Sandra Post - Part 2 (The 1968 LPGA Championship)

Intro Music 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle.

Mike Gonzalez 0:13

Then it started to let's talk about life on the tour. So Sandra Post turns professional in 1968 at age 19. Ten professional wins, including eight LPGA tour victories. Comes out of the box firing, Bruce, in 1968, huh?

Bruce Devlin 0:31

What a way to get started. Like you said, who knows what's going to happen, Sandra? But you come out as a rookie and you win the PGA championship. You're player of the year. That's a hell of a start, Gil.

Sandra Post 0:43

Yeah, that was, yeah, rookie of the year. And you know, it I rolled into, you know, I wanted Pleasant Valley, Bruce.

Bruce Devlin 0:49

And I know Pleasant Valley.

Sandra Post 0:52

Oh my God. What a great golf course. I mean, and and I was rolling along. Somebody as I've said, it's like I joined the tour in January. I did the Florida swing. I had a hole in one. I got$1,000. Okay, now I'm really humming. Okay. And I'm finishing in the top 10. I'm kind of going up the East Coast. We're driving. I love driving. I just loved going in and rolling into new places and seeing things. And everything is exciting. I'm wide-eyed and wow. Here we go into Massachusetts. What's that? What are the when I'm in these hills and I'm thinking, oh, this is pretty good. And uh cousin Mangol owns the golf course, and we're all staying down there. The it's a motel. The lodge. It's a you call it a lodge. It's like a motel, but it's a lodge. The nice thing is that he he's got a man that cooks for us every night. So if we want spaghetti, whatever we want, that morning, you know, he gets it, watermelon, things that you don't get when you're living on the road. Like we got real food for a whole week. So everything is really good. And I go in this, and now I'm gonna play in the my first four-round tournament. I've never played in a four-round tournament, I've never played in a major before. Okay, and I've only got a three-wood. By the way, my driver is busted. I don't have a and it's you know a long golf course. Okay, so but I'm this is exciting, you know, because I am with Spaulding. I represent Spaulding, which is just up the road in Chicopee. And I gotta tell you quickly how I got that contract, Maryland. You know, Maryland was big with Spaulding, as was Peggy Kirkbell, Sandra Haney. You know, they had a small staff of women, but I wanted to be with Spaulding because of the red bag and because of Maryland. And I was a rookie, I'll never forget it. Did not have my card yet, because to get a card back then, you had to finish in the top that I had didn't have my card back in January because you had to finish in the top three out of four consecutive tournaments. It only took me three tournaments, but I hadn't it, you know, this chickopee uh uh rep came uh to me in the first tournament. And I saw I was I, you know, I didn't have any status really, except I was a member, but I had not played in yet. Okay, so I'll never forget it. So he said, well, he said, in because I actually asked for money. They never heard of that before. Wow, yeah, uh a Ricky asking for money who didn't have a card yet.

Mike Gonzalez 3:17

That's pretty gutsy.

Sandra Post 3:19

Thank you.

Bruce Devlin 3:21

Why not take a shot?

Sandra Post 3:22

And I didn't have an agent either, by the way. So anyway, um uh well so many it was fifteen hundred dollars.

Mike Gonzalez 3:30

Okay, a lot of money.

Sandra Post 3:31

And yeah, so Marilyn says, pay her, pay her, and he says, We've never paid anybody that doesn't have her card yet. And Marilyn says, I'm telling you, pay her. We need we she'll pay it, it'll it'll work. It'll work. And wouldn't you know it? That$1,500 became a major win in their backyard six months later. So, you know, and I'll never forget it. Like, you know, he said things to me like the elite. Remember the irons called the elite, Bruce? Yes, I do. He says, How do you like our new elite irons? You know, you tried them on the range today. How did you like them? Oh, he's I said, I really like them. And he said, Well, if you play your cards right, we'll get you a set. And I said, If you and if you play your cards right, I'll play them. And you know, I have no idea where that came from, by the way. I have I have no idea.

Bruce Devlin 4:25

I know quite a bit about Spaulding. You know that I was with Spaulding too. That's right. That's right. Skyberger.

Sandra Post 4:31

Yeah.

Bruce Devlin 4:33

Sykes. Yeah, a lot of a lot of uh.

