[2] Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, he was the son of local businessman Otto Mengert and his wife Otelia Johnson, who was the sister of U.S.

[6][7] Mengert turned professional in 1952 and worked mainly as a club pro while also playing on the PGA Tour.

Mengert was the first round leader at the U.S. Open in 1966 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

[11] Mengert played several tournaments on the Senior PGA Tour in the 1980s, and was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Association's Hall of Fame in 2001.

[2] Mengert returned to the Northwest as the head pro at Tacoma Country Club in the 1960s[9] then went to Oakland Hills in the suburbs north of Detroit, Michigan.