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Mike Souchak
Personal information
Full name	Michael Souchak
Born	May 10, 1927(1927-05-10) Berwick, Pennsylvania
Died	July 10, 2008 (aged 81) Belleair, Florida
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15.4 st)
Nationality	United States
Career
College	Duke University
Turned professional	1952
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	18
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	15
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters	T4: 1955
U.S. Open	T3: 1959, 1960
Open Championship	T8: 1956
PGA Championship	T5: 1959
Achievements and awards
Duke Sports Hall of Fame	1976

Michael Souchak (May 10, 1927 – July 10, 2008) was an American professional golfer who won 15 times on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960's, and played for the 1959 and 1961 Ryder Cup teams.

Souchak was born in Berwick, Pennsylvania. He attended Duke University where he played both golf and football. He was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.^[1]

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 2003 Valero Texas Open).

Souchak finished in the top 10 eleven times at major championships, including third place finishes at the 1959 and 1960 U.S. Opens.^[2]

Souchak played on the Senior PGA Tour (now called the Champions Tour) from its inception in 1980 until 1990. His best finish was second place in the very first tournament, the 1980 Atlantic City Senior International.

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, Florida. He then resided in Belleair, Florida, with his wife Nancy. He had four children, Mike, Frank, and Chris Souchak and Patti Taylor, as well as five grandchildren. He ran Golf Car Systems with his partner Bill Dodd until his death from complications of a heart attack in 2008.

PGA Tour wins (15)

• 1955 (2) Texas Open, Houston Open
• 1956 (4) Agua Caliente Open, Azalea Open Invitational, Colonial National Invitation, St. Paul Open
• 1958 (1) St. Paul Open Invitational
• 1959 (3) Tournament of Champions, Western Open, Motor City Open
• 1960 (2) San Diego Open Invitational, Buick Open Invitational
• 1961 (1) Greater Greensboro Open
• 1964 (2) Houston Classic, Memphis Open Invitational

Other wins

This list is probably incomplete

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

Results in major championships

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

See also

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

References

External links

• Results and stats on PGA Tour's official site