Sandra Post 4:38

It was a very interesting staff, and uh, and uh, you know, you know, years later, that's the one thing, you know, Peggy Kirkbell and I we'd laugh over, is is you know, Spaulding, because she was so dedicated to. They were all we were all very dedicated to to Spaulding. I mean, they're very dedicated.

Bruce Devlin 4:57

So go to uh go to Chickpea, Massachusetts. Do you remember do you remember a gentleman that used to make the clubs for all the players?

Sandra Post 5:07

Absolutely.

Bruce Devlin 5:09

And his name was I can't remember, but Sandy Fakeney.

Sandra Post 5:13

That's right. Oh my goodness.

Bruce Devlin 5:16

That's going back a year or two, Miss Post.

Sandra Post 5:21

But you know, I had played Marilyn Smith Clubs, of course, up until that point. And uh I wonder why. And I played Marilyn Smith Club, so um, you know, I still didn't have a driver. Um, it got uh it had an accident, let's just put it that way. Oh and I didn't have a driver for the I didn't have a driver for months because it's not like today they can just duplicate one and send it to you. Yeah, it's like you had to test 150 drivers and you still might not, you know, find one you like. Find the one you like. So I had the three wood. So I start out, you know, and and four days goes by fairly quickly, and at the end of the fourth day, I'm tied with Kathy Whitworth. I don't even know what you do now. But so I hear there's an 18-hole playoff on the Monday.

Bruce Devlin 6:11

I know what you do.

Sandra Post 6:15

And I always think, well, you know, runner up in the LPGA is pretty great, don't you think?

Bruce Devlin 6:22

Yeah, absolutely.

Sandra Post 6:23

So what was happening back home? Bob Charles was winning the Canadian Open at St. Charles. So the media was filing their stories like crazy. And they were running to the airport to catch the last plane to Logan, Boston. Okay? As they were coming to watch the playoff, and my father was with them. Oh my gosh. So I drove to Logan that night. It was about midnight, you know, and I picked my father up. We get back to, you know, we get back to Pleasant Valley. We I didn't sleep, it didn't matter. You know, like this. The night before I went to to um to Logan to pick my dad up, I had dinner with Mickey, Mickey Wright and Susie Maxwell Burning, you know, and I think they really felt sorry for me. And I said, Well, you know, what do you think?

Bruce Devlin 7:14

And they said What have I got to lose?

Sandra Post 7:16

You know, I said, you know, I'm talking about runner up and I'm really, you know. And they said, look, this is hot, what's your strategy? This is what your strategy is. Go out there and give it to her right off the bat. Everything you've got. I go, really? Like, okay, my three wood, I'll just just just wind it up.

Bruce Devlin 7:35

Marry her with a three wood.

Sandra Post 7:36

Yeah. Okay.

Bruce Devlin 7:38

So did you birdie the first hole?

Sandra Post 7:42

I did.

Bruce Devlin 7:43

Aha. And several more after that.

Mike Gonzalez 7:46

Yeah.

Sandra Post 7:47

And I and I eagle the next. Okay, not bad. 300 after two. And then I made a par on a par on that little par three. Then I made a birdie. So I'm 400. Hey, we're tied.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Oh my god.

Sandra Post 8:03

We're tied. That's the bad news. We're tied. And I see I see Susie, Susie Maxwell Burning, sitting up in the hill, and I yelled at her. Okay, now what do I do? Because that's all I've got.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

Like this.

Sandra Post 8:14

You know? So I'm we're going around, you know, and I'm holding my own. I'm really, we're like really close. And I get to so well, I get to 15. Goes back to the clubhouse with an elevated green. My three wood will not carry this ditch down there, but I've got to hit it. I might get lucky and just bounce over or something. So I hit it in the edge of the ditch. And of course, Whitworth's like 15 yards by me. So I chip out of the ditch. Now I've got to go straight up to a blind shot. Oh, the people are around the club. I have a little caddy. He's younger than me. Together we're we're 14 and and well, I just turned 20 the week before. So we're 34 years old together. Okay. He's just a local kid, you know. And um, I take my wedge and I hit it, and the people go crazy. And I said to him, You think it went in? And he said, I think it might have. And we get up there, I make three. Okay. So I pick up a shot on Wit. And so we get down there and the next beautiful par three downhill. Then we tied it.

