Nothing beats getting together with your brother(s) and enjoying a round of golf on a beautiful (or even a not-so-beautiful) day – especially when both of your scorecards are clean and your swings are on point. The only thing that would make those outings sweeter is if you were both competing on the PGA Tour.
Considering roughly 67 million people play golf around the world (26 million in the United States), it takes some extreme skill to be one of the few hundred that get the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour every year. Not only that, but then you have to go on to win at least one of the 47 PGA Tour events each year.
It’s hard enough for one sibling to make it to the PGA Tour and appear in an event, let alone win an event on the PGA Tour, but to have two or more brothers all find success on the PGA Tour is rare. At that point, hats off to the parents because they’re obviously doing something right – they’re the real MVPs, after all.
Throughout the history of the PGA Tour, which dates back to 1916, there have only been 12 instances where two or more brothers have each collected a win on the PGA Tour. While it’s not uncommon to see brothers play on the tour, a very strong majority of those brothers will never get to experience winning.
It’s something we hope to see from several sets of brothers playing on the PGA Tour today – for example, Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick. While Matt has already secured two wins on the tour, his younger brother hasn’t – though he did just secure his first professional win on the Challenge Tour on August 6.
Wesley Bryan and George Bryan are two other popular brothers who play professional golf today. While Wesley secured his first and only win on the PGA Tour at the RBC Heritage in 2017, his older brother has only competed in 2 PGA Tour events and 6 Korn Ferry events – missing the cut in all six of those events.
While we await the next set of brothers to win on the PGA Tour, let’s take a look back at the 12 instances where two or more brothers each won on the PGA Tour!
Between 1896 and 1914, seven Turnesa brothers were born – all of whom went on to play professional golf and four of whom went on to win at the professional level. Phil Turnesa, who was the oldest of the brothers and was a home pro at Elmwood Country Club, earned his first and only PGA Tour win in 1932.
Joe Turnesa was the third-oldest and the most successful brother – having won 14 times on the PGA Tour between 1924 and 1933. Eight of those wins came in a four-year span between 1924 and 1927. He never won a major title, but was runner-up at the 1926 U.S. Open and 1927 PGA Championship.
Mike Turnesa was the fourth-oldest brother and secured six wins of his own on the PGA Tour – including three wins in 1932. He never won a major, but was runner-up at the 1948 PGA Championship. He and his grandson, Marc Turnesa, are the only grandfather-grandson duo to both secure a win on the PGA Tour.
Jim Turnesa was the second-youngest brother and only had two wins on the PGA Tour, but had 11 total wins as a professional. He won the Reading Open in 1951 and was the only Turnesa brother to win a major championship in his career – beating Chick Harbert by one stroke at the 1952 PGA Championship.
— UoD Archives & RM (@UoD_Archives_RM) July 22, 2023
Willie Smith, Alex Smith, and Macdonald Smith were members of a famous Scottish golf family who rose to prominence in the early 1900s. Between the three of them, they’ve won a total of 40 events as a professional – some of which came before the PGA Tour was the PGA Tour we know and love today.
Alex was the eldest of the three brothers and the only one to win more than one major championship. He had eight wins as a professional, but his two biggest wins came at the U.S. Open in 1906 and 1910. He had 11 top-5 finishes at the U.S. Open between 1898 and 1921, and was runner-up on three occasions.
Willie was the next oldest of the three, but the least successful in terms of professional wins – he had just three during his pro career. His biggest win came at the 1899 U.S. Open – making him the first Smith brother to win a major. He also won the 1899 Western Open (inaugural) and 1900 California State Open.
Macdonald was the younger of the three brothers, but was by far the most successful – having secured 29 wins as a professional (25 of which on the PGA Tour). While he never won a major, he was in a three-way playoff at the 1910 U.S. Open – he finished third and his brother, Alex, ended up winning it.
3. Tom Kerrigan and George Kerrigan
There are 9⃣8⃣ days until @TheMasters starts. The most relations in any Masters came in the very first edition with brothers Al and Abe Espinosa, George and Tom Kerrigan and Joe, Mike and Willie Turnesa all playing in the 1934 inaugural. pic.twitter.com/gwgTZ9fO7Y
Tom Kerrigan was born in 1895 and learned to play golf as a caddie in his youth. He spent the majority of his career as a club professional at Siwanoy Country Club and was best known for his long drives. He ended his career with four wins on the PGA Tour – including the 1920 Westchester Open by six strokes.
His younger brother, George Kerrigan, was born in 1899 and learned to play golf as a caddie at the Wollaston Golf Club. He won the Florida Open and St. Augustine Open in 1922 – both of which are the equivalent of PGA Tour events today. He was also the winner of the Massachusetts Open in 1922.
