Paul Harney (July 11, 1929 – August 24, 2011) 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 ...

and

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

owner who spent part of his career as a full-time

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 ...

player, but mostly was a club professional, part-time Tour player, and owner-operator of his own course.

Early life

Harney was born and raised in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. He attended the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

, which is located in his hometown; and was captain of the

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 ...

team.

Professional career

Harney played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1955 to 1962; and part-time from 1963 to 1973. During that time, he won six PGA Tour events. His first win came at the 1957 Carling Open; he won his second PGA Tour event just two weeks later at the Labatt Open. In 1963 at the prime of his career, he fulfilled a promise made to his wife, Patricia, that when their oldest child started school, he would only play the tour on a part-time basis. He took his first club pro job at Sunset Oaks in northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he stayed a couple years. He then moved his family across the country to

Sutton, Massachusetts Sutton, officially the Town of Sutton, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,357 in the 2020 United States census. Located in the Blackstone Valley, the town was design ...

, where he took the club pro's job at Pleasant Valley Country Club. Harney had a great deal of success in

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 ...

championships, placing in the top-10 six times. His best finish in a major was 4th at the 1963 U.S. Open; however, he also finished in the top-8 four times at

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major golf championships, men's major championships in Professional golf tours, professional golf. Schedul ...

in the 1960s. As his competitive playing days were winding down, Harney used his prize money to open his own course in

East Falmouth, Massachusetts East Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located at the base of Massachusetts' "fishhook" peninsula (''see map at right''). The population was 6,038 at th ...

, which he owned until his death. His daughter Erin is the general manager, and son Mike is the head pro.

Personal life

Harney had six children with his wife Patricia. He died in

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...

at the age of 82.

Awards and honors

* In 1957, Harney received ''Golf Digests Most Improved Golfer award * In June 1963, Harney was inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame * In 1974, Harney earned "PGA Golf Professional of the Year" honors * In 1995, Harney became the first inductee into the New England Golf Hall of Fame * On September 8, 2005, Harney was enshrined into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (6)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (5)

*1967

Massachusetts Open The Massachusetts Open is the Massachusetts state open golf tournament. The brothers Donald Ross and Alex Ross had much success early in the tournament's history, winning the first eight events between them. In the mid-1910s, the Massachusetts G ...

*1968 Massachusetts Open *1969 Massachusetts Open *1970 Massachusetts Open *1977 Massachusetts Open

Playoff record

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Harney 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 ...

.''
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 18 (1963 U.S. Open – 1973 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harney, Paul American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Massachusetts College of the Holy Cross alumni Sportspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts People from Falmouth, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Barnstable County, Massachusetts 1929 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen