Homero Blancas, Jr. (born March 7, 1938) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who has played on both the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

(now known as the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

Amateur career

Blancas, who is of Mexican American descent, was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. He attended the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

from 1958 to 1962, and was a member of the

golf team Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. Blancas shot a record-setting round of 55 (27-28) in a college tournament, which stands as the lowest round in the history of competitive golf. His 13 birdies and an eagle on a par-70 course in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County, Texas, Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County. Longview is located in East Tex ...

on August 19, 1962 earned him the nickname "Mr. 55." He was inducted into the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978. Blancas' 55 shot round (played on a course of just over 5,000

yards The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...

) was included in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for a time, but shortly after officials removed his name after instituting a requirement that a course must be of at least 6,500 yards to achieve inclusion. The 55 shot round is still the lowest official golf score on record for course of regular par.

Professional career

Blancas won four

events. He turned pro in 1965 and was the PGA ''Rookie of the Year'' that year. He was a member of the 1973

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team. During his career on the PGA Tour, he had more than 4 dozen top-10 finishes. His best finishes in a major championship were a T-4 at the 1972 U.S. Open, and a T-5 at the 1972 Masters. Blancas spent the last 16 years of his regular career as club pro at Randolph Park in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. After turning 50 in March 1988, Blancas joined the Senior Tour. He has one victory in this venue – at the 1989

Doug Sanders Kingwood Celebrity Classic The Doug Sanders Celebrity Classic was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1988 to 1994. It was played in Kingwood, Houston, Texas at the Deerwood Club. The purse for the 1994 tournament was US$500,000, with $75,000 going to the winner. T ...

. He has 18 holes-in-one during his career, is a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, and lives in Houston.

Amateur wins

*1962 W.E. Cole Cotton States Invitational *1963 W.E. Cole Cotton States Invitational *1964 W.E. Cole Cotton States Invitational

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Other wins (3)

*1960

Texas State Open The Texas State Open is the Texas state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Northern Texas section of the PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) ...

(as an amateur) *1963 Louisiana State Open (as an amateur) *1965 Mexican Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Blancas never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place Sources:

U.S. national team appearances

Professional *

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

(winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blancas, Homero American male golfers Houston Cougars men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Houston American sportspeople of Mexican descent 1938 births Living people