Neither of the two brothers won a major championship, but Tom Kerrigan had a top-ten finish at the 1915 U.S. Open and a third-place finish at the 1921 The Open Championship. George Kerrigan played in five majors (three U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship, and a Masters) but didn’t have much success.
4. Al Espinosa and Abe Espinosa
Happy #CincodeMayo, today we honor two of golf's early Hispanic-American brothers, Abe & Al Espinosa, who achieved success on the PGA Tour. pic.twitter.com/ft8ZKFOhUD
Abe Espinosa was born in 1889 and was a club professional in Oakland, Chicago, and Louisiana. He secured three wins on the PGA Tour – the 1928 Western Open, 1928 Chicago Open Championship, and 1931 Texas Open – and also won the 1931 Illinois PGA Championship (not an official PGA Tour event).
His younger brother, Al Espinosa, was born in 1891 and had a much more successful career than Abe. He retired with 20 wins as a professional – nine of which came on the PGA Tour. He won the Ohio Open in back-to-back years in 1932 and 1933. He also won the Mexican Open (non-PGA Tour) four times.
Neither of the Espinosa brothers won a major championship, but both came close. Abe had two top-five finishes at the PGA Championship and a 7th-place finish at the U.S. Open. Al was a runner-up at the 1928 PGA Championship and was the runner-up at the U.S. Open the following year (in 1929).
Ray Mangrum was born in 1910 and began his career in the 1920s as a club professional in Dallas – he later became the head professional at Cliff-Dale Country Club. He secured seven wins as a professional – five of which came on the PGA Tour and the other two came at the Pennsylvania Open Championship.
His younger brother, Lloyd Mangrum, served as his assistant at Cliff-Dale Country Club before embarking on an iconic PGA Tour career that included 36 wins – he currently ranks No. 14 in all-time wins. He won seven events during the 1948 season and a total of 20 events between 1948 and 1951.
Ray Mangrum never won a major championship, but had top-ten finishes at the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, and U.S. Open. On the other hand, Lloyd Mangrum won the 1946 U.S. Open and was a two-time runner-up at the Masters (1940 and 1949). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
6. Jay Hebert and Lionel Hebert
Jay Herbert, who won the 1960 PGA Championship just three years after his brother, Lionel, won the Wanamaker Trophy – strange but true. pic.twitter.com/ITsZcXLDSu
Jay Hebert was born in 1923 who spent several years as a member of the United States’ Marine Corps before playing college golf at LSU. He went on to play professionally and secured 10 wins as a pro – seven of which came on the PGA Tour (he almost had 8, but lost in a playoff at the 1956 Western Open).
His younger brother, Lionel Hebert, was born in 1928 and played college golf at Southwestern Louisiana and Louisiana State before turning professional in 1950. He went on to win five times on the PGA Tour between 1957 and 1966, and almost made it six before losing the 1956 St. Petersburg Open in a playoff.
Jay Hebert never competed in The Open, but won the 1960 PGA Championship and had top-ten finishes at the Masters (four times) and U.S. Open (twice). Lionel was also a PGA Championship winner (in 1957) and had four top-ten finishes at the Masters. Lionel also played on Team USA at the 1957 Ryder Cup.
Dave Hill was born in 1937 and played college golf at the University of Detroit before turning professional in 1958. He retired with 25 wins as a professional – including 13 wins on the PGA Tour and six on PGA Tour Champions. He was a two-time winner at the Memphis Open and Danny Thomas Memphis Classic.
His younger brother, Mike Hill, was born in 1939 and played college golf at Arizona State University before turning professional in 1967. He retired with 27 wins as a professional – three on the PGA Tour and 18 on the PGA Tour Champions. His first PGA Tour win was at the Doral-Eastern Open in 1970.
Neither brother won a major title during their career, but Dave Hill had two top-ten finishes at the Masters, was runner-up at the 1970 U.S. Open, and had three top-ten finishes at the PGA Championship – tied-3rd in 1974. Mike Hill never finished inside the top-ten, but was tied-11th at the 1974 PGA Championship.
Don Massengale was born in 1937 and played college golf at Texas Christian University (TCU) before turning professional in 1960. He retired with eight wins as a professional – including two wins on the PGA Tour (Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and the Canadian Open) and two more on the PGA Tour Champions.
His younger brother, Rik Massengale, was born in 1947 and played college golf at the University of Texas before turning professional in 1969. He retired with three wins as a pro – all of which coming on the PGA Tour. He won the Tallahassee Open, Greater Hartford Open, and Bob Hope Desert Classic.
