Anthony David Graham, AM (born 23 May 1946) is a former

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He won eight times on the PGA Tour, including two major championships.

Early life

Graham is from

Tasmania, Australia ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He is a natural left-hander but "converted" into a right-hander.

Professional career

At the age of 14, Graham began his first job as an assistant professional at Riversdale Golf Club in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

. In 1967, he started working at a sporting goods store in

Sydney, New South Wales Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

. During this time he honed his golf skills at

Royal Sydney Golf Club Royal Sydney Golf Club is golf club in Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. Founded in 1893, Royal Sydney is one of Australia's premier sporting and social clubs. It features an 18-hole Championship Course, a 9-hole Cente ...

under the tutelage of Alec Mercer, the club professional. He stated later, "Alec taught me all I know. When I arrived in Sydney two years ago I could hardly play and he taught me everything. I've been lucky, I've had financial sponsorships and lots of advice, but Alec stuck with me through thick and thin and I owe all my success and good fortune to him." In early 1968, Graham started working full-time as a touring professional.

Australian and Asian circuits

Among the first tournaments Graham received media attention for was the Brisbane Water Tournament. Graham opened with a 68 (−1) to put him three back of lead. In the second round he shot a 73 (+4) but in the difficult conditions he moved into a tie for third. ''The Canberra Times'' opined that Graham, "looks like being a threat as the tournament moves into its third round." The third round was cancelled due to rain. In the final round Graham shot a 72 to finish solo fourth, four behind champion

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story "Light of Other Days" ...

. The following year, 1969, would be Graham's first season of continuous success. In February he played the two-round $3,500 Amoco Open at

Forbes, New South Wales Forbes is a town in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the Newell Highway between Parkes, New South Wales, Parkes and West Wyalong, New South Wales, West Wyalong. At the , Forbes h ...

. He finished in a tie for third with

Ted Ball Edward A. Ball (4 November 1939 – 17 April 1995) was an Australian professional golfer. He won several dozen significant tournaments in his career. Golf career Ball was born in Hornsby, New South Wales. He had a decorated amateur career, i ...

and

Walter Godfrey Walter Hindes Godfrey, CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was ...

, four back of champion Tony Mangan. Shortly thereafter, he moved onto the

Asia Golf Circuit The Asia Golf Circuit was the principal men's professional golf tour in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s through to the mid-late 1990s. The tour was founded in 1961 as the Far East Circuit. The first series of five tournaments was held in 1962 ...

. In mid-March he finished joint second at the Malaysian Open with New Zealand's John Lister, one behind champion

Takaaki Kono Takaaki Kono (4 January 1940 – 22 April 2010) was a Japanese professional golfer. Early life Kono was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan in 1940. He started playing golf at the age of 15. Professional career Kono had much success on the ...

. At this point he was in third place on the

's Order of Merit. The following week he played the Singapore Open. After three rounds he was at 209, one back of leaders

Tomio Kamata Tomio is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Tomio can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *富雄, "enrich, masculine" *富男, "enrich, man" *富夫, "enrich, husband" *冨雄, "enrich, m ...

of Japan and

Guy Wolstenholme Guy Bertram Wolstenholme (8 March 1931 – 9 October 1984) was an English professional golfer. He had a successful career both as an amateur and then as a professional. Early life Wolstenholme was born in Leicester, and is the father of Gary ...

of England. On the front nine he shot a 34 to distance himself from the remainder of the field. According to ''The Straits Times'', "only Graham remained in contention with the two leaders." Graham made up one stroke on the leaders during the back nine to enter a playoff with them. Graham and Kamata parred the first hole of the playoff while Wolstenholme bogeyed to drop out. Graham and Kamata made pars at the par-3 2nd hole. At the par-4 3rd hole Kamata made his birdie while Graham was "short by two inches." Graham finished second. After these two runner-ups finishes, Graham was considered "the find of this year's tour." The next tournament Graham played was the Hong Kong Open. He shot a 69 (−1) to put him near the lead. In the second round he shot another 69 (−1) to move closer. However, he shot over-par in the final two rounds to finish in a tie for 14th place. Graham cited his poor putting for his weak play. He fell to 7th in the Order of Merit. Still, Graham was optimistic about his future. He told ''AAP-Reuters'' after the round, "My good performance here has left with a great chance of being nominated for the Alcan tournament in the states, which is what I'm really after. After my placings in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur it will make it very difficult for anyone to catch me in the last two tournaments in Taipei and Toyko, and beat me for Alcan." By early April he was in 2nd place on the Order of Merit, only behind Taiwan's

Hsieh Yung-yo Hsieh Yung-yo (, born 23 October 1934) is a Taiwanese professional golfer. Hsieh had great success playing throughout Asia, winning 16 national opens. Most of those victories were on the Far East Circuit, later known as the Asia Golf Circuit, w ...

