Don January

Donald Ray January (born November 20, 1929) is an American retired professional golfer.

Born in Plainview, Texas, January graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He was a member of the North Texas State golf team that won four consecutive NCAA Division I titles from 1949-52.

While in college as a sophomore, as part of his scholarship, he helped teach a beginning golf class, where he met his future wife, Patricia "Pat" Rushing. They both graduated in 1953 and eloped to Ardmore, Oklahoma. They lived in San Antonio while Don was in the Air Force, and began their family — two boys and a girl.

January won 10 PGA Tour titles, though never more than one in a year, with his most notable at the 1967 PGA Championship, an 18-hole playoff victory over Don Massengale. January had lost the 1961 PGA Championship in a playoff to Jerry Barber when his 68, the lowest losing score ever in an 18-hole playoff for a major championship, was bested by Barber's 67. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1976 at the age of 47. He was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in both 1965 and 1977.

January was responsible for a change to the Rules of Golf. During the 1963 Phoenix Open, January had a putt roll up to the lip of the hole and stop. January claimed that the ball was still moving, and waited for seven minutes for the ball to drop (it never did). Rule 16-2 was revised in 1964 to state that players had to tap the ball in within ten seconds or be penalized.

In the period between his last PGA Tour win and the start of the Senior PGA Tour, January devoted most of his professional efforts to a golf course design business, JanMart Enterprises, that he had established with fellow Texan and PGA Tour golfer Billy Martindale.

January is well known for his success on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour), winning 22 events including two PGA Seniors' Championships. He won the first official event on the Senior PGA Tour – the 1980 Atlantic City Senior International.

The Don January Golf Classic is a golf tournament played annually in the spring that was established to honor him in 1990 by his alma mater, now known as the University of North Texas.

PGA Tour wins (10)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	May 27, 1956	Dallas Centennial Open	−12 (64-67-70-67=268)	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald, Doug Ford
2	Feb 21, 1960	Tucson Open Invitational	−9 (67-67-68-69=271)	3 strokes	Bob Harris
3	Jul 9, 1961	St. Paul Open Invitational	−19 (66-71-68-64=269)	1 stroke	Buster Cupit
4	Feb 17, 1963	Tucson Open Invitational	−22 (65-67-69-65=266)	11 strokes	Gene Littler, Phil Rodgers
5	Aug 28, 1966	Philadelphia Golf Classic	−10 (69-69-69-71=278)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
6	Jul 24, 1967	PGA Championship	−7 (71-72-70-68=281)	Playoff	Don Massengale
7	Apr 21, 1968	Tournament of Champions	−8 (70-68-69-69=276)	1 stroke	Julius Boros
8	Mar 23, 1970	Greater Jacksonville Open	−9 (68-75-70-66=279)	Playoff	Dale Douglass
9	Oct 19, 1975	San Antonio Texas Open	−13 (71-67-71-66=275)	Playoff	Larry Hinson
10	Apr 18, 1976	MONY Tournament of Champions	−11 (71-68-69-69=277)	5 strokes	Hubert Green

PGA Tour playoff record (3–5)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1956	Western Open	Mike Fetchick, Doug Ford, Jay Hebert	Fetchick won 18-hole playoff (Fetchick:66, Hebert:71, Ford:72, January:75)
2	1961	PGA Championship	Jerry Barber	Lost 18-hole playoff (Barber:67, January:68)
3	1964	Lucky International Open	Chi Chi Rodriguez	Lost 18-hole playoff (Rodriguez:70, January:71)
4	1967	PGA Championship	Don Massengale	Won 18-hole playoff (January:69, Massengale:71 )
5	1969	Kaiser International Open Invitational	George Archer, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus	Nicklaus won with birdie on second extra hole January eliminated with birdie on first hole
6	1970	Greater Jacksonville Open	Dale Douglass	Won 18-hole playoff (January:69, Douglass:72)
7	1971	Houston Champions International	Hubert Green	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
8	1975	San Antonio Texas Open	Larry Hinson	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins

This list may be incomplete

• 1959 Carabobo Open Invitational (Venezuela)

