David Graham

At 77 years old, David Graham has this physical status:

Anthony David Graham, AM (born 23 May 1946) is a retired Australian professional golfer.

On the PGA Tour, he has won eight times, two major championships.

Early life

Graham is from Tasmania, Australia. He is a natural left-hander but "converted" to a right-hander.

Personal life

Graham married in late 1968.

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Professional career

Graham started working as an assistant at Riversdale Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, at the age of 14. He began working at a sporting goods store in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1967. He hooned his golf skills at Royal Sydney Golf Club under the tutelage of Alec Mercer, the club's professional. "Alec taught me everything I know," he said later. When I first arrived in Sydney two years ago, I couldn't play at all, and he taught me everything. I've been lucky, I've had financial support and a lot of advice, but Alec stayed with me through thick and thin, and I owe all my happiness and good fortune to him. Graham began working full-time as a tour guide in early 1968.

The Brisbane Water Tournament was one of the first tournaments Graham received media attention. Graham led off with a 68 (1) score, putting him three points behind him. He shot a 73 (+4) in the second round, but he tied for third in the second round, but under the difficult conditions. "Looks like a threat as the tournament enters its third round," the Canberra Times reported. Due to the rain, the third round was postponed. Graham finished fourth in the final round after shooting a 72 to finish alone, four behind champion Bob Shaw.

Graham's first season of continuous success would be in 1969. In February, he competed in the two-round Amoco Open at Forbes, New South Wales. With Ted Ball and Walter Godfrey, he came in third, four back of champion Tony Mangan.

He then moved to the Asia Golf Circuit shortly after. With John Lister of New Zealand, he came joint second second at the Malaysian Open in mid-March, one behind champion Takaaki Kono. He was in third position on the Asia Golf Circuit's Order of Merit at this point. He appeared at the Singapore Open the following week. He was in 209, one behind leaders Tomio Kamata of Japan and Guy Wolstenholme of England, after three rounds. He fired a 34 to separate himself from the rest of the field on the front nine. "Just Graham remained in conflict with the two leaders," The Straits Times reports. During the back nine, Graham took one stroke on the leaders to advance to a playoff match. Graham and Kamata parred the first hole of the tournament, but Wolstenholme bogeyed to fail. At the par-3 2nd hole, Graham and Kamata made pars. At the par-4-3rd hole, Kamata made his birdie, but Graham was "short by two inches." Graham came in second place. Graham was dubbed "the find of this year's tour" following these two runner-up finishes. The Hong Kong Open Tournament was Graham's next tournament. He fired a 69 (1) to put him near the lead. He shot another 69 (1) in the second round to get closer. However, in the final two rounds, he shot over-par, putting him in a tie for 14th place. Graham cited his poor putting for his poor play. In the Order of Merit, he came in seventh place. Despite this, Graham was optimistic about his future. After the round, he told AAP-Reuters, "My good showing here has left me with a great chance of being nominated for the Alcan tournament in the states, which is what I'm really looking for." "I had a blast in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and it would be impossible for me to reach me in the last two tournaments in Taipei and Toyko, and beat me for Alcan." He was in 2nd place on the Order of Merit by early April, only behind Taiwan's Hsieh Yung-yo.

He returned to Australia a short time later. He won a $1,650 purse at Goolwa, South Australia, at South Lakes Golf Course in June. He started the two-round tournament with a 73, putting him several strokes behind the lead. However, he shot a 70 to trounch John Lister by a single stroke in the final round.

Graham had registered for the Alcan International Tournament, the PGA Tour's highest international tournament on the PGA Tour, as of August 1969, "on the strength of his solid performances on the Far East Circuit." Graham led the tournament with a 74 (+2) score, leaving him five points behind. He ended up 22nd in 22nd place out of a field of 24 players, 23 shots behind champion Billy Casper. He wanted to get out of the PGA Tour Qualifying School in 1969 after the tournament.

He returned to Australia just a few weeks after. He appeared at the City of Sydney Open in October. Graham took home a "brilliant" final round to "snatch fourth place." He appeared in the Australian Open later this month. He shot a second round 69 to finish fifth, only behind Guy Wolstenholme, Bruce Devlin, Peter Thomson, and Gary Player. However, when the tournament ended, he was not in the lead. In November, he competed in the North Coast Open in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. He was the "favorite" at the function due to his recent good play. He started poorly with a 75, but "recovered" with a 71 to pull him one back. He ultimately finished in second place at 294 (+6), three behind champion Tony Mangan. In December, he played the Caltex Tournament at Paraparaumu Links Golf Course in Wellington, New Zealand. He opened at 142, even-parallel, putting him in a tie for third. However, Graham shot six-over-par and finished in a tie for fourteenth over the course of the two-round final day.

