David William Ragan, Jr. (August 7, 1935 – March 13, 2018) 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 ...

who played 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 ...

and the Senior PGA Tour. Ragan was born in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

. He attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators men's golf team in

National Collegiate Athletics Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

(NCAA) competition from 1954 to 1956. During his time as a Gator golfer, he was a member of the Gators team that finished sixth in the NCAA national tournament in 1955, and won the first two

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) championships in team history in 1955 and 1956. As a senior in 1956, he won the SEC individual championship, and was recognized as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Ragan was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great." Ragan turned professional in 1956 and played on the PGA Tour in the late 1950s and 1960s, winning three times. He finished second to

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

in the

1963 PGA Championship The 1963 PGA Championship was the 45th PGA Championship, played July 18–21 at the Blue Course of Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas. Jack Nicklaus won the first of his five PGA Championship titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Dave Raga ...

. He was a member of the 1963

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

team. In the early 1980s, he was the coach for the Tennessee Temple Crusaders golf team of Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was also the coach of the Ragin' Cajuns golf team at

University of Southwestern Louisiana The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana Sys ...

in Lafayette, Louisiana. From 1984 to 1986, he worked in partnership with Jack Wall and Bobby Greenwood at the Master's School of Golf. He played sparingly on the Senior PGA Tour starting in 1987. ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

'' magazine recognized Ragan as one of the top golf instructors in the state of Alabama in 2007. He worked for many years as a teaching pro at Inverness Country Club in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. He taught at Pine Tree Country Club in Irondale, AL (near Birmingham) from 1995 to 1998. His son, Dave III, is a teaching pro in Miami. Another one of his sons,

Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...

is a singer/songwriter, as well as the frontman for the punk rock group

Hot Water Music Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason B ...

. Ragan died on March 13, 2018, aged 82 years.

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other (6)

''This list is possibly incomplete'' *1956 Florida Open (as an amateur) *1957 Waterloo Open Golf Classic (tie with J. C. Goosie) *1961 Haig & Haig Scotch Foursome (with Mickey Wright) *1962 Florida PGA Championship *1963 Haig & Haig Scotch Foursome (with Mickey Wright), Senior Service Tournament

U.S. national team appearances

Professional *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

(winners)

References

External links