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Jim Turnesa | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | James R. Turnesa |
Born | New York, New York, U.S. | December 9, 1912
Died | August 27, 1971 Elmsford, New York, U.S. | (aged 58)
Sporting nationality | United States |
Career | |
Turned professional | 1931 |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 11 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 2 |
Other | 9 |
Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |
Masters Tournament | T4: 1949 |
PGA Championship | Won: 1952 |
U.S. Open | 3rd: 1948 |
The Open Championship | T5: 1954 |
James R. Turnesa (December 9, 1912 – August 27, 1971) was an American professional golfer and winner of the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final.[1] He was one of seven famous golfing brothers; Phil (1896–1987), Frank (1898–1949), Joe (1901–1991), Mike (1907–2000), Doug (1909–1972), Jim (1912–1971), and Willie (1914–2001). The family was referred to as a "golf dynasty" in a 2000 New York Times article.[2]
Turnesa was born in Elmsford, New York, one of seven brothers who became prominent in the golfing world: Phil (1896–1987), Frank (1898–1949), Joe (1901–1991), Mike (1907–2000), Doug (1909–1972), Jim (1912–1971), and Willie (1914–2001). All but Willie turned professional[3] and Jim was the only one to win a major championship.
The Turnesa brothers were well known for their prowess on the links and they started out as caddies before competing in tournaments.[4] Jim's father Vitale was a head greenskeeper at Fairview Country Club. It was at Fairview that Jim and his brothers would apprentice under the head pro John R. Inglis.[5][6] So famous did they become as a dynasty of the sport that RKO Pictures filmed a newsreel about them in 1938 labeling the clip "The Golfing Brothers."[7]
Turnesa faced and lost to Sam Snead in the 1942 PGA Championship final. In 1948, he held the record for low score (280) in the U.S. Open for about an hour. Ben Hogan (276) and Jimmy Demaret (278) finished later, erasing his record, and he finished third. He won one other PGA Tour event, the 1951 Reading Open.[8]
He was a frequent participant in Westchester member-pro events beating out a duo that included Gene Sarazen in 1947 at a Knollwood Country Club best ball tournament.[9]
Turnesa played on the 1953 Ryder Cup team.
After serving as pro at Briar Hall and Empire State course, he was named the head pro at Ryewood Country Club in 1959 and continued there in the early 1960s.[10]
He died in his home town of lung cancer.[11]
Major championship is shown in bold.
Year | Championship | Winning score | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|
1952 | PGA Championship | 1 up | Chick Harbert |
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Tournament | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | |||
U.S. Open | T50 | CUT | T32 |
The Open Championship | |||
PGA Championship |
Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | NT | NT | NT | T37 | T44 | T4 | ||||
U.S. Open | CUT | T33 | NT | NT | NT | NT | T39 | 3 | T4 | |
The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
PGA Championship | 2 | NT | R16 | QF | R16 | R64 | R16 |
Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T46 | T27 | T60 | 48 | T22 | CUT | T35 | CUT | ||
U.S. Open | T38 | T17 | T33 | CUT | CUT | |||||
The Open Championship | T5 | |||||||||
PGA Championship | R32 | 1 | R32 | R64 | R16 | R128 | CUT | T38 |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T39 | CUT | CUT | |||||||
U.S. Open | T46 | CUT | CUT | |||||||
The Open Championship | ||||||||||
PGA Championship | T32 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T62 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T76 |
NT = no tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 10 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
PGA Championship | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 16 |
Totals | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 54 | 37 |
Professional