Mike Souchak

Michael Souchak (May 10, 1927 – July 10, 2008) was an American professional golfer who won fifteen events on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s, and played for the Ryder Cup teams in 1959 and 1961.

Born and raised in Berwick, Pennsylvania, Souchak served two years as a gunner in the U.S. Navy. He then attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he played both golf and football, as an end and placekicker. He was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.

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, a record that was tied by Andy North in 1975, Billy Mayfair in 2001 and Robert Gamez in 2004, and broken by Corey Pavin in 2006. He then finished with a 72-hole record of 257 (27-under-par). This record stood until 2001 when Mark Calcavecchia shot 256 at the Phoenix Open (this record was subsequently broken when Tommy Armour III shot 254 at the Valero Texas Open in 2003).

Souchak's fifteen PGA Tour wins came between 1955 and 1964, with his best year being 1956, when he won four times. He won three tour titles in 1959, and was on an early cover of Sports Illustrated 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 1959 and 1960. 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, making a triple bogey, and couldn't regain his composure. Arnold Palmer, who had been seven strokes behind entering the final round, shot 65 to win the championship.

Souchak played on the Senior PGA Tour (now called the PGA Tour Champions) 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.

Souchak moved from North Carolina to Florida in 1970 and became the first head pro at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, and resided in Belleair with his wife 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 partner Bill Dodd until his death from complications of a heart attack in 2008.

PGA Tour wins (15)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 20, 1955	Texas Open	60-68-64-65=257	−27	7 strokes	Fred Haas
2	Feb 27, 1955	Houston Open	70-71-67-65=273	−15	2 strokes	Jerry Barber
3	Jan 22, 1956	Agua Caliente Open	65-71-74-71=281	−7	2 strokes	Tommy Bolt
4	Apr 1, 1956	Azalea Open Invitational	70-70-65-68=273	−15	1 stroke	Dick Mayer
5	May 6, 1956	Colonial National Invitation	74-72-65-69=280	Even	1 stroke	Tommy Bolt
6	Aug 26, 1956	St. Paul Open	70-69-70-62=271	−17	1 stroke	Sam Snead
7	Aug 17, 1958	St. Paul Open Invitational	66-64-68-65=263	−25	4 strokes	Julius Boros, Sam Snead
8	Apr 26, 1959	Tournament of Champions	66-70-68-77=281	−7	2 strokes	Art Wall, Jr.
9	Jul 12, 1959	Western Open	67-67-73-65=272	−8	1 stroke	Arnold Palmer
10	Aug 16, 1959	Motor City Open	69-63-67-69=268	−16	9 strokes	Billy Casper, Doug Ford
11	Jan 31, 1960	San Diego Open Invitational	67-68-67-67=269	−19	1 stroke	Johnny Pott
12	Jul 4, 1960	Buick Open Invitational	71-68-74-69=282	−6	1 stroke	Gay Brewer, Art Wall, Jr.
13	Apr 16, 1961	Greater Greensboro Open	70-68-69-69=276	−8	7 strokes	Sam Snead
14	Apr 19, 1964	Houston Classic	71-69-68-70=278	−6	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
15	May 24, 1964	Memphis Open Invitational	69-65-67-69=270	−10	1 stroke	Billy Casper, Tommy Jacobs

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1955	Thunderbird Invitational	Fred Haas, Shelley Mayfield	Mayfield won with birdie on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff Haas eliminated in 18-hole playoff (Mayfield:69, Souchak:69, Haas:70)
2	1957	Thunderbird Invitational	Jimmy Demaret, Ken Venturi	Demaret wins 18-hole playoff (Demaret:67, Souchak:75, Venturi:76)
3	1963	Hot Springs Open	Dave Hill	Lost to par on second extra hole

Other wins

This list is probably incomplete

• 1959 Carolinas PGA Championship
• 1967 Michigan Open
• 1968 Michigan PGA Championship

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

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