Bruce Devlin 9:21

And then you got a big four coming up at 17.

Sandra Post 9:25

We hated 17 because there's this pond in front of it. So big number. You can make a big number here. So I hit it down the middle. Kathy hits it in the trees on the right.

Bruce Devlin 9:38

And you think, oh.

Sandra Post 9:39

And I'm thinking, I'm gonna listen for Timber. And I listened quite a few times for Timber.

Intro Music 9:45

Uh oh. Oh.

Sandra Post 9:47

Yeah. And then so I listened so many times that I could just chip it. I chipped it down in front of the pond. Did you really? John and made five and picked up quite a few shots. And that's why that's how I won. I mean, I bogeyed the last hole and shot 68.

Bruce Devlin 10:04

Um eight birdies, right?

Sandra Post 10:06

Yeah. Destiny. Destiny, because I sure wasn't ready. Um, I'll never forget I won uh 3,000. I won a$1,500 bonus from my friends up the road at Spaulding.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

There you go.

Sandra Post 10:19

I roll in, I roll in a little late there to to Baltimore to our next tournament. I go up to our executive director, Lenny Wartz, and I said, Oh, Lenny, you know, I've just played, I play, I'm so tired. I'm so tired. I think I'm gonna withdraw this week. And he said, Young lady, you are now the LPGA champion.

unknown 10:42

Okay.

Sandra Post 10:43

And he said, and if you do withdraw, I'm gonna fine you all that money you just won.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Okay.

Sandra Post 10:51

So I didn't know about playing through, you know. So I played, kind of tired, finished third. Let's go. You know, so that's how you learn. That's how you learn a lot of life's lessons, right?

Mike Gonzalez 11:02

Learning responsibility at an early age. Uh uh, again, just for our listeners talking about the 1968 LPG Championship. So um, I know you were tied with Kathy after three rounds, but then a an eight birdie, three bogey 68 versus the 75 for Kathy, which uh which uh won you the playoff. You know, you you we do our research, uh Bruce, and you know, we go back and look at some of these old newspaper clippings, and what strikes me now X number of years later is how golf coverage has changed, and you look at how what would have been predominantly male golf writers referring to female golfers, right? Right it was always about how they looked. Right? So the headline of one article, Sandra, was Poised and Perky Sandra Pose wins the RPG championship.

Bruce Devlin 12:00

He just happened to be right, too. Right?

Sandra Post 12:06

Yeah, it was a good front, I guess. I was pretty nervous. And uh, you know, uh to have my dad there, and a lot of the gals had stayed to watch the playoff, and there was a tremendous, you know, it wasn't on television, there was a tremendous gallery that had come out, like thousands. And uh, you know, um who do who do you root for? You know, the number one player on the LPGA, an American, you know, or what is this 20-year-old just turned 20 person doing there? Um, but they were so fair, and you know, again, who was so gracious? The most gracious. It's Kathy Whitwood.

Bruce Devlin 12:46

Kathy Whitwood.

Sandra Post 12:47

And and um, because you know, she knew I was still just a kid, and and I mean, I was in over my head, and I did everything, you know, but but I'd never been in that position before. But um, you know, I just can't imagine. Um, I couldn't imagine actually even winning that. And I didn't realize either back then how how a major stays with you the rest of your life.

Bruce Devlin 13:12

Yeah, sure does.

Sandra Post 13:14

I mean, you can win some big tournaments, but if they're not majors, they it just it makes major makes it kind of makes your career in many ways, especially if you can tack on a few more. I remember asking Marlene Hagee once, I go, Marlene, how many tournaments do you think you should win? Like before people would really think that you're a good player. And she said, five. I go, five. Oh, you know.

Bruce Devlin 13:36

How can I get there?

Sandra Post 13:38

Yeah, how am I gonna get there? So anyway, yeah, it was um, you know, it was um it was really something. It was um, it was a magical week for me, and I'd never played that many rounds. You know, five five rounds plus a pro am, six rounds, I and practice round, I never played that many, I don't think, serious, serious stuff in a row.

Bruce Devlin 13:58

Yeah. Especially around that golf course, too, because it's not the easiest walk in the world.

Sandra Post 14:03

I know, but I'm 20 years old.

Bruce Devlin 14:04

I know, that's right. You it didn't bother you at all, did it?

Sandra Post 14:07

I was I don't even think my feet were touching the ground, Bruce.

Bruce Devlin 14:11

You were floating along, huh?

Sandra Post 14:13

You know that pond on 17?

Bruce Devlin 14:15

I think I walked right across it. I was never touched the water.

Sandra Post 14:19

I was in another world for sure.

Bruce Devlin 14:22

Yeah, how great. What a what a fabulous start to a career, huh?

Mike Gonzalez 14:28

Youngest major winner ever at the time. She was the first-time non-U.S. winner of that event, the only Canadian winner of a major for 48 years until Brooke Henderson won the LPJ Championship in 2016. Kathy Whitworth, you mentioned, you know how many playoff losses Kathy Whitworth has in addition to her 88 wins?

Sandra Post 14:48

I can I can't imagine.

Mike Gonzalez 14:51

20.

Sandra Post 14:52

Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 14:53

I mean, you know, that's what we're doing. You talk about a prolific player. She was the defending champion and she was the LPGA president at the time. So she had a lot of other responsibilities, right?

Sandra Post 15:05

Big.

Mike Gonzalez 15:05

Big and uh this is where Bruce won his last tour event.

Bruce Devlin 15:12

That's right. Yeah. And and uh I had the pleasure on two or three occasions of staying in the house with Mr. Mongolo.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

Did you?

Bruce Devlin 15:22

Yeah. He and I become very close friends. And and by the way, you you are in a very uh small group of people, both men and women, who actually have a winning record in playoffs. Can you believe that? All the great players we've talked to, their their winning percentage is less than 50%. And you are four and two.

Sandra Post 15:53

Yeah.

Bruce Devlin 15:54

Yeah.

Sandra Post 15:55

Would you have guessed that all these great players would be under 50% of the great players could win it, could win it and didn't have to go overtime. Those of us, we had to go more. Just because we're having so much fun, I guess. Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 16:11

Yeah, we've looked at we've looked at the records of all 68 guests. I mean, not not all played professionally, but most of them. Um hundreds of playoffs that that everybody's been involved in. Forty-three percent is the winning percent. So, you know, if you factor in the fact that some of these playoffs were more than two people, it probably works out to be just a kind of a coin flip. Yeah. So uh Bruce, you know, one thing we always talk about with our guests, they get that first win. Of course, Sandra comes out of the box first major, boom, you know, so she comes out with a bang. But but then then you look to validation, right? Then you look to okay, that that was a one-off. Can I do this again? It took a while for validation. Yeah. And what we'll ask, Sandra, is what was going on during those years? And my the answer we always hear is, well, life was going on, amongst other things.

Sandra Post 17:01

Sure, life was going on. Life was going on even in when I won though, you know, it was still exciting. And I had a um, you know, I had really uh, and I was uh actually, I mean I know I was so young, but you know, it's always engaged at a very young age and and and uh 21, and he went to Vietnam and he was in Vietnam. And at those times, uh uh 68, 69, 77, that was rough. I mean, Vietnam uh for somebody from Canada that you know our country wasn't involved in a in a in a war, confrontation, whatever you want to call it. Um, that was really, really tough on me. Um uh I I was learning learning about life. You're absolutely right. Um uh, you know, it it uh I uh the tour was exciting everywhere I went. I mean, I'd never gone to California before. And uh, you know, and and to roll it back a little bit in the next few years, and um and I'm gonna talk about my my dear roommate Renee Powell. And uh, you know, I met Renee, and if some of you who do not know Renee, you should. Um, you know, because they are uh the Powell family, they're the only African-American family that built, own, and operate to this day, Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio. And uh Renee and I met at the U.S. Junior in 1962 at the country club of Buffalo, and she was waiting on the tee, waiting for someone to play with her in the uh practice round. And her dad was with her, my dad was with me. Her dad owns a golf course, we have a farm, they love tractors, they were instant friends. And Renee and I, you know, she's a couple years older than I was and from Ohio, and uh, you know, I didn't, I'd never played in a U.S. junior before. I was 14. And so we're walking down the first fairway. And by the time we get to the first green, we have uh not only decided that Marilyn Smith is our most favorite player because she is also a friend of Marilyn's, and that we're both gonna be professional golfers one day. And if we get out there, we're gonna be roommates. That was after the first haul. Okay.

Bruce Devlin 19:10

Um a lot of quick decisions there.

Sandra Post 19:14

Well, we liked each other. We we just thought that okay, this is you know, we I didn't know anybody there, she didn't know anybody there, so we're we needed a friend, so we were gonna be friends, and this was before cell phones or anything fancy, and we didn't write, so we didn't have any communication after that. And so sure enough, you know, you know, as we get going in 68, and Renee didn't play Florida and the East Coast. So I didn't know Florida was a very racist state. I hadn't, I had, I just didn't know those things. I mean, I was young, I didn't know those things, I didn't understand anything, actually. Anyway, but she was gonna come in and she was gonna play California. So we're driving to California in separate cars, and um, you know, we're gonna be roommates. And we did, we 60, 69, 70, we had a we had a great time together. I learned a lot. Some things that some people mean never want to have to learn. But but we did learn them. And um, you know, like for instance, when we didn't get served, as Renee would always say, well, Santa would get impatient. I didn't have to worry. She wouldn't even dawn on her, but she'd just get impatient and say, let's leave, and things like that. But you know, we I got to the point where when, you know, I wouldn't even like Althea Gibson Darwin and Marlene Hagee, they had the same situation. We didn't even register. They didn't even register after a while. We just said, whatever. And um, you know, if the death threats or whatever came our way, we'll deal with it. But uh, it was quite an education. Uh, we are a friendship that we talk again, we talk at least once a week. Uh, it is a friendship that is almost 60 years old. And uh we will always have each other's back. And it really opened up so much. I'm so fortunate to have had Renee and have Renee as a friend. Um uh it's it's it opened up a whole different uh um amount of friends to me. And um, I'm just really, really grateful for to have Renee as a dear friend.

Mike Gonzalez 21:25

You'll have to talk to Bruce because uh both Marlene Street and Renee Powell are a couple ladies we'd like to have on the program sometime. They've been very important to the game of golf. You know, coming out on tour at the time you did, time of uh social unrest in our country, 1968, uh to Renee's credit, it must have been very difficult for her to be traveling with a Canadian.

Sandra Post 21:45

Why? I know we've never talked about it before. She always loved, she always loved our country. And um again, I didn't put I never put things together, and it takes me No, it shouldn't take me a while because you know I just didn't, that wasn't my background. I'm uh that's not in my DNA of my family. And and my dad adored, they adored Renee. And and um, you know, years later, oh my gosh, this was when Mr. Powell, um, Renee's father, Bill Powell, uh, was um, he was probably about 92 at the time. I was down playing in a tournament that Renee has at East Canton every year, you know. And I said finally to Mr. Powell, I said, Did you ever worry about us get you know being hurt? And he said, There wasn't a day. I don't know how you didn't. I don't know how you you two gals. I said, we just kept moving. Well, we know we we um yeah, I and and we never we just we just were I guess careful and careful when we traveled and didn't travel at night. And we just we just were cautious and we were in the golf community as far as where we stayed and things like that. But we but we were always aware.

Mike Gonzalez 23:05

Yeah, uh well, you know, I I I was being facetious, of course, with my comment, but uh I know uh you know you look at the you look at the LPG founders and and what trailblazers they were for women in sport because women weren't supposed to be athletes back then. But then uh to look at what uh Althea Gibson and Renee Paul did as trailblazers in their era for African American women competing in women's athletics uh on the grand scale. I mean Althea Gibson being a Wimbledon champion as well before becoming a professional golfer, they were blazing trails, and and uh you know, you were you were at her side experiencing what she was experiencing, good and bad, right?

Sandra Post 23:44

Yeah, and I was blazing a trail too, for I guess maybe that that too that you know we had that in common. And we were young and we were wide-eyed, and we had hope, we had great hope and for the LPGA. And you know, back to Althea for a moment. I mean, can you imagine being a Wimbledon champion? And she comes and she takes up golf late, but she what a great athlete, right? And what a another great person to know. And but can you imagine going to a hotel and having a reservation and saying, no, we don't have a reservation and we're full. And I mean, I just you know, and that's when Marlene would Marlene Hagee stepped in and said, Mar Althea, room with me. And that's and that's um, and that's what we you know, we wouldn't even give that a second thought to do that.

