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Mike Turnesa

United States · born , Elmsford, New York, U.S. · died

1runner-up finish

Summary

  • Best major finish runner-up, 1948 PGA Championship

Near misses

  1. 1948 PGA Championship Norwood Hills Country Club · runner-up to Ben Hogan · lost the final 7 & 6

Rivals

Beat him

Next in the chain: Ben Hogan's rivals →

Moments

Records and firsts

  1. — PGA Championship second-biggest final margin · 7 & 6 (Sam Snead d. Walter Burkemo, 1951; Ben Hogan d. Mike Turnesa, 1948)

Results by championship

    Best day

    1948 PGA Championship

    Runner-up to Ben Hogan.

    Chosen by rule: the most recent of the best major finishes. Year page: 1948.

    Career line, 1948–1948

    PGA Championship
    1948 PGA Championship: runner-up to Ben Hogan
    19481949

    1 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Runner-up

    Mike Turnesa was born on June 9, 1907, in Elmsford, New York, U.S. Turnesa's best major finish was second, at the 1948 PGA Championship.

    See Mike Turnesa in our rooms: Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Near misses

    1. 1948 PGA Championship Norwood Hills Country Club · runner-up to Ben Hogan · lost the final 7 & 6

    PGA Championship match play

    Every recorded match in our bracket file, 1916–1957: 12 won, 13 lost, including 0 of 1 finals.

    1. 1936 Round of 64 lost to Vic Ghezzi 5 & 4
    2. 1937 Round of 64 lost to Vic Ghezzi 3 & 2
    3. 1939 Round of 64 beat Harry Cooper 2 & 1
    4. 1939 Round of 32 lost to Bruce Coltart won on 21st hole
    5. 1941 Round of 64 beat Lee Kosten 2 & 1
    6. 1941 Round of 32 beat Harry Bassler 4 & 2
    7. 1941 Round of 16 lost to Sam Snead 1 up
    8. 1942 Round of 32 lost to Harry Cooper 3 & 1
    9. 1945 Round of 32 beat John Gibson 5 & 4
    10. 1945 Round of 16 lost to Byron Nelson 1 up
    11. 1947 Round of 64 beat Sherman Elworthy 2 up
    12. 1947 Round of 32 beat Chandler Harper won on 22nd hole
    13. 1947 Round of 16 lost to Lloyd Mangrum 1 up
    14. 1948 Round of 64 beat Charles Sheppard 1 up
    15. 1948 Round of 32 beat Zell Eaton won on 21st hole
    16. 1948 Round of 16 beat Al Smith 3 & 2
    17. 1948 Quarterfinal beat Johnny Bulla 6 & 5
    18. 1948 Semifinal beat Claude Harmon won on 37th hole
    19. 1948 Final lost to Ben Hogan 7 & 6
    20. 1949 Round of 64 lost to Johnny Palmer won on 20th hole
    21. 1952 Round of 64 lost to Sam Bernardi 1 up
    22. 1953 Round of 64 beat Eric Monti 4 & 2
    23. 1953 Round of 32 lost to Walter Burkemo 3 & 1
    24. 1954 Round of 64 lost to Tommy Bolt 2 & 1
    25. 1955 Round of 64 lost to Claude Harmon 5 & 4

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. — PGA Championship second-biggest final margin · 7 & 6 (Sam Snead d. Walter Burkemo, 1951; Ben Hogan d. Mike Turnesa, 1948)

    Profile

    Researched for this card in October 2026; each line names the page it comes from.

    Full name

    Status

    Died in

    Beyond our rooms

    • 1931 Mid-South Open winner
    • 1932 Grassy Spain Course Tournament winner
    • 1932 Metropolitan PGA Pro Bestball winner
    • 1933 Westchester Open winner
    • 1934 Miami Biltmore Class B winner
    • 1940 Vermont Open winner
    • 1941 Westchester Open winner
    • 1942 Westchester PGA Championship winner
    • 1947 Westchester PGA Championship winner
    • 1949 Metropolitan PGA Championship winner

    Source: Wikipedia: Mike Turnesa

    Known for

    • Michael C. Turnesa (June 9, 1907 – October 31, 2000) was an American professional golfer. Wikipedia

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia · Wikidata.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. Wikipedia: Mike Turnesa
    2. Wikidata: Q2235335
    3. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 95
    4. Golf Compendium 1941
    5. Golf Compendium 1945
    6. PGA of America, Nelson 1945
    7. Sports Illustrated Vault, Nelson 1945 (1995) (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    8. Golf Compendium 1947
    9. Golf Compendium 1948
    10. New England Golf, match-play history
    11. PGA of America winners & venues
    12. Golf Compendium 1953
    13. Golf Compendium winners list