. Shortly thereafter he returned to Australia. In June he played a $1,650 purse at

Goolwa, South Australia Goolwa is a historic river port on the Murray River near the Murray Mouth in South Australia, and joined by a bridge to Hindmarsh Island. The name "Goolwa" means "elbow" in Ngarrindjeri, the local Aboriginal language, and the area was known as ...

at South Lakes Golf Course. He opened the two-round tournament with a 73 to put him several strokes behind the lead. However, in the final round he shot a 70 to defeat John Lister by one stroke. As of August 1969, Graham had qualified for the

Alcan International The Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship, also known as the Alcan Open, was an international golf tournament played from 1967 to 1970. It was sponsored by Alcan Aluminum of Canada, a long-time corporate sponsor of professional golf on internatio ...

, an elite international tournament on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

to be held in September, "on the strength of his sound performances on the

Far East Circuit The Asia Golf Circuit was the principal men's professional golf tour in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s through to the mid-late 1990s. The tour was founded in 1961 as the Far East Circuit. The first series of five tournaments was held in 1962 ...

." Graham opened the tournament with a 74 (+2) to put him five behind the lead. He eventually finished in 22nd place among the 24 players in the field, 23 shots behind champion

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

. After the tournament he intended to try out of the

at the Fall 1969 PGA Tour Qualifying School. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Australia. In October he played the City of Sydney Open. Graham fired a "brilliant" final round to "snatch fourth place." Later in the month he played the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

. He shot a second round 69 to move into a tie for fifth, only behind

Bruce Devlin Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer. Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. He turned pro in 1961 and joined the PGA Tour in 1962 after an amateur career in Au ...

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

, and

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

. However, he was not near the lead as the tournament concluded. In November he played the

North Coast Open The North Coast Open was a professional golf tournament in Australia from 1951 to 1975. It was always held at Coffs Harbour Golf Club in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. It was a PGA Tour of Australia event from 1973 to 1975. The name "North Coas ...

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

, New South Wales. Due to his recent good play he was the "favorite" at the event. He opened poorly with a 75 but "recovered" with a 71 to put him one back. He ultimately finished in solo second place at 294 (+6), three back of champion Tony Mangan. In December he played the

Caltex Tournament The Caltex Tournament was a golf tournament held at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club in Paraparaumu, New Zealand from 1955 to 1972. History Bob Charles (golfer), Bob Charles and Peter Thomson (golfer), Peter Thomson each won the event five times, wh ...

at Paraparaumu Links Golf Course in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. He opened at 142, even-par, to put him in a tie for third. However, over the course of the two-round final day Graham shot six-over-par and finished in a tie for fourteenth. Early the following year, Graham won two events in Australia. In February, he played the

Tasmanian Open The Tasmanian Open is an annual golf tournament held in Tasmania, Australia. History The Tasmanian amateur championship was first played in 1902 as a 36 hole stroke-play event. From 1910 the stroke-play acted as qualifying for a match-play stage, ...

at Kingston Beach Golf Club. Right before the tournament began he played the one-round $750 Golden Crumpet Purse, also at Kingston Beach. He shot a 68 (−5) to tie

Terry Kendall Terry Kendall (11 October 1947 – 15 November 2002) was a professional golfer from New Zealand. Professional career Kendall's first major success was at the 1969 New Zealand PGA Championship at the Mount Maunganai Golf Course. He shot a cour ...

for second place, two behind champion Tony Mangan. At the tournament proper Graham was tied for the lead with Alan Murray at the end of the third round, one ahead of

. Kendall, however, played excellently during the front nine of the final round and took a four-stroke lead by the 11th hole. Kendall "crashed over the concluding holes" though and by the 16th hole Graham had regained the lead. With a birdie at the 17th hole he "clinched the title." With a final round 72, Graham defeated Kendall by one. The next week he played the

Victorian Open The Vic Open is an annual golf tournament held in Australia. It was founded in 1957 and is the Victoria state open championship for men. It is run by Golf Victoria and is a Golf Australia national ranking event. The event is held concurrently ...

. He opened at 136 (-10), in a tie for second, two off the lead of

. He played well in the third round to take the lead. During the front nine Graham "shook off the big-name challengers" like

Kel Nagle Kelvin David George Nagle AM (21 December 1920 – 29 January 2015) was an Australian professional golfer best known for winning The Open Championship in 1960. He won at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975. Biography Nagle was bor ...

and

to create a four-shot lead at the turn. Graham birdied the 10th hole to take a five-shot lead over amateur

Kevin Hartley Kevin William Hartley (30 January 1934 – 22 December 2020) was an Australian amateur golfer. He won the Australian Amateur in 1958 and was part of the Australian team that won the 1966 Eisenhower Trophy. Golf career Hartley won the 1958 Aus ...

. However, after bogey-birdie exchanges with Hartley at the 11th and 12th holes Graham's lead was suddenly down to one. At the par-5 13th hole, however, Hartley hit a "poor chip" and had to settle for par while Graham made a "morale-boosting" eight-foot birdie putt to expand the lead. At the par-3 14th hole Hartley's approach was short and he made bogey. Graham now had a three stroke lead. Graham cruised home from there and defeated Hartley, Nagle, and Wolstenholme by four shots. His 273 (-19) total broke Yarra Yarra Golf Club's course record, set by

in 1959, by two shots. According to a journalist for ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'', "The win, Graham's second state open triumph in eight days, sounded an ominous warning to Australia's aging golf greats that he is heir-apparent to their crowns." The following week Graham played the

New South Wales Open The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...

played at Pymble Golf Course in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

. Graham was at 209 (-7) after three rounds but was five behind leader

. Nagle played poorly on the front nine, however, letting Graham and the rest of the field back into contention. However, Graham, with erratic play on the front nine, failed to take advantage. At the par-4 7th Graham hit his drive out of bounds leading to double-bogey. He ultimately shot an even-par 36, with only four pars, and was still behind. Starting at the 13th hole, however, Graham started to play well, making birdie. Graham he birdied three of the next four holes to get closer. At the 477-yard par-5 18th hole Graham hit his second shot into a bunker. He hit his sand shot to 18 feet. His "chances of birdie looked remote" but he holed the putt creating a "tremendous roar" from the gallery. He took a one stroke-lead over Frank Phillips. However, Phillips, playing behind, hit his second shot on the 18th hole to 10-feet giving him a chance for eagle and the outright win. Phillip's eagle putt, however, "hung on the lip" and "he had to be content with a birdie four to tie Graham." He entered an 18-hole playoff with Phillips the following day. The playoff was considered to be "one of the greatest in the history of NSW open." Graham was behind for most of the playoff but "staged a great fightback" and tied by the 15th hole. However, Phillips birdied the final two holes to defeat Graham by two strokes. There were nine birdies between the two players in the round. Shortly thereafter, Graham moved onto the

. In March 1970, he played the Thailand Open. During the final round he "came from three strokes behind" to win the event at 286 (-2). The following month he played the

Yomiuri International The Yomiuri International was a golf tournament held in Japan from 1962 to 1971. It was played at the Yomiuri Country Club in Tokyo. It was an event on the Asia Golf Circuit (formerly the Far East Circuit) every year except for 1964, and served as ...

in Japan, also on the Asian circuit. With consecutive rounds of 71 (-1) Graham took the lead at 142 (-2). Graham fell into the joint lead with New Zealander

after a third round 75 (+3). However, Graham "began the final round in fine style by sinking a 15ft putt." Graham went on to birdie the final two holes to win by three over Godfrey. He defeated third place finisher,

Tommy Aaron Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American former professional golfer who was a member of the PGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament. He is also known for an erro ...

, the "pre-tournament favorite," by four shots. With the victory, Graham won A$10,500 and a Japanese car. Later in the year he played some significant international events. In June he played in the

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

on the

. As of July, he had qualified for the 1970 British Open. In October he played the

Kingston Heath Golf Club Kingston Heath Golf Club is one of the premier golf clubs in Australia, located in Cheltenham, Victoria. The course is situated on the sandbelt region in the southeast suburbs of Melbourne famed for its golf courses, with Kingston Heath consis ...

