The 1966 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship was the third World Match Play Championship. It was played from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 October on the West Course at Wentworth. Eight players competed in a straight knock-out competition, with each match contested over 36 holes. The champion received £5,000 out of a total prize fund of £16,000. Gary Player defeated

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

6 & 4 in the final to win the tournament for the second successive year. The first semi-final was even throughout. With Gary Player dormie two, both he and Arnold Palmer played badly at the 17th and halved the hole in 6 to give Player a 2&1 win. In the second semi-final Jack Nicklaus was 6 up against Bill Casper at lunch. Casper won the 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th in the afternoon to reduce the gap to two holes. A birdie by Casper at the 16th reduced the lead to one hole but Nicklaus hit a one iron to 12 feet at the 17th to secure a 2 & 1 victory."Nicklaus And Player In Piccadilly Final". ''The Times'', Saturday, 8 October 1966; pg. 5; Issue 56757. In the final, Nicklaus drove poorly at the 17th and 18th to give Player a four-hole lead at lunch. The match finished at the 13th hole in the afternoon after Nicklaus again got into trouble off the tee. The final is best remembered for an incident between Nicklaus and the referee

Tony Duncan Anthony Arthur Duncan (10 December 1914 – 3 January 1998) was a Welsh golfer and cricketer. He was born in Cardiff and died in Surrey. As a golfer, he was the losing finalist in the 1939 Amateur Championship and was the captain of the 1953 G ...

. At the 9th hole of the first round, Nicklaus drove his ball into a ditch near an out of bounds. Nicklaus dropped out of the ditch under a penalty of one stroke and then claimed that an advertising sign about 50 yards ahead was in his line of sight and claimed relief. Duncan decided that the sign was not in a direct line between ball and pin and refused to allow a free drop. As they walked to the next tee Nicklaus criticised the decision. Duncan then offered to stand down as referee, an offer which was accepted and so he was replaced by

Gerald Micklem Gerald Hugh Micklem (14 August 1911 – 21 May 1988) was an English amateur golfer and administrator. He played in four Walker Cup matches between 1947 and 1955 and was non-playing captain in 1957 and 1959. Micklem had limited success as a golf ...

."Iron Play tells against Distance off Tee". ''The Times'', Monday, 10 October 1966; pg. 4; Issue 56758. Nicklaus later wrote an open letter to the American magazine ''Golf World'' outlining his case. The magazine published the letter and a reply from Duncan."Reopening Of Dispute By Nicklaus". ''The Times'', Thursday, 15 December 1966; pg. 5; Issue 56815. As in previous years, the match play championship was preceded by the Piccadilly Tournament, a 72-hole

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

competition, which was played on the East Course on 4 and 5 October. The winner was

Bernard Hunt Bernard John Hunt, MBE (2 February 1930 – 21 June 2013) was an English professional golfer. Hunt was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He turned professional in 1946 and was a leading player on the European circuit in the 1950s and 1960s. He ...

who won £750."Hunt sets record to win Piccadilly event". ''The Times'', Thursday, 6 October 1966; pg. 5; Issue 56755.

Course

Source:"Coles alone troubles golf giants". ''The Times'', Friday, 7 October 1966; pg. 5; Issue 56756.

Scores

Source:

Prize money

The winner received £5,000, the runner-up £3,000, the losing semi-finalists £2,000 and the first round losers £1,000, making a total prize fund of £16,000.

References

{{Authority control Volvo World Match Play Championship Golf tournaments in England Piccadilly World Match Play Championship Piccadilly World Match Play Championship Piccadilly World Match Play Championship