Three-time NJSGA Open Champion Al Mengert passes away at age 91

April 14, 2021 – Al Mengert, a three-time champion of the New Jersey State Golf Association Open Championship, former head golf professional at Echo Lake Country Club (1956-60), and New Jersey PGA Section Hall of Famer, passed away last week Tuesday, April 6, at the age of 91.

Mengert, who prior to his death was the oldest living NJSGA Open Champion, was a native of Spokane, Washington. During his distinguished career, he played in 27 majors – including eight consecutive appearances in The Masters. He was the only player to compete in The Masters while being on active military duty, serving with the U.S. Air Force.

In addition to his three NJSGA Open titles (1957, ’58, ’60), Mengert also won the U.S. National Junior Championship in 1946 and ’47, the U.S. Armed Services Championship in 1951, and was the No. 1 ranked amateur in the country in 1952 and a member of that year’s Walker Cup team.

Mengert accomplished the first local “trifecta” in 1960 when he won the NJSGA Open, MGA Open, and NJPGA Championships. He remains 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 the ‘60 Met Open, he did so by 12 strokes, setting a 72-hole record. 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 1960 New Jersey Professional Athlete of the Year, over Montclair resident Yogi Berra of the Yankees.

Beyond New Jersey, Mengert won state open titles in Washington (four times), Idaho (twice), and Arizona, Missouri and Ohio (once each) as an amateur. In total, he won open championships in eight different states plus 10 PGA section championships, including New Jersey. He 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.