Mike Souchak

Mike Souchak
— Golfer —

Personal information
Full name	Michael Souchak
Born	(1927-05-10)May 10, 1927 Berwick, Pennsylvania
Died	July 10, 2008(2008-07-10) (aged 81) Belleair, Florida
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15.4 st)
Nationality	United States
Spouse	Nancy Souchak
Children	3 sons, 1 daughter
Career
College	Duke University
Turned professional	1952
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	18
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	15
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T4: 1955
U.S. Open	T3: 1959, 1960
The Open Championship	T8: 1956
PGA Championship	T5: 1959
Achievements and awards
Duke Sports Hall of Fame	1976

Michael Souchak (May 10, 1927 – July 10, 2008) was an American professional golfer who won fifteen events on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s, and played for the Ryder Cup teams in 1959 and 1961.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Early years

Born and raised in Berwick, Pennsylvania,^[1] Souchak served two years as a gunner in the U.S. Navy.^[4] He then attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he played both golf and football, as an end and placekicker.^[2] He was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.^[5]

Tour record-setter

In his first win at the 1955 Texas Open, Souchak set and tied several records. In the first round, he tied the tour's 18-hole record with a 60. This record was finally broken in 1977 by Al Geiberger's 59. This first round also included a record-breaking 27 on the back nine holes, a record that was tied by Andy North in 1975, Billy Mayfair in 2001 and Robert Gamez in 2004, and broken by Corey Pavin in 2006. He then finished with a 72-hole record of 257 (27-under-par). This record stood until 2001 when Mark Calcavecchia shot 256 at the Phoenix Open (this record was subsequently broken when Tommy Armour III shot 254 at the Valero Texas Open in 2003).

Souchak's fifteen PGA Tour wins came between 1955 and 1964, with his best year being 1956, when he won four times. He won three tour titles in 1959, and was on an early cover of Sports Illustrated in January 1956, for its preview of the Bing Crosby Pro-Am.^[6]

Near misses in majors

Souchak had eleven top-10 finishes at major championships, including third-place finishes at the U.S. Open in 1959 and 1960.^[7] Souchak led after 36 holes in 1960 with a new record score of 135, which was 7-under-par. But he struggled on the final hole of the third round, making a triple bogey, and couldn't regain his composure. Arnold Palmer, who had been seven strokes behind entering the final round, shot 65 to win the championship.

Souchak played on the Senior PGA Tour (now called the PGA Tour Champions) from its inception in 1980 until 1990. His best finish was second place in his very first tournament, the Atlantic City Senior International in 1980.

Souchak moved from North Carolina to Florida in 1970 and became the first head pro at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, and resided in Belleair with his wife Nancy. He had four children: sons Mike, Frank, and Chris Souchak and daughter Patti Taylor, as well as five grandchildren. He ran Golf Car Systems, a preventive maintenance firm,^[4] with his partner Bill Dodd until his death from complications of a heart attack in 2008.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (15)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 20, 1955	Texas Open	60-68-64-65=257	−27	7 strokes	Fred Haas
2	Feb 27, 1955	Houston Open	70-71-67-65=273	−15	2 strokes	Jerry Barber
3	Jan 22, 1956	Agua Caliente Open	65-71-74-71=281	−7	2 strokes	Tommy Bolt
4	Apr 1, 1956	Azalea Open Invitational	70-70-65-68=273	−15	1 stroke	Dick Mayer
5	May 6, 1956	Colonial National Invitation	74-72-65-69=280	Even	1 stroke	Tommy Bolt
6	Aug 26, 1956	St. Paul Open	70-69-70-62=271	−17	1 stroke	Sam Snead
7	Aug 17, 1958	St. Paul Open Invitational	66-64-68-65=263	−25	4 strokes	Julius Boros, Sam Snead
8	Apr 26, 1959	Tournament of Champions	66-70-68-77=281	−7	2 strokes	Art Wall, Jr.
9	Jul 12, 1959	Western Open	67-67-73-65=272	−8	1 stroke	Arnold Palmer
10	Aug 16, 1959	Motor City Open	69-63-67-69=268	−16	9 strokes	Billy Casper, Doug Ford
11	Jan 31, 1960	San Diego Open Invitational	67-68-67-67=269	−19	1 stroke	Johnny Pott
12	Jul 4, 1960	Buick Open Invitational	71-68-74-69=282	−6	1 stroke	Gay Brewer, Art Wall, Jr.
13	Apr 16, 1961	Greater Greensboro Open	70-68-69-69=276	−8	7 strokes	Sam Snead
14	Apr 19, 1964	Houston Classic	71-69-68-70=278	−6	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
15	May 24, 1964	Memphis Open Invitational	69-65-67-69=270	−10	1 stroke	Billy Casper, Tommy Jacobs

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1955	Thunderbird Invitational	Fred Haas, Shelley Mayfield	Mayfield won with birdie on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff Haas eliminated in 18-hole playoff (Mayfield:69, Souchak:69, Haas:70)
2	1957	Thunderbird Invitational	Jimmy Demaret, Ken Venturi	Demaret wins 18-hole playoff (Demaret:67, Souchak:75, Venturi:76)
3	1963	Hot Springs Open	Dave Hill	Lost to par on second extra hole

Other wins

This list is probably incomplete

Results in major championships

Tournament	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	T4	T17	CUT	T14	T25
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	T10	T29	CUT	CUT	T3
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T8	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	R16	T8	T5

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	T16	T28	T5	T11	T9	T35	T33	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T3	T4	T14	T32	DNP	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	T42
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T12	T45	T39	T23	T13	T15	CUT	T20	CUT	T59

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	T29	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	2	3	8	12	11
U.S. Open	2	3	4	5	16	8
The Open Championship	0	0	1	1	2	1
PGA Championship	0	1	3	8	14	12
Totals	2	6	11	22	44	32

Most consecutive cuts made – 19 (1958 PGA – 1965 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

References

1 2 Grimsley, Will (June 18, 1976). "Realist Mike Souchak doesn't miss big time". Shenectady Gazette. (New York)). Associated Press. p. 31.
1 2 Goldstein, Richard (July 13, 2008). "Mike Souchak dies at 81". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). (New York Times). p. C6.
↑ Fields, Bill (July 10, 2008). "Mike Souchak, 1927–2008". Golf Digest. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
1 2 O'Keefe, John (September 23, 2002). "Mike Souchak, golfer". Sports Illustrated. p. 10.
↑ "Duke Sports Hall of Fame". Retrieved December 10, 2013.
↑ "The Crosby tournament". Sports Illustrated. January 16, 1956. p. 12.
↑ "Longtime PGA Tour scoring record-holder Souchak dies at 81". PGA Tour. July 10, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2013.

External links

Mike Souchak at the PGA Tour official site
Duke University Athletics – Mike Souchak
Mike Souchak at Find a Grave

Mike Souchak in the Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup team – 1959

Julius Boros Jack Burke Jr. Dow Finsterwald Doug Ford Jay Hebert Cary Middlecoff Bob Rosburg Mike Souchak Art Wall Jr. Sam Snead (playing captain)

Won: 8.5 – 3.5

United States Ryder Cup team – 1961

Billy Casper Bill Collins Dow Finsterwald Doug Ford Jay Hebert Gene Littler Arnold Palmer Mike Souchak Art Wall Jr. Jerry Barber (playing captain)

Won: 14.5 – 5.5

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