Rik Massengale (born February 6, 1947) is a former American professional golfer who played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1970–1982.

Rik Massengale
Personal information
Full nameRik Massengale
Born (1947-02-06) February 6, 1947 (age 77)
Jacksboro, Texas
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeUniversity of Texas
Turned professional1969
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT3: 1977
PGA ChampionshipT30: 1976
U.S. OpenT14: 1975
The Open ChampionshipT26: 1977

Massengale was born and raised in Jacksboro, Texas. He developed an interest in golf as a result of his older brother, Don, being a professional golfer. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and was a member of the golf team from 1965 to 1969. Massengale was known as a "wild man" at fraternity parties in college; however, he changed his ways and became a born-again Christian in 1975.[1] He turned pro in 1969 and joined the PGA Tour in 1970.

Massengale won three events on the PGA Tour during the mid-1970s. His first win was at the 1975 Tallahassee Open. His second came a year later at the Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open. The biggest win of his career came in 1977 at the Bob Hope Desert Classic; he established a new tournament record (337) breaking Arnold Palmer's 17-year-old record by one stroke. Massengale shot a blistering 64 on the first day and led this event wire-to-wire. He led wire to wire in all three of his PGA Tour victories. His best career year was 1977 when he had seven top-10 finishes, $126,736 in earnings, and finished 13th on the money list.[2] His best finish in a major was a T-3 at the 1977 Masters.[3]

A back injury led Massengale to retire from the PGA Tour in 1983. He served as National Director for College Golf Fellowship for 15 years. After turning 50 in 1997, he played in a limited number of tournaments on the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour). His best finish in this venue was a T-6 at the 1997 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic.

Massengale is a commercial real estate broker[4] in the Dallas metroplex. He married Cindy, in 1969. They have four children. They live in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas. He is chairman of the Board of Chin Community Ministry, a refugee ministry in the Dallas area and serves on the board of Search Ministries Collin County.[5]

Amateur wins

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  • 1964 Texas-Oklahoma Junior Golf Tournament
  • 1967 Cotton States Invitational
  • 1968 Western Amateur, Southwest Conference Championship (individual medalist)

Professional wins (3)

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PGA Tour wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 27, 1975 Tallahassee Open −14 (67-67-68-72=274) 2 strokes   Spike Kelley,   Bert Yancey
2 Aug 22, 1976 Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open −18 (65-65-70-66=266) 2 strokes   Al Geiberger,   J. C. Snead
3 Feb 13, 1977 Bob Hope Desert Classic −23 (64-66-70-70-67=337) 6 strokes   Bruce Lietzke

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1975 Sahara Invitational   Dave Hill Lost to par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
Masters Tournament CUT T23 T3 CUT
U.S. Open CUT T30 T14 T33 T39 CUT CUT T26
The Open Championship T26
PGA Championship CUT T30 T36 CUT WD
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rik Massengale: Leaving the Past Behind". Links Players International. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007.
  2. ^ "Rik Massengale – Career". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  4. ^ "The Massengale Group". Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "CCM Board". Retrieved January 30, 2017.
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