Mike Gonzalez 24:28

So, Bruce, we we jump ahead really to 1974, while not, I don't think, officially a tour event. Uh Sandra did uh travel to your home country and uh chalk up windows. She did.

Bruce Devlin 24:41

Victoria Golf Club. It's a great track, isn't it?

Sandra Post 24:46

Wow, was it ever? But um, you know, this is you know, David Foster has now entered the scene for the LPGA. Right. And I tell you, there is a person that never was given the credit he should have for really putting us on a course and giving us opportunity, not only in tournaments and television and commercials and and everything else, he just opened up our world and supported us and with the golf club company and just everything.

Bruce Devlin 25:16

You know what's interesting about your remark right then is that all of the gals that we have talked to feel exactly the same about David Foster. That he was the guy that really opened the doors, put the money into LPGA's players. I mean, he was he was a real strength for the LPGA.

Sandra Post 25:35

He believed in us so much. And he and and I mean, what a what a what how lucky. I don't know where we'd been without him. And he he let us even dream bigger and and he gave us the the boost that we really needed. So now, you know, going through those those that lull time that I had to get back to 74, I mean, there were times and I thought I would quit the game. Okay, and so Mr. Foster, and I would really, you know, I was living in Florida and my heart wasn't wasn't where it needed to be. You know, my marriage had failed. And so I'm thinking, what am I going to do? And what do I love and what do I know what to do? So there Mr. Foster has a a pro am at at Dorell, and it's actually to kick off this whole new thing that he's going to to announce that we're actually gonna, he's gonna take us around the world, okay? So I go down there and I hadn't seen the gals in a while, but it was pretty exciting. And then we go over, it was like at the diplomat, something like that. And and it was like a it was like a game show. He pulled up, he he said, you know, the the prize money of the dinosaur is gonna go up, television exposure is going to increase, you know, and the top winners, you know, the winner and the top five, you know, if you finish, and and we're gonna take the tour, but the top five will really get some bon nice bonuses. We're going to go to, and he opened like a screen came on. We're going to go to Sunningdale, England, and we're going to play in the in the Colgate, European. Women's going Sunningdale, England. Well, I really like that idea. All our expenses paid. Are you kidding? Okay. And he said, and then, you know, depending on points, you know, and again, we're gonna have another, and in the fall, we're going to go to Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, and play in the in, you know, in in this in in the tournament down there. And I'm going like, Australia. I that's really I'd love Australia. I've been to Australia once, but I love Australia. Woo, all our expenses paid. And then if you like a top finisher, we're gonna have this special event at the end of the year called the Triple Crown back at Mission Hills, like match play. I'm going, okay, this is worth practicing for. It was like, it was so exciting. It was so exciting. So away we go. And uh in 1974, you know, I'm playing better. There's no question, you know, and I am I'm going like, you know, to Elmer, my Elmer, my devoted teacher. Why can't I win? He goes, he knows he tells me, oh, I can't tell you. You know, he says, Well, you're so you get so nervous, you may never win. And I go, okay, thank you. And and so I don't I don't believe that. I don't I believe you can control that, you know. So now I'm on that last leg. You know that old leg, Bruce, from Sydney to Melbourne. You've changed planes, you know, you know it. And um, I asked whoever's sitting next to Whitworth, can I sit to Wit next to Wit? And they said, sure. And because I'm sitting with Rankin. I Judy Rankin and I, we we did all our international travel together, okay? So I get next to Wit. I said, Wit, I need to ask you something. And she said, What? And I said, How do you win? And she goes, Well, she said, you know, you gotta she says, you know, you've had lots of chances. I said, I know, I keep finishing second all the time. And she says, You've had lots of chances to win, but look at what happened to you. So people fired 65 in that last round. You could you had no control over that. You know, things happened. You didn't necessarily give it away. Somebody else took it and you couldn't stop it. But she says, you didn't, it wasn't you necessarily. So she says, it comes down to this. You you play hard all week, and then the last nine, if you got a chance, you're in position, you know. You just you you you you know, you just got to give yourself a chance again and not get down on it, down on yourself about it. And you know, that will turn and your time will come again. You can't control what they do to you, Sandra. If you can control yourself, and that's asking a lot, but if you can control yourself, you will win again. I said, okay. So I go into good old Victoria, you know, my friends like Judy and Marlene, Heggy and Judy, like we're we're that group. We all are together, okay? There's Pam Higgins or Judy, Marlene, boom, boom. We're a group. They all get, you know, local good players to caddy for them. I get a woman member who's gonna pull my trolley. Okay, Bruce? She's gonna pull my trolley. And hey, I'm good with that. And so if she just hadn't got all tangled up in the ropes, you know, and you know, and and just I lost her a lot of the time. So anyway, so we go and we play, and I'm I'm really I'm leading this. I've got I've got control of this, Bruce. And interestingly enough, you know, one of your your first and a really a dear friend of mine at the time, she came through Canada on her way to the LPGA. She's in the clubhouse, she's posted a great number, and only she's only from Australia, Margie Masters. And I'm out there and I'm looking at this leaderboard. Oh, I've got a five-shot lead. I'm happy for Margie. So I start to bogey, and then I have four shots, and then I have three shots, and then I have two shots, and I'm going, okay. I am now, you know, need some oxygen because it's getting tough. So I get I play 17 and bogey it. I now have one shot.

