Alfred John Mengert (April 7, 1929 – April 6, 2021) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Biography

Born and raised in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, 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. Mengert played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

at Gonzaga Prep, briefly attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in the late 1940s, and served in the Washington Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. Mengert was first reserve for the 1951 Walker Cup team. He was runner-up in the 1952

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

to Jack Westland. Mengert turned professional in 1952 and worked mainly as a club pro while also playing on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

. He won several non-PGA Tour events. His best finish in a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

came at the

1958 Masters Tournament The 1958 Masters Tournament was the 22nd Masters Tournament, held April 3–6 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Arnold Palmer won the first of his four Masters titles, one stroke ahead of runners-up Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins. It ...

. After three rounds, he was tied for fourth, two shots off the lead, and finished tied for ninth. Mengert was the first round leader at the U.S. Open in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

at the

Olympic Club The Olympic Club is an sports club, athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club", it is the oldest sports club, athletic club in the United States. Established ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He was tied for seventh after 54 holes, but a final round 81 resulted in a tie for 26th place. He finished tied for third place in a rain-delayed Tucson Open in 1971. 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. 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was a head pro at clubs in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, and

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. Mengert returned to the Northwest as the head pro at

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

Country Club in the 1960s then went to

Oakland Hills Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

in the suburbs north of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Mengert died April 6, 2021.

Amateur wins

*1946 International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament *1947 International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament *1949 Washington State Amateur *1950 Mexican Amateur, Pacific Northwest Amateur, 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

Results in major championships

''Note: Mengert never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in the 1964 PGA Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

External links

*
PNGA Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mengert, Al American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Gonzaga Preparatory School alumni Washington National Guard personnel Golfers from Spokane, Washington 1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen