Men’s Major Champions Episodes

Augusta, Georgia native and winner of the 1987 Masters Tournament, Larry Mize recalls his early days as a professional and revisits each of his wins on the Japan and PGA Tours including his exciting playoff victory in that Masters against two of the finest players in the world at that time, Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman. Listen in as Larry, who played the golf of his youth just across the fence from Augusta National GC, takes us along for the final few holes and the playoff excitement punctua...

Major Championship winner Larry Mize begins his life story recounting the days of his youth growing up in Augusta, Georgia. With the support of his parents, Larry was able to develop his game at Augusta C.C. as a boy and later developed a fondness for Augusta National and the Masters, first working there as a scoreboard operator at age 13. It was there that his dreams of playing professional golf began, eventually leading him to leave Georgia Tech early to play his way onto the Tour. We also jum...

Join us as Steve Jones takes us on a journey he refers to as his second career, having recovered from serious injury to capture the 1996 U.S. Open. He fondly recalls the recording Ben Hogan sent him after that win congratulating him on taming "The Monster". Voted PGA TOUR Comeback Player of the Year that year, Steve still had several victories in him before other maladies became too much to overcome as he worked to get healthy for the Champions Tour. He was an Assistant Ryder Cup Captain under H...

In this third episode with Steve Jones we listen in as he recounts the serious dirt-bike accident that took him away from golf for nearly three years at age 32. With aggressive rehab, Steve continued to re-injure his hand which caused him to improvise the way he laid his hands on the golf club. Showing faint glimmers of hope on the Tour in 1995 and early 1996, Steve decided to try to qualify for that year's U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. He prevailed, becoming the first qualifier to win since Jerry...

In part two of our four-part visit with Major Champion Steve Jones we hear him reflect on the adjustments to being on the road on the Tour in strange cities playing courses he had yet to learn. After reflecting on being the Q School medalist in 1986 with some fine players, Steve talks about winning his first meaningful check, teaming with Australian Jane Crafter to win the JC Penney Classic and then finding the winner's circle with his first PGA TOUR win at the 1988 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pr...

Join us for this first of our four-part interview with 1996 U.S. Open Champion Steve Jones. After settling in to live in Yuma, Colorado at age 11 with his five brothers Steve was quickly introduced to golf by his father. The entire family enjoyed their $100 a year membership at Indian Hills Golf Club and this bunker-less nine-hole layout is where a future champion's game was born. A multi-sport athlete, Steve eventually focused on golf and played his collegiate golf at the University of Colorado...

2004 Open Championship winner Todd Hamilton takes us through that riveting final round at Troon and the ensuing four-hole playoff with Ernie Els where he captured the title as the "Winner of the Gold Medal and Champion Golfer of the Year." The emotion of that win is still raw as Todd recounts this twenty years later. Listen in as he remembers the Sunday night celebration and his gratitude to Royal Troon for granting him an honorary membership. Todd reflects back on his career and wraps up his li...

Major champion Todd Hamilton remembers how a new driver turned his fortunes around in 2003 when he won four times on the Japan Golf Tour and finally succeeded in getting through PGA TOUR qualifying school. An early 2004 win at the Honda Classic was only a harbinger of things to come as he headed to Royal Troon for the 2004 Open Championship. As the final player to check-in for the event after a flight cancellation, Todd didn't arrive in Ayrshire with his "A" game. After an even-par opening round...

Major championship winner Todd Hamilton begins his professional career playing in Asia. Listen in as he recalls the challenges of finding his winning form while changing countries and currencies on a weekly basis. Playing predominantly on the Japan Tour, Todd became the 2nd leading, non-Japanese career money winner amassing 11 wins on that Tour as he positioned himself for bigger things in 2004. Join Bruce and Mike as they continue their visit with Todd Hamilton, "FORE the Good of the Game." Gi...

2004 Open Championship winner Todd Hamilton begins his life story by recounting the days of his youth spent in a small Midwestern town on the banks of the Mississippi River. Todd was introduced to golf at an early age by his grocer father. Mostly self-taught at his local nine-hole course, he had no boys golf team to compete on in high school yet won two individual state championships. This self-drive was noticed by the University of Oklahoma where Todd was a 3-time All American. After college he...

Tommy Aaron recounts his career highlight, winning the 1973 Masters Tournament. Tommy also relates the full story of the scorecard debacle at the Masters in 1968 that kept Roberto De Vincenzo from a playoff with eventual winner Bob Goalby. He takes us inside the room at the iconic Masters champions dinner, reflects on the famous "Concession" at the 1969 Ryder Cup at Birkdale and life after the Tour on the senior circuit. Tommy Aaron concludes his life story, "FORE the Good of the Game." Give Br...

Winner of the 1973 Masters Tournament, Tommy Aaron, begins his story by recounting his younger days growing up in a town with no golf course and attending a high school with no golf team yet still persevering to win the Georgia State Class A High School Golf Championship. After much collegiate and amateur success, including a runner-up finish to Charlie Coe at the 1958 U.S. Amateur and playing on the winning Walker Cup team at Muirfield in 1959, Tommy turned pro in 1960 at age 23. He relates the...