Neither brother won a major championship, but Don Massengale came close as the runner-up at the 1967 PGA Championship – he lost in a playoff. Rik Massengale also came close to a major win, finishing in a tie for third place at the 1977 Masters Tournament. Don passed away in 2007, but Rik is still alive today.
Joe Inman was born in 1947 and played golf at Wake Forest University before turning professional in 1972. He retired with five professional wins to his name – including one win on the PGA Tour and three wins on the PGA Tour Champions. His lone PGA Tour win was by one stroke at the 1976 Kemper Open.
His younger brother, John Inman, was born in 1962 and played college golf at the University of North Carolina before turning professional in 1985. He had two wins during his PGA Tour career – winning the Providen Classic by one stroke in Aug. 1987 and the Buick Southern Open in a playoff in Oct. 1993.
As far as major championships go, Joe Inman had the more successful career – though neither of the two brothers ever won. Joe had one top-ten finish (tied-9th) at the 1978 Masters Tournament and four top-20 finishes at the U.S. Open. John, on the other hand, had just one top-15 finish at the U.S. Open.
10. Danny Edwards and David Edwards
Three of our finest – Scott Verplank, David Edwards and Danny Edwards –– will be inducted into the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame Nov. 21 at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club.
Danny Edwards was born in 1951 and played college golf at Oklahoma State University before turning professional in 1973. He earned nine wins as a professional – five of which came on the PGA Tour. He was a two-time winner of the Greater Greensboro Open and did so five years apart (1977 and 1982).
His younger brother, David Edwards, was born in 1956 and played college golf at Oklahoma State University (like his brother) before turning professional in 1978. He earned seven wins as a professional – four of which came on the PGA Tour. His highest ever world ranking was No. 25 on May 30, 1993.
While neither brother won a major championship, they both have on top-five major finish in their careers. Danny finished tied-5th at the 1974 The Open Championship, while David finished tied-3rd at the 1984 Masters Tournament. It’s also the only time the brothers finished in the top-10 in a major championship.
11. Tom Byrum and Curt Byrum
“I’m excited to be back in my home state playing golf.”
Curt Byrum was born in 1958 and played college golf at the University of New Mexico before turning professional in 1982. He has five pro wins in his career – including one win on the PGA Tour at the 1989 Hardee’s Golf Classic. His highest world ranking was No. 64, which he achieved on May 8, 1988.
His younger brother, Tom Byrum,was born in 1960 and played college golf at the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University before turning pro in 1984. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has one win in his PGA Tour career – the 1989 Kemper Open by five strokes in 1989.
While neither brother won a major championship in their careers, Tom Byrum has two top-ten finishes to his name. He finished in sole ninth place at the 1997 PGA Championship and was tied-8th place at the 2002 U.S. Open. His older brother’s best major finish came at the 1987 PGA Championship (tied-14th).
12. Brad Bryant and Bart Bryant
Bryant brothers making an early run @ConstellationEG Sr PLAYERS. Brad T1 at 4-under & Bart T3 at 3-under. http://t.co/Xk0r7aavfj
Brad Bryant was born in 1954 and played college golf at the University of New Mexico before turning professional in 1976. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has six wins during his pro career – including one win on the PGA Tour at the 1995 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic.
Bart Bryant was born in 1962 and played college golf at New Mexico State University before turning professional in 1986. He had eight wins in his pro career, including three wins on the PGA Tour and two on the PGA Tour Champions. One of his PGA Tour wins came during the 2005 The Tour Championship.
Neither brother had much success at the major level. Brad’s best finish was tied-13th at the 1995 U.S. Open, while Bart’s best finish was tied-23rd at the 2005 The Open Championship. Bart Brant tragically passed away on May 31, 2022 at the age of 59 after being involved in a fatal car accident in Florida.
Who Are the Best Father-Son Duos in PGA Tour History?
Now that we’ve marveled at some of the greatest sibling success stories on the PGA Tour, it only feels right to highlight some of the best father-son duos in PGA Tour history. It’s something that has happened 10 times in the history of the PGA Tour – which means it’s even more rare than two brothers winning.
Tom Morris Sr. and Tom Morris Jr. were the first father-son duo to both secure a win – Sr. won the 1861 The Open Championship, while Jr. won The Open Championsip seven years later. Willie Park (who won The Open in 1860) and his son, Willie Park Jr. (who won the 1887 The Open Championship) were next.
The 8 other father-son duos to win are Joe Kirkwood Sr. and Joe Kirkwood, Jack Burke Sr. and Jack Burke Jr, Clayton Heafner and Vance Heafner, Julius Boros and Guy Boros, Al Geiberger and Brent Geiberger, Jay Haas and Bill Haas, Craig Stadler and Kevin Stadler, and Bob Tway and Kevin Tway.
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