Oldest living NJSGA Open Champion Al Mengert reflects on Storied Career

At 91 years young, Al Mengert is the oldest living and three-time NJSGA Open champion. He is also the owner of a golf rarity: a score of 18 under par, over 18 consecutive holes.

You read that right. His greatest performance came at age 21 on July 1, 1950, in the Pacific Northwest Amateur Championship at Capilano Golf Club in Vancouver, Canada. Over two matches on back-to-back days, he shot 18 under par in 18 consecutive holes and, riding a hot putter, went on to win the title.

Over his final 10 holes in a semifinal victory over Ray Weston, Mengert shot 10 under par, including two eagles and six birdies as part of a round of 62. In the final the next day against five-time Pacific Northwest Golf Association amateur champion Harry Givan, Mengert was 8-under-par over the first eight holes, with an eagle and six birdies for a remarkable total of 18 under par over 18 consecutive holes.

“It’s a golfer’s dream; it is considered a world record and my greatest achievement,” said Mengert, who while serving as a sergeant in U.S. Air Force Reserve, was called into action in 1951. His assignment was a desk job for 15 months.

In April, 1952, Mengert, a member of the U.S. Walker Cup Team, was invited to play in The Masters on orders to represent the four branches of U.S. Armed Forces. Before he received an honorary discharge on June 1, 1952, he won an Armed Forces Golf Championship at 13-under-par for 72 holes and won the title by a massive 26 strokes. His Air Force team also won the foursome championship.

"I'm the only man to play in the Masters while active in the service," he said. "After my honorable discharge, I came home to win battles on the golf course." 

Born April 7, 1929, Mengert is a native of Spokane, Washington. He is one of the greatest club professionals in PGA history. He was titled by the press, "The King of Junior Golf" when he won the first two U.S. National Junior Golf Champinships. 

He played in 27 majors and eight consecutive Masters.

Mengert, who was the head professional at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield from 1956 through 1960, is truly one of the greatest golfers ever to participate in the NJSGA Open. He won three times in five years, and was runner-up by two strokes (each time) in the other two years. He is a fascinating golf legend who will be remembered forever as one of the greatest ever to walk the fairways of New Jersey.

In addition to his three NJSGA Open crowns, he won open championships in eight different states plus 10 PGA section championships, including New Jersey. He is one of three men to win the NJSGA Open and Met Open in the same year.

His playing accomplishments include winning the U.S. National Junior Championship in 1946 and 1947; he defeated the great Gene Littler in the final match in the latter. Mengert won the U.S. Armed Services Championship in 1951, and was ranked the No. 1 amateur in the United States in 1952.

In total, Mengert competed in 27 majors. He was tied for the lead with Arnold Palmer with six holes remaining at The Masters in 1958 before fading to ninth. Later, he shot 67 and took the first-round lead at the 1966 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Mengert played at a high level well-into his sixties, playing in several tournaments on the Senior PGA Tour in the 1980s, and was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Association's Hall of Fame in 2001.

In the five-year stretch of 1956 through 1960, Mengert, then head professional at the Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, enjoyed what is considered the greatest run in NJSGA Open history. In that span, he was champion three times (1957, ’58 and ’60) and twice runner-up; in 1956, he finished second to two-time champion and NJSGA Hall of Famer Chet Sanok, and in 1959 to Lou Barbaro of Hollywood (who previously won in 1953). When Mengert won the New Jersey PGA Section championships in 1960, he became a rare winner of the NJSGA Open and NJPGA Section Championship in the same season. The NJPGA title came on the heels of four runner-up finishes which led up to his victory.

Later in 1960, Mengert won the Met Open, which capped a year for the ages. He became the first golfer to win the NJSGA Open and Met Open in the same year, while also adding the New Jersey PGA Section Championship. He was named New Jersey Athlete of the Year for those achievements.

Currently, Mengert is retired in Carefree, Arizona, where he is the founder of Legend Trail Golf Club.

He is still one of only three men to win both the NJSGA Open and the Met Open in the same season (Wes Ellis in 1963 and David Glenz in 1986). When he won that Met Open, he did so by 12 strokes, setting a 72-hole record, which broke the record of 11 strokes that Wood set in 1940. The record will never be broken since the Met Open is now a 54-hole championship. After he won the Met Open, he was given the nickname, "The Jersey Slammer," in recognition for that year winning the New Jersey PGA, NJSGA Open, the NJPGA Pro-Pro with Wes Ellis, and finally the Met Open.

That year, Mengert appeared on the televised Ed Sullivan Show and was honored as the New Jersey Professional Athlete of the Year, over Montclair resident Yogi Berra of the Yankees.  

“My goal was to get my name on a major championship trophy and the Met Open put me alongside all those greats,” Mengert said. mentioning Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Johnny Farrell, Tommy Armour, Byron Nelson and Craig Wood as previous Met Open champions. Farrell, Nelson and Woods also won the NJSGA Open. Other Met Open winners include major championship victors Claude Harmon, Jackie Burke, Doug Ford and Jim Turnesa. 

After his military discharge, his first tournament was the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Open Championship, which he won by six strokes by shooting 19-under-par.

Mengert had a storied amateur career in his home state, twice winning the Northwest Amateur and finishing as the silver medalist in the 1952 U.S. Amateur. Later that year, he won the Mexican Amateur Championship over seven-time French Amateur champion Henri Lamaze.

In his final tournament as an amateur, he won his match over Ken Venturi to win the Morse Cup at Cypress Point. At the end of 1952, Mengert received a phone call from Joseph Dye, executive director of the USGA, to tell him was ranked the No. 1 amateur in America and would be the first player selected for the next Walker Cup team. "

"I sent a letter to thank him for the honor, but I told him I was leaving amateur golf to become a professional," Mengert said.

He turned pro shortly thereafter and was hired as director of instruction under Claude Harmon at Winged Foot. In early 1956, he was offered his first head pro position at Echo Lake, where he remained through 1960.

When Mengert won his first NJSGA Open Championship in 1957, he overcame a four-shot deficit over the final 36 holes, posting a course record-tying 68 at Essex County to win by five shots. That same year, he teamed with Dave Marr of Rumson, a future PGA Tour standout, to win the NJPGA Four-Ball Championship. In 1958, he shot 281 to again win the NJSGA Open by five strokes at Spring Brook.

Paired with Sam Snead in the final twosome on Sunday at Augusta in 1958, Mengert was tied for the lead with eventual champion Arnold Palmer with six holes remaining before tying for ninth place. In the 1954 U.S. Open at Baltusrol, Mengert was the leader after 45 holes before he tied for 13th place. He was paired in other majors with the likes of Snead, Palmer, Ben Hogan, Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Mengert was the first-round leader with a 67 at the 1966 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.  He stayed in the top seven into the final round and finished in a tie for 26th place. 

“I led the world for one day,” Mengert said proudly.