James P. King

James was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish immigrant parents, Michael and Margaret King, at the height of the Great Depression.

He has been a longtime resident of South Florida and a lifetime member of the PGA. He played in a combined 255 events on the PGA Tour and PGA Champions Tour, compiling twelve Top 10 finishes. Jim played golf with luminaries such as Dean Martin, Clint Eastwood, Mickey Mantle, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and others. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player were some of his contemporaries on the PGA Tour.

Jim was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division in the U.S. Army during the Korean War era. After the army, Jim met Harry Mussatto, an outstanding amateur in the Chicago area, who recruited him for a golf scholarship at Western Illinois University. In 1959, WIU won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national team title. Jim won the individual title in 1959, as the team produced the first national championship in any sport in WIU history. He was also a member of WIU’s 1959 undefeated football team. Red Miller, Joe Collier, and Lou Saban, coaches of the team, would all go on to become coaches in the NFL.

In later years, Jim set the 72 hole tournament record on the PGA National Champions course when he won the 1982 PGA Stroke Play Championship from the back tees. In addition he twice won the Florida Open and the Florida Senior Open and won more than half of a dozen PGA Tournament Series events. Jim also worked as a teaching professional in South Florida and Massachusetts.

Jim King is survived by his daughter, Marla and son-in-law Artur Ribeiro; grandchildren, Daniel and Rosalina, and his nephew, Brian Grant.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to PGA Reach or the First Tee.

Visitation for James will be held Sunday, August 22, 2021 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Aycock-Riverside Funeral and Cremation Center, 1112 Military Trail, Jupiter, FL 33458. A Memorial Service will begin at 3:30 PM.