Senior PGA Tour wins (22)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 22, 1980	Atlantic City Senior International	−5 (68-71-69=208)	2 strokes	Mike Souchak
2	Apr 5, 1981	Michelob-Egypt Temple Senior Classic	−8 (71-7072-67=280)	Playoff	Doug Ford
3	Jun 7, 1981	Eureka Federal Savings Classic	−5 (71-69-68=208)	2 strokes	Bob Goalby
4	Apr 4, 1982	Michelob Senior Classic	−10 (73-69-67-69=278)	3 strokes	Dow Finsterwald
5	Dec 5, 1982	PGA Seniors Championship	E (74-75-69-70=288)	1 stroke	Julius Boros
6	Jun 5, 1983	Gatlin Brothers Seniors Golf Classic	−8 (71-67-68=208	Playoff	Billy Casper
7	Jun 26, 1983	Peter Jackson Champions	−10 (68-67-71-68=274)	2 strokes	Miller Barber
8	Jul 3, 1983	Marlboro Classic	−11 (69-72-68-64=273)	3 strokes	Miller Barber, Gay Brewer
9	Aug 21, 1983	Denver Post Champions of Golf	−17 (70-65-67-69=271)	4 strokes	Billy Casper, Doug Sanders
10	Sep 4, 1983	Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic	−19 (67-67-65-70=269)	3 strokes	Bob Stone
11	Oct 16, 1983	Suntree Classic	−14 (69-66-68-71=274)	3 strokes	Arnold Palmer
12	Mar 25, 1984	The Vintage Invitational	−8 (70-72-72-66=280)	4 strokes	Miller Barber
13	Aug 12, 1984	du Maurier Champions	−19 (65-63-66=194)	5 strokes	Miller Barber, Lee Elder
14	Sep 23, 1984	Digital Middlesex Classic	−7 (70-70-69=209)	4 strokes	Orville Moody
15	Mar 24, 1985	Senior PGA Tour Roundup	−18 (65-69-64=198)	3 strokes	Gene Littler
16	May 12, 1985	Dominion Seniors	−10 (69-70-67=206)	2 strokes	Gay Brewer
17	May 19, 1985	United Hospitals Senior Golf Championship	−5 (69-66=135)	5 strokes	Al Balding
18	Jul 7, 1985	The Greenbrier American Express Championship	−16 (70-64-66=200)	2 strokes	Lee Elder
19	Jun 8, 1986	Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am	−13 (66-68-69=203)	2 strokes	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
20	Jul 13, 1986	The Greenbrier American Express Championship	−9 (70-66-71-207)	Playoff	Jim Ferree
21	Nov 2, 1986	Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship	70 to 71		Bob Charles
22	Jan 10, 1987	MONY Senior Tournament of Champions	−1 (67-72-73-75=287)	Playoff	Butch Baird

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (4–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1981	Michelob-Egypt Temple Senior Classic	Doug Ford	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1983	Gatlin Brothers Seniors Golf Classic	Billy Casper	Won with par on fifth extra hole
3	1985	Digital Seniors Classic	Jerry Barber, Lee Elder	Elder won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1986	The Greenbrier American Express Championship	Jim Ferree	Won with par on first extra hole
5	1987	MONY Senior Tournament of Champions	Butch Baird	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

Senior major championship is shown in bold.

Other senior wins (11)

• 1979 PGA Seniors' Championship
• 1982 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Sam Snead)
• 1984 Shootout at Jeremy Ranch (with Mike Sullivan)
• 1985 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Gene Littler), Mazda Champions (with Alice Miller)
• 1986 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Gene Littler)
• 1993 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division
• 1994 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Gene Littler)
• 1997 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Gene Littler)
• 2001 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Gene Littler)
• 2004 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Gene Littler)

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1967	PGA Championship	4 shot deficit	−7 (71-72-70-68=281)	Playoff1	Don Massengale

1Defeated Massengale in an 18-hole playoff, 69 to 71.

Results timeline

Note: January never played in The Open Championship.
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1976 PGA – 1977 PGA)

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1982	Senior PGA Championship	E (74-75-69-70=288)	1 stroke	Julius Boros