahoma. While Don was serving in the Air Force, they settled in San Antonio and started a family with two boys and a girl
The Cause Of Death Was Not Stated On The Tour
Source: the guardian
Over a 20-year period, January won 10 times on the PGA Tour, with the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine Country Club in Colorado serving as the biggest victory. In an 18-hole playoff, he shot 69 to defeat Don Massengale by two strokes.
The Senior PGA Tour, which is for golfers 50 and beyond, debuted with four events four years after his last victory. The Atlantic City Senior Invitational was won by January, who earned $20,000 for it. The competition was never repeated.
Including the 1982 Senior PGA Championship, the first time it was held at PGA National in Florida, January won 22 times on the Senior PGA Tour.
Born in Plainview, Texas, on November 20, 1929, January played college golf at North Texas State during the four consecutive NCAA championships the Mean Green won.
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