JACK NICKLAUS REMEMBERS DAVE RAGAN
DAVE Ragan Jr., who learned golf at Daytona Beach Golf Club and went on to play on the world’s biggest stages, died Wednesday at age 82, according to his family.
Dave Ragan III, who followed his father into the golf industry, said his father’s twoyear battle with a brain tumor ended in his adopted hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, where he spent his last 20- plus years as a teaching pro. He’d declined offers from medical universities to explore laser treatments, according to his son.
“His faith was so strong. He knew he was going to Heaven, had no fear of death,” said Ragan III, head professional at Deering Bay Yacht and Country Club in Miami. “He said, ‘ I’ve lived a great life, have spectacular kids, and been able to do what I love to do.’
His Christianity was so strong, he’d done it all, in his mind.”
Ragan was an All American at the University of Florida before joining the PGA Tour. He made his first professional start in 1956 and the last of 275 career starts in 1970. He had three victories, missed just six cuts, was runner- up to Jack Nicklaus at the 1963 PGA Championship, and played on the United States’ victorious 1963 Ryder Cup team.
At the 1963 PGA, Ragan within one shot of Nicklaus on Sunday before a bogey on the 17th hole gave Nicklaus a two- shot winning margin. “In Dave Ragan, we lost one of the real good guys,” Nicklaus told the NewsJournal Thursday. “Dave and I became very close friends and competitors during my early years on the PGA Tour, and we spent a lot of time together. Dave was a good player but an even better guy, and Barbara and I send our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to his family and his large circle of friends.
“Dave was a really good player,” Nicklaus added. “For all the memories I have from my first PGA Championship victory in 1963— the 110- degree heat in Dallas, just a week after temperatures in the 50s at the Open Championship ( in England)— one of them is how tough Dave was to beat.”
Before Ragan achieved collegiate and professional success, he learned and honed his game at Daytona Beach’s municipal course in the early 1950s.
“We played a lot of golf together,” said Joe Eubank, longtime area golfer who was two years behind Ragan at Seabreeze. “Instead of having a PE class, they’d let us out at about 2 in the afternoon and we’d head to the golf course.
“He was a guy really interested in the mechanics of the game and the fundamentals. We’d hit balls and he’d ask, ‘ where are my hands at the top of the swing? Where are my shoulders?’ I think that’s why he became a very successful Tour player. Nobody was a better ball- striker when he was at the top of his game. He had a beautiful golf swing. He had that figured out.”
Ragan’s most productive years on Tour were from 1959- 63. Two of his three career wins came in 1962, and his runner- up to Nicklaus at the ‘ 63 PGA earned him enough points for a spot on that fall’s Ryder Cup team, where he won two matches, lost one and halved one.
Ragan’s post- Tour career included serving as head pro at Winter Park’s historic Dubsdread Golf Club, which was his home course while playing professionally. He later coached college programs at Louisiana Lafayette and Tennessee Temple.
“Later on in his life, Dave became one of the most respected teachers in the industry,” Nicklaus said. “So whether playing the game or guiding our next generation of players, Dave was clearly a great contributor to the game of golf.”
Ragan’s son suggested a correlation between the timing of his dad’s death and this week’s PGA Tour stop, at Bay Hill in Orlando. The first time Arnold Palmer played the course, which he’d later own, was in a 1965 exhibition that featured the foursome of Palmer, Nicklaus, Ragan and entertainer Don Cherry.
Many years later, as Ragan was dealing with his tumor and Palmer was battling his own health issues, Palmer called Ragan to check on him and offer support.
“Dad didn’t believe it was him, so he hung up on him,” said Ragan III. “Arnold called back and said, ‘ Dave, I promise you, it’s me.’ And then they talked a while. Not many people could hang up on Arnold Palmer and have him call you back.”
Along with Dave Ragan III, survivors four other sons— Dann, Michael, Chuck and Paul— and his wife, Geraldine. Funeral arrangements haven’t been announced yet.