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