Homero Blancas

Homero Blancas, Jr. (born March 7, 1938) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour).

Homero Blancas
Personal information
Full nameHomero Blancas, Jr.
NicknameMr. 55
Born (1938-03-07) March 7, 1938
Houston, Texas
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Nationality United States
Career
CollegeUniversity of Houston
Turned professional1965
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins7
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour4
PGA Tour Champions1
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT5: 1972
PGA ChampionshipT30: 1970
U.S. OpenT4: 1972
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Blancas, who is of Mexican American descent, was born in Houston, Texas.[1] He attended the University of Houston from 1958–1962, and was a member of the golf team. 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 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) was included in the Guinness Book of Records 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.

Blancas won four PGA Tour 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 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.

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. 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 (7)

PGA Tour wins (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 25, 1966 Greater Seattle-Everett Classic −18 (66-65-65-70=266) 1 stroke Jacky Cupit
2 May 17, 1970 Colonial National Invitation −7 (69-68-69-67=273) 1 stroke Gene Littler, Lee Trevino
3 Feb 20, 1972 Phoenix Open −11 (70-61-73-69=273) Playoff Lanny Wadkins
4 Apr 15, 1973 Monsanto Open −11 (67-69-66-75=277) 1 stroke Frank Beard

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1969 Michigan Golf Classic Larry Ziegler Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 1972 Phoenix Open Lanny Wadkins Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Jun 4, 1989 Doug Sanders Kingwood Celebrity Classic −8 (73-65-70=208) 2 strokes Bob Charles, Walt Zembriski

Results in major championships
Tournament 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Masters Tournament T39 CUT CUT T5 CUT CUT T43
U.S. Open T52 T36 T19 T4 CUT T40
PGA Championship T30 T34 CUT CUT T67 T65

Note: Blancas never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Sources:[2][3][4][5][6][7]

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

References
  1. Lost In A Forest Of Needles
  2. "Homero Blancas". Golf Major Championships. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  3. "Past Winners & Results". Masters.
  4. "January claims lead". Eugene Register-Guard. April 10, 1971. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved September 15, 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
  5. "Masters results". Eugene Register-Guard. April 13, 1974. p. 3B. Retrieved September 15, 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
  6. "Course The Opponent, Player Says". The Tuscaloosa News. June 16, 1973. p. 5. Retrieved September 15, 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
  7. "PGA Media Guide 2012 – 94th PGA Championship" (PDF). PGA of America. pp. 52–57, 113.
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