CTB Sports was blessed to get the chance to talk to an Enid golf legend. Jimmy Wright was back in town and stopped into the studio as he was helping out his daughter, who’s running for mayor in Enid. So we pulled him aside and asked if we could talk to him for a couple of minutes and pick his brain and have him tell some stories from his playing days. What followed was 20+ minutes of amazing conversation and amazing stories from Jimmy which left our sports director in awe.
For anyone who doesn’t know who Jimmy is, Jimmy was born in Arkansas but moved from Kansas to Enid at the age of 10. When he was 12 years old, he started working as a caddy at one of the courses in Enid and soon fell in love with the game of golf. Shortly after he started caddying, he picked up some clubs and started golfing and that’s where he found out his true gift. The first 9 holes he ever played he shot a 72 on a par-36 course. 5 years later, he shot an 8-under 28 on that same 9 hole course! A 44 shot difference in 5 years!
Jimmy would go on to win the High School State Championship in the state of Oklahoma and go on to play at Oklahoma State for 3 years (would’ve been 4 if a freshman were allowed to play at the time) where he would continue to catch people’s attention. He was an All-American every year he played and would even go to win the Oklahoma State Amateur Championship in 1960. Wright would then turn pro in 1961 and even played part-time in the PGA in 1962 and 1963. After a stint in the National Guard, Wright resumed his golf career in 1964 and would make his way back into the PGA part-time between 1968 and 1972. During that time frame, he would make 48 PGA starts including an appearance in the 1969 PGA Championship where he would get his best career finish in a major as he finished in 4th place at 5-under-par. That performance earned him an invite into the 1970 Masters where he would finish in the Top 30 (T29th).
Jimmy would then hold a number of head golf professional positions at golf courses in New York and Florida and even became the Director of Golf at 2 Florida golf courses before calling it a career and retiring. Currently, Jimmy is living in Florida and says he still manages to get out to the golf courses about once a week.
Below is the audio from our nearly 25 minute sit down we had with him in studio. We covered a number of highlights from his career and he would tell us some incredible stories (including him blaming Arnold Palmer for not making it back to the Masters). We also talked about some of the names in today’s PGA that Jimmy thinks could be the real deal, and he even gave some advice to people who are just getting into golf. It’s a fascinating interview and I suggest you take a listen!
