Paul Harney

For the American artist, see Paul E. Harney.

Paul Harney
Personal information
Born(1929-07-11)July 11, 1929
Worcester, Massachusetts
DiedAugust 24, 2011(2011-08-24) (aged 82)
Falmouth, Massachusetts
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeCollege of the Holy Cross
StatusProfessional
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins11
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour6
Other5
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT5: 1964
PGA ChampionshipT7: 1962
U.S. Open4th: 1963
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Paul Harney (July 11, 1929 – August 24, 2011) was an American professional golfer and golf course owner who spent part of his career as a full-time PGA Tour player, but mostly was a club professional, part-time Tour player, and owner-operator of his own course.

Early life

Harney was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended the College of the Holy Cross, which is located in his hometown; and was captain of the golf team.

Professional career

Harney played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1955 to 1962; and part-time from 1963 to 1973. During that time, he won six PGA Tour events. His first win came at the 1957 Carling Open; he won his second PGA Tour event just two weeks later at the Labatt Open. In 1963 at the prime of his career, he fulfilled a promise made to his wife, Patricia, that when their oldest child started school, he would only play the tour on a part-time basis.[1] He took his first club pro job at Sunset Oaks in northern California, where he stayed a couple years. He then moved his family across the country to Sutton, Massachusetts, where he took the club pro's job at Pleasant Valley Country Club.[1]

Harney had a great deal of success in major championships, placing in the top-10 six times. His best finish in a major was 4th at the 1963 U.S. Open; however, he also finished in the top-8 four times at The Masters in the 1960s.

As his competitive playing days were winding down, Harney used his prize money to open his own course in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, which he owned until his death. His daughter Erin is the general manager, and son Mike is the head pro.[2]

Personal life

Harney had six children with his wife Patricia.[2] He died in Falmouth, Massachusetts at the age of 82.[3]

Awards and honors

  • In 1957, Harney received Golf Digest's Most Improved Golfer award
  • In June 1963, Harney was inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame
  • In 1974, Harney earned "PGA Golf Professional of the Year" honors
  • In 1995, Harney became the first inductee into the New England Golf Hall of Fame
  • On September 8, 2005, Harney was enshrined into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (6)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Jun 23, 1957 Carling Open Invitational −9 (70-69-68-68=275) 3 strokes United States Dow Finsterwald
2 Jul 7, 1957 Labatt Open −10 (69-69-70-70=278) 1 stroke United States George Bayer
3 Mar 15, 1959 Pensacola Open Invitational −19 (69-65-65-70=269) 3 strokes United States Jay Hebert
4 Jan 6, 1964 Los Angeles Open −4 (71-72-66-71=280) 1 stroke United States Bobby Nichols
5 Jan 11, 1965 Los Angeles Open (2) −8 (68-71-68-69=276) 3 strokes United States Dan Sikes
6 Jan 30, 1972 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational −13 (68-71-66-70=275) 1 stroke United States Hale Irwin

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1963 Thunderbird Classic United States Arnold Palmer Lost to par on first extra hole

Other wins (5)

  • 1967 Massachusetts Open
  • 1968 Massachusetts Open
  • 1969 Massachusetts Open
  • 1970 Massachusetts Open
  • 1977 Massachusetts Open

Playoff record

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1980 PGA Seniors' Championship United States Arnold Palmer Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
Masters Tournament T25 6 T15 WD T5 T11 T8 T6 T40 T22 T24 CUT
U.S. Open CUT T37 T51 T12 T55 T28 4 T39 T18 T57 T18 T46 T21
PGA Championship T14 T18 T11 T7 T23 T33 T15 T55 T40

Note: Harney never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 4 9 12 10
U.S. Open 0 0 0 1 1 5 13 12
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 6 9 9
Totals 0 0 0 2 6 20 34 31
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 18 (1963 U.S. Open – 1973 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)

References

  1. ^ a b "Harney recalls successful career". Patriot Ledger. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2006.
  2. ^ a b Gearan, John. "Give Another Hoya!". College of the Holy Cross. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  3. ^ Livsey, Laury (August 25, 2011). "Harney, six-time winner on PGA Tour, dies at 82". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 29, 2013.