Bruce Devlin 31:48

Five, huh?

Sandra Post 31:48

Yes, I can't even make a five on that, Bruce. And so I look up and there's Marlene and Judy. And I said to them, Don't worry, I'm not gonna win because my heart is gonna stop before I get to the green on 18.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

You know?

Sandra Post 32:07

And so sure enough, Bruce, I stand up and I snap it in the bunker left, and I said, Come on. And we played this as a par five, okay? Right. And I said, Okay, listen, just get it out on the green, just get it out on the fairway. I get it out on the fairway. I've got a nine iron in my hand. I could have gone home in two, but I got a nine iron in my hand. I am a great short iron player, I'm saying to myself. I mean, I'm really good, okay? Short irons. I hit it 45 feet from the pin.

Bruce Devlin 32:34

Okay, not so good.

Sandra Post 32:36

Not so good, Bruce. Right? I barely made it on the green, pin was back. Now I'm gonna have to putt to putt. I'm a good putter, okay? Like I am telling myself these things. And I I left myself a three and a half footer, which I made.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

All right.

Sandra Post 32:54

It was a tough, it was a tough second wing, okay? But, and I mean, there's Margie up there. The crowd definitely is for her, and why not? Meanwhile, I'm talking about my dear caddy. She's back there. She did, I did lose her, and the ropes got all tangled up in the cart. I just give me my caddy, I'll give me my putter, I will see you. And so anyway, um, yeah, she um she was just a member of the club and volunteered to caddy, and uh, we won. And that was a huge win for me. That it took it took a few more years, but that, you know, you win that the the uh you you win that tournament. You win a cold gate. The co any Colgate was like a major. I mean, I won the Dinah later on, but but uh it really uh cemented you with Colgate, and it was um it was it was a great, great win.

Bruce Devlin 33:43

Well you talk about, you know, it takes a while to do it. There was four more years after that victory in in Australia where you did in fact win the dinosaur, and you did it again the year after that. So uh if it were today or if it was uh the middle 2000s, you'd be a three-time major champion winner.

Sandra Post 34:04

Yeah, even like it turned, yeah, I I forget when it it went uh when it went um major to a major status. There's only there's only a few of us affected by it, actually. But um uh but it was always a major, and I'm sure every one of you, and you every all the golfers uh in your in their hearts, it was always a major. Why? Great golf course, sponsor commitment, biggest purse, television. It even had celebrity, of course. But yeah, it had everything that if you had to pick one, absolutely it was the one you wanted to win because it had all these other elements to it, thanks to Mr. Foster.

Bruce Devlin 34:48

And the first one you won in 78, you uh again you went in a playoff against one of your country. That's right.

Sandra Post 34:56

Penny poles, penny poles, yes.

