- Don January
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Don January Personal information Full name Donald Ray January Born November 20, 1929
Plainview, TexasNationality 
United StatesCareer College North Texas State University Turned professional 1956 Retired 1999 Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Senior PGA TourProfessional wins 44 Number of wins by tour PGA Tour 10 Champions Tour 22 (tied 6th all time) Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)Masters Tournament T4: 1971 U.S. Open 3rd: 1967 The Open Championship DNP PGA Championship Won: 1967 Achievements and awards Vardon Trophy 1976 Donald Ray January (born November 20, 1929) is an American professional golfer.
January was born in Plainview, Texas, and graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He was a member of the North Texas State golf team that won four consecutive NCAA Division I titles from 1949-52.
January won 10 PGA Tour titles in his career (though never more than one in a year), with his most notable win coming at the 1967 PGA Championship in an 18-hole playoff victory over Don Massengale. January had lost the 1961 PGA Championship in a playoff to Jerry Barber when his 68, the lowest losing score ever in an 18-hole playoff for a major championship, was bested by Barber's 67. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1976 at the age of 47. He was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in both 1965 and 1977.
January was responsible for a change to the Rules of Golf. During the 1963 Phoenix Open, January had a putt roll up to the lip of the hole and stop. January claimed that the ball was still moving, and waited for seven minutes for the ball to drop.[1] Rule 16-2 was revised in 1964 to state that players had to tap the ball in within ten seconds or be penalized.[2]
In the period between his last PGA Tour win and the start of the Senior PGA Tour, January devoted most of his professional efforts to a golf course design business, JanMart Enterprises, that he had established with fellow Texan and PGA Tour golfer Billy Martindale.
January is well known for his success on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour), winning 23 events including two PGA Seniors' Championships. He won the first official event on the Senior PGA Tour – the 1980 Atlantic City Senior International.[3]
The Don January Golf Classic is a golf tournament played annually in the spring that was established to honor him in 1980 by his alma mater, now known as the University of North Texas.
Contents
Professional wins (44)
PGA Tour wins (10)
No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
VictoryRunner(s)-up 1 May 27, 1956 Dallas Centennial Open -12 (64-67-70-67=268) 1 stroke Dow Finsterwald, Doug Ford2 Feb 21, 1960 Tucson Open Invitational -9 (67-67-68-69=271) 3 strokes Bob Harris3 Jul 9, 1961 St. Paul Open Invitational -19 (66-71-68-64=269) 1 stroke Buster Cupit4 Feb 17, 1963 Tucson Open Invitational -22 (65-67-69-65=266) 1 stroke Gene Littler, Phil Rodgers5 Aug 28, 1966 Philadelphia Golf Classic -10 (69-69-68-71=278) 1 stroke Jack Nicklaus6 Apr 27, 1967 PGA Championship -7 (71-72-70-68=281) Playoff Don Massengale7 Apr 21, 1968 Tournament of Champions -8 (70-68-69-69=276) 1 stroke Julius Boros8 Mar 23, 1970 Greater Jacksonville Open -9 (68-75-70-66=279) Playoff Dale Douglass9 Oct 19, 1975 San Antonio Texas Open -13 (71-67-71-66=275) Playoff Larry Hinson10 Apr 18, 1976 MONY Tournament of Champions -11 (71-68-69-69=277) 5 strokes Hubert GreenPGA Tour playoff record (3-5)
No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result 1 1956 Western Open Mike Fetchick, Doug Ford, Jay HebertFetchick won 18-hole playoff (Fetchick:66, Hebert:71, Ford:72, January:75) 2 1961 PGA Championship Jerry BarberBarber won 18-hole playoff (Barber:67, January:68) 3 1964 Lucky International Open Chi Chi RodriguezRodriguez won 18-hole playoff (Rodriguez:70, January: 71) 4 1967 PGA Championship Don MassengaleWon 18-hole playoff (January:69, Massengale:71 ) 5 1969 Kaiser International Open Invitational George Archer, Billy Casper, Jack NicklausNicklaus won with birdie on second extra hole
January eliminated with par on first hole6 1970 Greater Jacksonville Open Dale DouglassWon 18-hole playoff (January:69, Douglass:72) 7 1971 Houston Champions International Hubert GreenLost to birdie on second extra hole 8 1975 San Antonio Texas Open Larry HinsonWon with birdie on second extra hole Major championship is shown in bold.