We begin with the 2-time Masters Champion in the 18th fairway of the final round of his emotional Masters win in 1995. He tells of his enduring love of his long-time caddie, Carl Jackson and how Carl’s perceptive eye spotted a swing flaw that turned Ben’s game around that week. Ben recounts his favorite U.S. Open and Open Championship experiences and venues. We cover the 1999 Ryder Cup “Battle at Brookline”, with history again coming down to the 17th hole with Justin Leonard’s improbable putt an...

We continue our discussion with World Golf Hall of Fame member Ben Crenshaw for a recap of his professional stats, including his surprising (0-8) record in playoffs, winning his first professional event and reliving a few of his favorite tour victories and venues. We marvel at the tradition of great golfing Texans; Demaret, Burke, Hogan, Nelson, Penick, Trevino, Crenshaw, Kite, Sutton, etc. Hear about Ben’s 1984 Masters win and his emotional victory in 1995 a week after Penick’s passing, Ryder C...

World Golf Hall of Fame member, Gentle Ben looks back on his youth, learning the game under the watchful eye of Harvey Penick, his second father, and being challenged by a young Tom Kite. Learn about the eerie history of Brookline in Ben’s life/career, where he discovered his love of the history and traditions of the Game at age 16. Ben and Bruce recount how their paths first crossed as the “Devil” gave an exhibition for the young men competing in the 1972 NCAA championship in FL. Share a magica...

Winner of the Masters Tournament and the Open Championship and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Sandy Lyle looks back on his later professional wins and the thrill of playing with Jack Nicklaus in the final round of the 1986 Masters. Sandy takes us through the transformative years of the Ryder Cup competition that he witnessed first-hand as a player from 1979, the first year including players from the continent, to 1987, Europe's first win on U.S. soil at Captain Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield V...

Two-time major championship winner Sandy Lyle takes his through the mid-1980's, the most productive period in his professional career, beginning with his Open Championship win at Royal St. George's in 1985, becoming the first British winner since Tony Jacklin in 1969 and the first Scot since Tommy Armour. After getting his first PGA victory in the U.S. at the 1986 Greater Greensboro Open, Sandy went on to win the Tournament Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass the following year. He prevailed...

World Golf Hall of Fame member Sandy Lyle begins his story remembering his days as a young lad growing up and learning the game under the watchful eye of his golf pro father in the West Midlands of England. He recounts his many early successes as a young amateur including his participation in the 1977 Walker Cup. Turning pro at age 19, Sandy had his first win on the European Tour a year later on sand greens at the 1978 Nigerian Open. Listen in as he recalls his first Open Championship in 1974 at...

Jerry Pate, who had a Hall of Fame-destined career cut short by injury at age 28, completes his story with a look back on his crowning achievement as a golfer, winning the 1976 U.S. Open at Atlanta Athletic Club in a PGA Rookie of the Year season. He had several other close calls in majors including the 1978 PGA Championship at Oakmont CC where John Mahaffey won in a 3-way playoff with Pate and Tom Watson. Jerry talks about representing the USA at the 1976 World Cup with Dave Stockton and playin...

U.S. Amateur winner and holder of eight PGA Tour titles, Jerry Pate recounts each of those wins including his first non-major win at the 1976 Canadian Open by four shots over Jack Nicklaus and the final one at the 1982 Tournament Players Championship, the first one played at its current home, the Pete Dye-designed TPC Stadium Course where he won with an orange ball and tossed both Dye and Commissioner Deane Beman into the pond at eighteen. Weeks later, Jerry gave Craig Stadler a run at the Maste...

Winner of the 1976 U.S. Open as a 22-year-old Tour Rookie, Jerry Pate shares his early days growing up in the South, walking-on to play golf at Alabama and his deep affection for their legendary football coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant. Jerry recalls his U.S. Amateur title in 1974 and his team and individual win in the Eisenhower Trophy representing his country that same year. He fondly remembers his Walker Cup experience in 1975 at the Old Course and how he tagged Craig Stadler with his now-famous ni...

Bobby Nichols, winner of the 1964 PGA Championship, looks back on his later Tour wins and that fateful day in 1975 when lightning struck at the Western Open. Bobby recounts his close calls in the majors and his regret at not playing the British Open. He recalls his 1967 Ryder Cup experience with Captain Ben Hogan when Arnold Palmer was benched on the first day, presumably because he "buzzed" the golf course with his private jet during a practice round. After a brief look at his Senior Tour Caree...

Bobby Nichols recounts his early PGA Tour wins, several of which Bruce Devlin later won including the site of their first victories, the St. Petersburg O pen. Bobby takes us back to his 1964 PGA Championship at Columbus CC where he played the final round with Ben Hogan and secured a wire-to-wire win, setting a scoring record that was to stand for thirty years. He gratefully remembers his relationship with Firestone CC as their Head Professional and remembers winning the 1964 Carling World Open a...

Major championship winner Bobby Nichols tells us about learning the game, as a young man in Louisville, Kentucky, while caddying for $1.00 a loop. Hoping to be the next Johnny Unitas playing high school football, Bobby was in a horrific auto crash that put him in the hospital for 96 days. With the help of an inspirational letter from Ben Hogan, he not only survived but was awarded a college football scholarship by Bear Bryant to attend Texas A&M University. With no ability to continue in contact...