Graham also won two events in Australia early this year. He competed in the Tasmanian Open at Kingston Beach Golf Club in February. He played the one-round $750 Golden Crume in Kingston Beach right before the tournament started. Terry Kendall tied for second place after shooting a 68 (5), two behind champion Tony Mangan. Graham was tied for the lead with Alan Murray at the end of the third round, one ahead of Terry Kendall. Kendall, on the other hand, had a strong showing on the front nine of the final round and took the lead by the 11th hole. Kendall "crashed over the closing holes" but Graham had regained the lead by the 16th hole. He "clinched the title" by shooting a birdie on the 17th hole. Graham won by a single point over Kendall in the final round 72. He appeared at the Victorian Open next week. He opened at 136 (-10), tying for second place, two off Guy Wolstenholme's lead. He did a good job in the third round to take the lead. Graham "shook off the big names" like Kel Nagle and Guy Wolstenholme to create a four-shot lead at the turn during the front nine. Graham birdied the 10th hole to take the lead over amateur Kevin Hartley on a five-shot victory. However, Graham's lead was reduced to one after bogey-birdie exchanges with Hartley on the 11th and 12th holes. Hartley hit a "poor chip" and had to settle for par on par, however, while Graham putt a "morale-boosting" eight-foot birdie putt to extend the lead. Hartley's approach was short and he made bogey on the par-3 14th hole. Graham now had a three-stroke lead. Graham arrived home from there and defeated Hartley, Nagle, and Wolstenholme by four shots. He shot a total of 273 (-19) holes, beating Yarra Yarra Golf Club's course record, which was set by Gary Player in 1959 by two shots. "The win, Graham's second state open victory in eight days, sounded an alarm to Australia's aging golf stars that he is heir-apparent to their thrones," a writer for The Canberra Times writes.

Graham was competing at Pymble Golf Course in Sydney, Australia, the following week. After three rounds, Graham was 209 (-7) but five behind leader Kel Nagle. Nagle played poorly on the front nine, but it did bring Graham and the rest of the field back to contention. However, Graham, who was erratic on the front nine, was unable to profit. Graham's drive came out of bounds, resulting in double-bogey at the par-4 7th. He shot an even-par 36, but was still behind on four pars, and was ultimately in last place. Graham started off well, making birdie at the 13th hole. To get closer, Graham birdied three of the next four holes. Graham fired his second shot into a bunker at the 477-yard par-5 18th hole. He fired his sand shot to 18 feet. His "birdie chances seemed remote," he holed the putt, causing a "tremendous roar" from the gallery. Frank Phillips was defeated by him by a single stroke of his thumb. Phillips, who was playing second, shot his second shot on the 18th hole, giving him a chance of eagle and a clear win. Phillip's eagle putt "hung on the lip" and "he had to be content with a birdie four to tie Graham." The following day, he and Phillips became a 18-hole playoff team. The playoffs were deemed "one of the finest in the history of NSW open history." For the majority of the playoffs, Graham was behind, but "staged a heroic comeback" and tied by the 15th hole. Phillips, on the other hand, birdied the final two holes to defeat Graham by two strokes. In the round, there were nine birds between the two players.

Graham also joined the Asia Golf Circuit shortly after. In March 1970, he appeared in the Thailand Open. He "came from three strokes behind" to win the tournament by 286 (-2). He appeared in Japan for the Yomiuri International in the following month, as well as on the Asian circuit. Graham led the way with 142 (-2). After a third round (73) Graham came into the joint lead with New Zealander Walter Godfrey. Graham "began the final round in fine fashion by sinking a 15ft putt." Graham birdied the final two holes and took the lead by three over Godfrey. Tommy Aaron, the "pre-tournament favorite," defeated him by four shots. Graham won A$10,500 and a Japanese car as a result of his victory.

He appeared in a few major international festivals later this year. He competed in the Western Open on the PGA Tour in June. He had registered for the 1970 British Open as of July. In October, he appeared at the Australian Open at Kingston Heath Golf Club. However, he "crashed" in the first round, winning 79 (+7).

Graham qualified for the PGA Tour Qualifying School in Tucson, Arizona, in early November. He opened with rounds of 72. However, I had failed to qualify by a stroke.

