Born: December 9, 1912
Died: August 27, 1971 (at age 58)
Jim Turnesa
Biography
James R. Turnesa (December 9, 1912 - August 27, 1971) was one of seven golfing brothers; 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 and Jim was the only one to win a major championship, the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final. He had previously 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.
Turnesa played on the 1953 Ryder Cup team.
He was born in New York, New York and died in Elmsford, New York of lung cancer.
Professional wins (10)
PGA Tour wins (2)
- 1951 Reading Open
- 1952 PGA Championship
Major championship is shown in bold.
Other wins (8)
- Note: This list may be incomplete.
- 1937 Rhode Island Open
- 1946 Westchester PGA Championship
- 1947 North and South Open
- 1956 Westchester PGA Championship
- 1959 Metropolitan Open
- 1960 Haig & Haig Scotch Foursome (with Gloria Armstrong)
- 1964 Westchester PGA Championship
- 1968 Long Island PGA Championship
Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | PGA Championship | 1 up | Chick Harbert |
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T50 | CUT | T32 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | T37 | T52 | DNP | T4 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T33 | NT | NT | NT | NT | DNP | T39 | 3 | T4 |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | 2 | NT | DNP | R16 | QF | R16 | R64 | R16 |
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T46 | DNP | DNP | T27 | T60 | 48 | T22 | CUT | T35 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T38 | DNP | DNP | T17 | T33 | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T5 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | R32 | 1 | R32 | R64 | DNP | R16 | R128 | CUT | T38 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T39 | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T46 | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T32 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T62 | CUT | CUT | DNP | CUT | T76 |
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
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
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Summary
| 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 |
- Most consecutive cuts made - 27 (1941 U.S. Open - 1956 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s - 3 (1949 Masters - 1949 PGA)
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
- Ryder Cup: 1953 (winners)
- Canada Cup: 1953
[ Source: Wikipedia ]
Biography of Jim Turnesa at FanPal • 2024