Theme: Let 'Em Play Through - Three legends of golf, all born in 1912.
17A. Born February 4, he had 52 official wins on the 40-Across : BYRON NELSON
25A. Born May 27, he had 82 official wins on the 40-Across : SAM SNEAD
40A. FedEx Cup-sponsoring org. : PGA TOUR
50A. Born August 13, he had 64 official wins on the 40-Across : BEN HOGAN
64A. Milestone 17-, 25- and 50-Across would have all reached this year had they lived until their birthdays : CENTURY MARK
Argyle here. The Professional Golfers' Association of America was created in 1916. The PGA TOUR (all capitals), was formed in 1975, after the "Tournament Players Division" became separate from PGA of America in 1968. So, technically, these three gentlemen played on the PGA tour (no caps).
Now about the puzzle.... A nice drive straight down the fairway for me. Non-golfers may have found themselves in the rough. 40-Across should be considered the unifier and the fill was par for the course. Great debut, Mark.
Across:
1. Made into bundles, as cotton : BALED. Common bales these days.
6. Twitch, e.g. : SPASM. Known as "The Yips" on the putting green.
11. Spider's specialty : WEB
14. "Star Trek" character who famously kissed Captain Kirk in a 1968 "Star Trek" episode : UHURA
15. "Cosi fan __" : TUTTE. "All the women do so..." A bit more colloquial sense in English might be: "Women Are Like That".
16. Tokyo affirmative : "HAI"
19. DSL user's need : ISP. (Digital Subscriber Line/Internet Service Provider) My sympathies to anyone still on dial-up.
20. Borscht base : BEET. (also borsch, bortsch, borstch, borsh, borshch; Ukrainian: борщ)
21. Michigan's __ Peninsula : UPPER. They have their own "band", Da Yoopers.
22. Eyelid malady : STYE
23. Help out : ASSIST
27. Pic takers : CAMS
29. "Holy Moses!" : "WOW!"
30. Fighter formerly known as Clay : ALI
33. Jury members : PEERS
36. Theater 56-Downs : OBIES. Tony's would have been more timely.
39. Got together : MET
42. Like a debut : NEW
43. Search engine giant : YAHOO
45. Queen's tenure : REIGN. And a long one it's been.
46. Stately tree : ELM
47. Tel Aviv's land: Abbr. : ISRael
48. Yalies : ELIS
55. One way to pay : IN CASH
59. "__ Dinka Doo" : INKA. "Jimmy" Durante's signature song.
60. Being kept cold : ON ICE
62. "Horton Hears __" : A WHO!. 1954 book by Dr. Seuss.
63. Harry Potter friend : RON. Weasley.
66. Bout ender, briefly : TKO. (technical knock out)
67. Take the wheel : STEER
68. Shopper's indulgence : SPREE
69. Single or double : HIT. No, not shots. Behave!
70. The ones here : THESE
71. Watergate co-conspirator : LIDDY, G. Gordon.
Down:
1. 2012 Masters champ Watson : BUBBA. I expected more golf references, frankly.
2. "Now I get it" : "AH, YES"
3. Fishing aids : LURES
4. Sexy : EROTIC
5. Sportscaster Patrick : DAN. Dan puts a golf simulator in his studio. Video.(0:56)
6. Staircase part : STEP
7. Cheap novels : PULPS
8. On the briny : AT SEA and 9. Concern on the briny : STORM
10. Chess pieces : MEN
11. Chardonnay, e.g. : WHITE WINE
12. No-brainer course : EASY A
13. Two-footer : BIPED. Also, those short putts that give you the "yips".
18. Eggnog sprinkling : NUTMEG. Unofficially (but popularly) Connecticut is known as "The Nutmeg State".
22. Stuffed shirt : SNOB
24. 1972 Olympics city : SAPPORO. Japan. The first Winter Olympics ever held in Asia.
26. Ready to testify : SWORN IN
28. Blacken : SEAR
30. Author Tan : AMY. (The Joy Luck Club)
31. Grazing area : LEA. Poor LEA is getting overgrazed lately.
32. "In my opinion, uh-uh" : "I THINK NOT"
34. GPS offering : RTE
35. Silk on the Seine : SOIE. French, tie-in with 65-Down?
37. Snakelike fish : EEL
38. Guy in a personal ad, for short : SWM. Single White Male.
41. Harder to look at : UGLIER. Tanning mom?
44. Fed. workplace watchdog : OSHA
49. Shrimp dish : SCAMPI
50. __ certificate : BIRTH
51. Japanese mushroom : ENOKI
52. "Pride __ before ..." : GOETH
53. Year, to Yves : ANNÉE. A tie-in with 65-Down.
54. Evenings, in ads : NITES
56. Prize : AWARD
57. Make into confetti : SHRED. If you have a crosscut shredder.
58. Phony : HOKEY
61. Antidote : CURE
64. Minnesota hrs. : CST. (Central Standard Time)
65. Couture monogram : YSL. (Yves Saint Laurent) He was the first designer to use black models in his catwalk shows.
Argyle