Other wins
This list may be incomplete
- 1959 Carabobo Open Invitational (Venezuela)
Senior PGA Tour wins (22)
- 1980 (1) Atlantic City Senior International
- 1981 (2) Michelob-Egypt Temple Senior Classic, Eureka Federal Savings Classic
- 1982 (2) Michelob Senior Classic, PGA Seniors' Championship
- 1983 (6) Gatlin Brothers Seniors Golf Classic, Peter Jackson Champions, Marlboro Classic, Denver Post Champions of Golf, Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic, Suntree Classic
- 1984 (3) The Vintage Invitational, du Maurier Champions, Digital Middlesex Classic
- 1985 (4) Senior PGA Tour Roundup, Dominion Seniors, United Hospitals Senior Golf Championship, The Greenbrier American Express Championship
- 1986 (3) Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am, The Greenbrier American Express Championship, Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship
- 1987 (1) MONY Senior Tournament of Champions
Senior major championship is shown in bold.
Other senior wins (11)
- 1979 PGA Seniors' Championship
- 1982 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Sam Snead)
- 1984 Shootout at Jeremy Ranch (with Mike Sullivan)
- 1985 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Gene Littler), Mazda Champions (with Alice Miller)
- 1986 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Gene Littler)
- 1993 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division
- 1994 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Gene Littler)
- 1997 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Gene Littler)
- 2001 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Gene Littler)
- 2004 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Gene Littler)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner-up 1967 PGA Championship 4 shot deficit -7 (71-72-70-68=281) Playoff1 Don Massengale1Defeated Don Massengale in a 18 hole playoff (January 69, Massengale 71).
Results timeline
Tournament 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 36 U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP T7 T19 The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T49 Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 The Masters T20 T4 T20 T9 T18 CUT T6 T26 T14 T5 U.S. Open DNP CUT CUT 11 T11 CUT T17 3 T24 WD The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship 5 2 T27 T40 CUT DNP T12 1 T51 T15 Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 The Masters T12 T4 CUT T10 DNP DNP T33 T8 T11 CUT U.S. Open DNP T27 T11 DNP DNP T29 T14 DNP DNP DNP The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship T12 CUT CUT DNP DNP T10 T2 T6 T19 T7 Tournament 1980 1981 1982 The Masters CUT DNP DNP U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship CUT T19 CUT DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10Champions Tour major championships
Wins (1)
Year Championship Winning Score Margin Runner(s)-up 1982 Senior PGA Championship E (74−75−69−70=288) 1 stroke Julius BorosSee also
References
- ^ Player cools heels 7 minutes; Misses putt, miffed at January
- ^ Zullo, Allan, "Astonishing but True Golf Facts", Andrew McMeels Publishing, Forest Fairview, North Carolina, 2001.
- ^ Bingham, Walter (February 16, 1998). "Built To Last". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1012022/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
External links
- Don January at the PGA Tour official site
- Las Vegas Review Journal
Senior PGA Championship champions 1980 Arnold Palmer† • 1981 Miller Barber • 1982 Don January • 1983 Not held • 1984 (Jan) Arnold Palmer • 1984 (Dec) Peter Thomson • 1985 Not held • 1986 Gary Player • 1987 Chi-Chi Rodríguez • 1988 Gary Player • 1989 Larry Mowry • 1990 Gary Player • 1991 Jack Nicklaus • 1992 Lee Trevino • 1993 Tom Wargo† • 1994 Lee Trevino • 1995 Raymond Floyd • 1996 Hale Irwin • 1997 Hale Irwin • 1998 Hale Irwin • 1999 Allen Doyle • 2000 Doug Tewell • 2001 Tom Watson • 2002 Fuzzy Zoeller • 2003 John Jacobs • 2004 Hale Irwin • 2005 Mike Reid† • 2006 Jay Haas† • 2007 Denis Watson • 2008 Jay Haas • 2009 Michael Allen • 2010 Tom Lehman† • 2011 Tom Watson†
† indicates the event was won in a playoff Don January in the Ryder Cup United States Ryder Cup team – 1965 Julius Boros • Billy Casper • Tommy Jacobs • Don January • Tony Lema • Gene Littler • Dave Marr • Arnold Palmer • Ken Venturi
Byron Nelson (non-playing captain)
Won: 19.5 – 12.5
Johnny Pott: Made the team, but did not participate in the event due to a back injury.
United States Ryder Cup team – 1977 Raymond Floyd • Lou Graham • Hubert Green • Dave Hill • Hale Irwin • Don January • Jerry McGee • Jack Nicklaus • Ed Sneed • Dave Stockton • Lanny Wadkins • Tom Watson
Dow Finsterwald (non-playing captain)
Won: 12.5 – 7.5Categories:- American golfers
- North Texas Mean Green men's golfers
- PGA Tour golfers
- Champions Tour golfers
- Winners of men's major golf championships
- Winners of senior major golf championships
- Golf course architects
- People from Plainview, Texas
- 1929 births
- Living people
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