Graham will represent Australia at the 1970 World Cup with Bruce Devlin later this month. The festival will be held at the Jockey Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both Graham and Devin made it to Argentina after they started playing in the first round, but they were "tired" when they started. However, both teams did an excellent job in the first round. Graham fired a bogey-free 65 (7) and Devlin a bogey-free 66 (6). They took the lead over Argentina's team at 131 (13), 13 strokes. Graham finished second in the individual competition, one behind Argentina's top leader Roberto De Vicenzo, although Devlin was tied for third. "I don't think this is my best ever appearance in the round," Graham said, "but it is pretty close." Graham fired a 67 (5) in the second round, while Devlin fired a 69 (3)). Graham shot a back nine (30) in the third round, with birdies on the final four holes, putting the overall score at 65 (7). Devlin defeated Devlin in the third round of the tournament by 66 (6). Argentina, the second place team, had a 19-stroke advantage over them. "Graham said the three rounds here were the best he's ever played," The Canberra Times reports after the round. Graham led by two strokes over Roberto De Vicenzo over two weeks, over two others. Both Graham and Devlin failed to score 35 and 36, respectively, on the par-35 front nine at the start of the final round. In addition, Graham lost the solo lead to de Vicenzo as Graham bogeyed the par-3 8th hole and the Argentine birdies it. The Australians "weren't certain of victory over their nearest rivals Argentina," according to the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. Their team had an 11 stroke lead over Argentina at his time. "The lead saw sawsawed back and forth until De Vicenzo took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-5th." Graham came in second place among individuals. By nine shots, the Australian team won by nine shots. They defeated Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus' team record at the 1966 Canada Cup by four shots at 544. Following the victory, Graham "was hailed today as one of golf's potential greats," the Associated Press reports.

Graham appeared in the Argentine Masters two weeks later in December. Graham opened with rounds of 69 (1) to fall one behind Roberto De Vicenzo in the first two rounds. He was currently tied for second with Gary Player and Argentine Juan Quinteros at this point. However, de Vicenzo will win the tournament, while Graham will finish outside the top three.

At the 1971 PGA Tour Qualifying School, Graham registered for the PGA Tour in late 1971. He was a success. He won twice on the PGA Tour in 1976, but then came from behind to win the Piccadilly World Match Play Championship in England over reigning champion Hale Irwin.

Graham won two major championships, the 1979 U.S. Open at Merion, just west of Philadelphia, and the 1979 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills near Detroit, 1979. After sharing the third-round lead, he came in third place at the 1985 Open Championship. Both of his major victories came in awesome style. He was on the last tee in the 1979 PGA Championships at 7 under par for his final round and leading by two, but he double-bogeyed the last hole for a 65, forcing him to fall back to a playoff with Ben Crenshaw. He holed long putts to keep the playoff alive and then won at the third extra hole on each of the first two sudden-death holes. Graham shot a 67 in the final round, turning around a three-shot deficit to overnight leader George Burns to win by 3 strokes at the 1981 US Open. He was the fourth Australian major champion (after Jim Ferrier, Peter Thomson, and Kel Nagle), and the first Australian major champion to win the U.S. Open for the fourth time.

Graham appeared on the Australian teams that won the World Cup (1970) and the Alfred Dunhill Cup (in 1985 and 1986).

The organising International Golf Association, rather than the more well-known Bruce Crampton, preferred Bruce Crampton to team for Australia with Bruce Devlin, ahead of the 1970 World Cup. If Graham was omitted, the Australian PGA threatened not to send a team, while Devlin and Graham then represented Australia and won the team competition by a record eight strokes after having a record advantage of 19 strokes going into the final round. Graham came in second place individually. In the 1971 World Cup, Devlin and Graham represented Australia, but Devlin and Graham were still inactive, and Graham was never to return to compete and never took part in any World Cup games.

During the inaugural 1985 Dunhill Cup at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland, there was another controversy with Graham involved. Australia prevailed in the team event, with Graham, Greg Norman, and Graham Marsh on the team. Marsh had chastised Graham for receiving sponsorship fees for playing in Australian golf tournaments before the tournament. Marsh had been named an MBE for services to golf and was chairman of the PGA Tour of Australasia for six years. Despite the war, Norman took David Graham's side in the debate, and Australia went on to win the tournament despite the conflict. With Graham, Norman, and Rodger Davis in their team, Australia successfully defended the title in 1986.

Graham was ranked 7th on Mark McCormack's world golf rankings at the end of 1981.

Graham collapsed on the eighth green of the Bank of America Championship on the Champions Tour on the 27th of June 27th. He was later diagnosed with congestive heart disease, putting an end to his competitive golfing career at age 58. He has retired and lives at Iron Horse Golf Club in Whitefish, Montana.

In 1988, Graham was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and in 1990, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Graham was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on October 16th, 2014. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus supported his nomination. During the 2015 Open Championship, he was inducted alongside fellow candidates Mark O'Meara, course architect A. W. Tillinghast, and Laura Davies on July 13, 2015.

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