David Graham - "1979 PGA at Oakland Hills" SHORT TRACK

Intro Music 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle. Then it started to push the city.

Mike Gonzalez 0:15

Let's finish up with the majors of the PGA Championship. Uh 22 starts, two top fives, four top tens, six top twenty-fives. Obviously the best finish, 1979 at Oakland Hills, winning in a playoff over Ben Crenshaw. I remember Jim McKay being on the call on television. And uh it was fun to sort of go back and watch that. And it did strike me, you mentioned it earlier, just but what an awesome ball-striking round that was.

Intro Music 0:42

That golf course made you play good, I can tell you that. It's a difficult course.

David Graham 0:47

You could you could shoot. Yeah, well, Oakland Hills was uh Oakland Hills was tough. Hogan, I think, called it the monster. Yes, he did. He called it the monster. Uh George Fazio had redone some work and put bunkers out there, and Hogan just made some comments about how difficult it was. So if it was difficult for Hogan, you can appreciate how the rest of the field had to fare.

Mike Gonzalez 1:11

But so you come to 18. Uh I I think I've got this right. You can correct me if I'm wrong. Was there some big bonus money on the line that somebody had put up for certain scores and things?

David Graham 1:22

There were two bonuses. There was golf died just put up fifty thousand for low round record of the tournament, history of the tournament, and fifty thousand for low seventy-two holes. And I had both of them won until the last hole. And I finished up doubling the last hole, so I didn't get any bonus money at all, which was I didn't deserve it. And then I got in a playoff with Crenshaw. But a but a par would have gotten you the A par would have broken both records. Oh okay, okay. Would have been worth a hundred thousand.

Mike Gonzalez 1:59

So before we get to the playoff, you hit your T shot a little bit right on eighteen. About a way right.

David Graham 2:06

Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 2:07

And it's it's it's it's hard to determine the yardage.

David Graham 2:12

Uh well, I couldn't get to the sprinkler because there was uh you know, and I I kind of uh I was in the rough, but I had a really good lie. And I really I couldn't see the pin, but I had just a little tree in front of me. And I couldn't quite get the angle, and I didn't go look at it, and my caddy didn't go look at it. And I kind of figured I had like 160, and I thought, well, I the only place I'm not gonna hit this ball is in the face of the bunker, because a great big bunker right in front of the green, and the sand was real soft, and I said, just don't hit it in the bunker.

Mike Gonzalez 2:49

But you asked your caddy, and your caddy said what?

David Graham 2:51

Oh I'm I don't want to go there. He he uh that's he didn't have a clue how far it was, let's put it that way. And and I I hit a really good shot that I think hit the back edge of the green and bounced up into where the gallery had been sitting, and I had a terrible bloody lie, and I chili dipped it just short. And then I I chipped it pretty good. I chipped it about three feet past the hole. And then I I pushed the putt, 'cause I thought I was gonna miss it to the left, and I poked it and I hit it and I hit it eighteen feet eighteen inches past the hole, and I made it. So I'm damn lucky I didn't make seven, to be honest with you.

Mike Gonzalez 3:33

Yeah, so what's what's your frame of mind now? Now you're going to play off and you weren't expecting to be a little bit more than a little bit of a.

David Graham 3:38

I am in a world uh I'm in a place I've never been before. But you pulled it together. And I got and I'm playing Crenshaw, who's like the most popular newcomer out there, you know. And I'm I'm an Aussies guy, and Aussies are not supposed to win the PGA against Ben Crenshaw. And um The first two playoff holes are pretty interesting. Well, I I told my caddy, I said, do me a favor and don't talk to me. Just let me stew. And I snap hooked it off the first hole. And I got down there and I could I had a wedge that I could hit over a tree and get it back onto the fairway. And Crenshaw had a nice drive and a good second shot on the front edge. Pin was up on the second tier. And I hit a not a very good wedge shot. I was not a real good player from about a hundred yards. And I hit it twenty feet, and Ben putted it up about that far, and I made the putt. And I have no clue how the hell that ball went in the hole, because I was not happy.

Mike Gonzalez 4:36

You had to make a twenty-foot putt to stay alive. Yeah, yeah. And then the second hole something almost.

David Graham 4:44

The second hole I hit a really good second shot, but it went over the back of the green and Ben hit it on the front edge, he putted up close. I kind of hit my chip a little heavy, not bad, but it stopped ten feet short, and I made that to keep going. And then on the par three, I hit a four-iron about six feet. And Ben hit it in the right-hand bunker and didn't hit a good bunker shot, and he putted first and missed, so I had two putts to win and I made it for two.

Mike Gonzalez 5:12

Was that the best four iron you probably uh Yeah, one arm.

David Graham 5:16

Actually, the best four iron I hit was on fifteen on Sunday. I hit it um I hit it around the corner and I hit it about six inches.

Mike Gonzalez 5:26

So you overcame a four-shot deficit to win. The third round leader was none other than Rex Caldwell.

David Graham 5:33

Oh, Dan Jenkins' great sports illustrated comments you're gonna bring up right about the hot dog.

Mike Gonzalez 5:40

Yeah, I found a quote from him. It's interesting because just about every major championship you can find his article.

David Graham 5:45

Well, one one will learn, as Bruce will attest, that no matter who you are, maybe with the exception of Nicholas, one does not go in the press tent on Saturday night saying they may as well give me the trophy. This tournament's over. That's a big mistake for for uh anybody to make, actually.

Mike Gonzalez 6:05

Yeah, and as a result of just this Dan Jenkins quote from uh which would have been an SI article, I guess, back in the day. It says, Unveiled a new personality, Rex Caldwell, who is such a hot dog, there isn't enough mustard in America to cover him. We hope you've enjoyed this short track of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game. So long, everybody.

Intro Music 6:46

It went smack down the fairway. Then it started to slice just snitch off lines. It headed for two, but it bounced off nine. My caddies, as long as you're still in the state, you're okay.