Michael Souchak (May 10, 1927 – July 10, 2008) was an American professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er. He won fifteen events 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 ...

in the 1950s and 1960s and represented the United States for the

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 ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

and

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

Early life

Born and raised in

Berwick, Pennsylvania Berwick is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. As of the 2020 United States census, 202 ...

, Souchak served two years as a gunner in the U.S. Navy. He then attended

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, and played both

and

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 ...

for the Blue Devils, as an end and

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

Professional career

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. This record was not broken until 2006 by Corey Pavin. He then finished with a 72-hole record of 257 (27-under-par). This aggregate total record also stood until the 21st century until Mark Calcavecchia shot 256 at the 2001

Phoenix Open The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. The tournament was originally the Ariz ...

. Souchak's fifteen PGA Tour wins came between 1955 and 1964, with his best year in 1956 (four victories). He won three tour titles in 1959, and was on an early cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' in January 1956, for its preview of the Bing Crosby Pro-Am. Souchak had eleven top-10 finishes at major championships, including third-place finishes at the U.S. Open in

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

. 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 (which was played on the same day as the fourth round,) making a triple bogey, and couldn't regain his composure.

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

, who had been seven strokes behind entering the final round, shot 65 to win the championship. In 1970, Souchak moved from North Carolina to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and became the first head pro at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in

Palm Harbor, Florida Palm Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) and Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 61,366. Culture Palm Harbor is located north of down ...

, and resided in Belleair. Souchak played on the Senior PGA Tour 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.

Personal life

Souchak was married to 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, with his business partner Bill Dodd until his death from complications of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 2008.

Awards and honors

Souchak was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.

Professional wins (19)

PGA Tour wins (15)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

Other wins (4)

''This list is probably incomplete'' *1955 Havana Invitational *1959 Carolinas PGA Championship *1967 Michigan Open *1968 Michigan PGA Championship

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play

Summary

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

U.S. national team appearances

(winners),

(winners) * Hopkins Trophy: 1956 (winners)

References

External links

*
Duke University Athletics
– Mike Souchak * {{DEFAULTSORT:Souchak, Mike American male golfers Duke Blue Devils men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Pennsylvania Duke Blue Devils football players Players of American football from Pennsylvania People from Berwick, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Columbia County, Pennsylvania People from Belleair, Florida Sportspeople from Pinellas County, Florida 1927 births 2008 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors 20th-century American sportsmen