Don January
Golfer
1929 –
Who is Don January?
Donald Ray January is an American professional golfer.
Born in Plainview, Texas, January graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He was a member of the North Texas State golf team that won four consecutive NCAA Division I titles from 1949-52.
January won ten PGA Tour titles, though never more than one in a year, with his most notable at the 1967 PGA Championship, an 18-hole playoff victory over Don Massengale. January had lost the 1961 PGA Championship in a playoff to Jerry Barber when his 68, the lowest losing score ever in an 18-hole playoff for a major championship, was bested by Barber's 67. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1976 at the age of 47. He was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in both 1965 and 1977.
January was responsible for a change to the Rules of Golf. During the 1963 Phoenix Open, January had a putt roll up to the lip of the hole and stop. January claimed that the ball was still moving, and waited for seven minutes for the ball to drop. Rule 16-2 was revised in 1964 to state that players had to tap the ball in within ten seconds or be penalized.
In the period between his last PGA Tour win and the start of the Senior PGA Tour, January devoted most of his professional efforts to a golf course design business, JanMart Enterprises, that he had established with fellow Texan and PGA Tour golfer Billy Martindale.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Don January." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/don_january>.
Discuss this Don January biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In