Ken Venturi (born May 15, 1931) was a prominent PGA Tour professional during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Venturi was born in San Francisco, California. Venturi first gained national attention in 1956 when, as an amateur, he finished second in that year’s Masters after leading from the first round. He shot a final round 80 and blew a four shot lead which prevented him from winning outright and thus becoming the first amateur to do so in the history of The Masters. Years later it would be compared to Greg Norman’s back nine collapse in 1996.
In the early 50’s, Venturi had been a pupil of the great Byron Nelson and was also influenced by playing partner Ben Hogan. With this fine tuning combined with his tremendous talent, Venturi was a regular winner during his early years on the PGA Tour after turning pro at the end of 1956. He again come close to winning the Masters in 1958 and 1960, both times being edged out by Arnold Palmer.
After suffering minor injuries in an automobile accident in 1961, Venturi’s swing, and thus his career, began to slide. This slump lasted until 1964 when, for no reason even Venturi could fathom, he began playing well again. After a couple of high finishes, Venturi reached the pinnacle of his comeback by winning the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club after nearly collapsing in the scorching heat during the then 36-hole final round. He received Sports Illustrated magazine’s “Sportsman of the Year” award. He played on the 1965 Ryder Cup team.
After 1964, Venturi’s career again took a blow when he was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. After several surgeries his condition was reversed, but he was never able to regain his past form. After retiring from the Tour in 1967 with a total of 14 career wins, Venturi spent the next 30 years working as a color commentator for CBS Sports as well as owning and operating a series of instructional schools.
PGA Tour wins (14)
1957 (2) St. Paul Open Invitational, Miller High Life Open
1958 (4) Thunderbird Invitational, Phoenix Open Invitational, Baton Rouge Open Invitational, Gleneagles-Chicago Open Invitational
1959 (2) Los Angeles Open, Gleneagles-Chicago Open Invitational
1960 (2) Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Milwaukee Open Invitational
1964 (3) U.S. Open, Insurance City Open Invitational, American Golf Classic
1966 (1) Lucky International Open
Other wins (1)
1959 Almaden Open
Major Championships
Wins (1)
Year Championship
1964 U.S. Open
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