Bruce Devlin 34:58

Then you win$36,000, and the next week you get to drive in a new automobile.

Sandra Post 35:06

I do. Oh, you know, I was really lucky on tour. I always I already was with Chrysler, so it was nice. It was just um, I mean, I really um really uh we all appreciated okay, you know, Chrysler doing that for us and Bob McCurry and um all the boys in Detroit, and I was really lucky to be on that staff back then. It was with Tom Watson and people like that, and um, you know, I was uh really, really fortunate. And uh so yeah, I got the new car, and and then you got this perk like you could take bring a guest to all those other tournaments, and you know, and I was on the radar, I was with spalding. I was still, you know, I was still with spalding, Bruce, and I was so devoted. And but David was making it very difficult, Mr. Foster was making it very difficult. And uh I really wanted to go over there with with at that time he'd bought Ram. And uh and he said, you know, when before you sign your next contract, please call me. And the you know, he he here's the chairman of the board of Colgate Pumoliv, and he it's like, please call me. So okay, I'm just gonna call him. Yeah, thinking why not uh you know, he'll call me back in a week. And it's like, is Mr. Foster available, you know, like this in Sandra Post. Uh I'm one of the golfers. Like, you know, what do you say? And boom, hello, Sandra. Like, oh, and so anyway, I did end up going with Ram.

Mike Gonzalez 36:33

Well, it had been uh 10 years uh pretty much uh since that uh first victory at the LPGA championship. And uh so that little chat with Kathy Whitworth must have sunk in a little bit because now you're learning to win and you're coming into your prime, aren't you?

Sandra Post 36:50

Well, I I don't you don't feel sorry for yourself so much. She won it. You know, you you don't you the guilt you did the best you could that day at that time. Maybe you didn't have it that day. You know, it's it's like so you're you're a little bit easier on yourself. So you yeah, and once you do win two or three times, it does get a little bit easier. Uh you don't have to prove yourself as much, and it just things tend to go your way a little bit easier. And uh, you know, it was I won some good tournaments. I didn't win a lot of tournaments, but I won some good ones uh at Detroit and some of the bigger ones. Um uh I wish I could have always won in Canada, but there was way too much pressure, and uh I tried way too hard. And uh, but uh, you know, it it um and you know it was uh it was a it was a you know a good career and and uh and great times. I mean I had you know our the friendships and Whitworth and I'll never forget that talking to her and how how forthright she was, you know, and how encouraging. Kathy was always encouraging.

Bruce Devlin 37:57

So after uh the Colgate in 78, you won the Lady Stroze Open in guess what? A playoff again. Kathy Whitworth and Patty Myers.

Sandra Post 38:08

Yeah, with Pat Myers. And we went a couple of holes, and I'll never forget walking down, it was a par five, but we could reach it in two, and I'd hit it home in two. And Witt had missed the green. And you know, Wit always she beat up on herself. I don't know of any of the other um she really beat up on herself. She was so tough on herself, and she'd say things I know she didn't mean to herself, you know, and she'd hit this shot and she said, They should take my my card away from me. And I said, I wish they would, like this. And then we laughed, you know. Uh it would and we laughed, of course. And um, yeah, I birdied that hole, and uh they both made par, and that's how I won it. Stroves.

Mike Gonzalez 38:56

And then uh back to back at the Colgate Dinosaur Winner Circle. Uh this is her second win uh by one over Nancy Lopez in 1979. You were tied with Nancy after 54 holes, and you set a tournament record at 12 under at the time.

Sandra Post 39:12

Yeah. Uh, you know, it um you don't ever expect you would like to defend well, just well. You don't expect defending is something very it's it's it's rare. I mean, it's hard to do, especially in big tournaments. And um, I just wanted to play well because I had great memories. And uh before you know it, I just had to make a par on the last hole to win. And again, at that at that point in 78, who beats Nancy Lopez?

SPEAKER_01 39:45

Who?

Sandra Post 39:46

You know, I was not the most popular. I mean, no, no, she is like so popular, and so she they wanted her to win.

Mike Gonzalez 39:57

Thank you for listening to another episode 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, tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game so long, everybody smack down the fairway.

Intro Music 40:32

My caddies, as long as you're still in the state, you're okay.