Paul Harney (July 11, 1929 – August 24, 2011) was an American professional golfer and

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

owner who spent part of his career as a full-time

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 ...

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 Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. He attended the College of the Holy Cross, which is located in his hometown; and was captain of the

golf 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 ...

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. He took his first club pro job at Sunset Oaks in northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he stayed a couple years. He then moved his family across the country to

Sutton, Massachusetts Sutton, officially the Town of Sutton, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The population was 9,357 in the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Blackstone Valley, the town was designated as a Preserve America community in 2004. ...

, where he took the club pro's job at

Pleasant Valley Country Club Pleasant Valley Country Club is a golf course and country club in the northeastern United States, located in Sutton, Massachusetts. The course is a 72 par that measures . History In 1959, a apple orchard was carved out to built Pleasant Valley C ...

. 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 The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

in the 1960s. Harney has received many honors and awards. In 1957, he received ''Golf Digest's'' ''Most Improved Golfer'' award. He was inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame in June 1963. In 1974, he earned "PGA Golf Professional of the Year" honors. In 1995, he 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.

Personal life

As his competitive playing days were winding down, Harney used his prize money to open his own course in

East Falmouth, Massachusetts East Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located at the base of Massachusetts' "fishhook" peninsula (''see map at right''). The population was 6,038 at the ...

, which he owned until his death. His daughter Erin is the general manager, and son Mike is the head pro. Harney had six children with his wife Patricia. He died in Falmouth, Massachusetts at the age of 82.

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (6)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (5)

*1967

Massachusetts Open The Massachusetts Open is the Massachusetts state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by Mass Golf (formerly the Massachusetts Golf Association). It has been played annually since 1905 (except for wa ...

*1968 Massachusetts Open *1969 Massachusetts Open *1970 Massachusetts Open *1977 Massachusetts Open

Playoff record

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Harney 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 ...

.''
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 18 (1963 U.S. Open – 1973 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harney, Paul American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Massachusetts College of the Holy Cross alumni Sportspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts People from Falmouth, Massachusetts 1929 births 2011 deaths