. However, he "crashed" with an opening round 79 (+7). In early November, Graham attempted to qualify for the

at 1970 PGA Tour Qualifying School in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. He opened with rounds of 72. However, ultimately failed to qualify by one stroke. Later in the month it was announced that Graham would represent Australia at the 1970 World Cup with

. The event would be held at the Jockey Club in

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. It took a 54-hour plane trip for both Graham and Devin to reach Argentina and both were "tired" once they started playing the first round. However, both played excellently in the opening round. Graham fired a bogey-free 65 (−7) and Devlin a bogey-free 66 (−6). At 131 (−13), they held a three-stroke lead over Argentina's team. In the individual competition, Graham was in solo second, one behind leader

Roberto De Vicenzo Roberto De Vicenzo (14 April 1923 – 1 June 2017) was a professional golfer from Argentina. He won a record 229 professional tournaments worldwide during his career, including seven on the PGA Tour and most famously the 1967 Open Championship. ...

of Argentina, while Devlin was tied for third. After the round Graham stated, "I don't regard it as my best performance ever, but it is pretty close." In the second round Graham shot a 67 (−5) while Devlin shot a 69 (−3). In the third round Graham shot a back nine 30 (−7), including birdies on the final four holes, to record at 65 (−7). Devlin recorded a third round 66 (−6). They held a 19-stroke lead over Argentina, the second place team. After the round, according to ''The Canberra Times'', "Graham said the three rounds here were the so far were the best he's ever played." Among individuals, Graham held a two-stroke lead over

. At the beginning of the final round both Graham and his partner Devlin played poorly shooting 35 and 36, respectively, over the course of the par-35 front nine. In addition, Graham lost the solo individual lead to de Vicenzo when Graham bogeyed the par-3 8th hole and the Argentine birdied it. According to the ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier'', however, at the end of the front nine the Australians "were assured of victory over their nearest rivals Argentina." At his point their team still had an 11 stroke lead over Argentina. Among individuals, "The lead see-sawed back and forth until De Vicenzo took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-5 15th." Graham finished second among individuals. The Australian team won by nine shots. At 544, they beat the team record set by

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

and

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

at the

1966 Canada Cup The 1966 Canada Cup took place 11–14 November at the Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club in Inagi, Tokyo, Japan. It was the 14th Canada Cup event, which became the World Cup in 1967. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with 36 teams. The ...

by four shots. According to the ''Associated Press'', Graham "was hailed today as one of golf's potential greats" after the victory. Two weeks later, in December, Graham played the

Argentine Masters The Argentine Masters or Torneo de Maestros was one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in Argentina, despite not having been played continuously since the inaugural event in 1961. It was always held at the Olivos Golf Club near Buenos Aires. ...

. Over the course of the first two rounds, Graham opened with rounds of 69 (−1) to be one behind the lead of

. At this point, he was tied for second with

and Argentine Juan Quinteros. However, de Vicenzo would go on to win the tournament while Graham would finish outside of the top 3.

PGA Tour

In late 1971 Graham attempted to qualify for the

at 1971 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He was successful. In 1976, he won twice on the PGA Tour, and then came from behind to secure a victory over the reigning champion

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

in the

Piccadilly World Match Play Championship The Volvo World Match Play Championship was an annual match play men's professional golf tournament which was staged from 1964 to 2014. The World Match Play Championship was a limited field event, originally contested by just eight players before ...

in England. Graham won two major championships, the 1979 PGA Championship at

Oakland Hills Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

near Detroit, and the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion, just west of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He also finished third at the 1985 Open Championship, after sharing the third-round lead. Both of his major victories came in remarkable fashion. In the 1979 PGA Championship, he stood on the last tee at 7 under par for his final round and leading by two, but double-bogeyed the last hole for a 65 to drop back into a playoff with

Ben Crenshaw Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is a retired American professional golfer who has won 19 events on the PGA Tour, including two major championships: the Masters Tournament in 1984 and 1995. He is nicknamed ''Gentle Ben''. Professiona ...

. At each of the first two sudden-death holes he holed long putts to keep the playoff alive and finally won at the third extra hole. At the 1981 U.S. Open, Graham shot a 67 in the final round to overturn a three-shot deficit to overnight leader

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

to win by 3 strokes. He became the fourth Australian major champion (after

Jim Ferrier James Bennett Elliott Ferrier (24 February 1915 – 13 June 1986) was an Australian professional golfer from Manly, New South Wales. After compiling a fine record as an amateur golfer in Australia during the 1930s, he moved to the United States ...

and

) and the first to win a U.S. Open. Graham participated on the Australian teams that won the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(in 1970) and the

Alfred Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...

(in 1985 and 1986). Ahead of the 1970 World Cup, the organizing International Golf Association, preferred the more well-known

Bruce Crampton Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales ...

to team for Australia with

. The Australian PGA threatened not to send a team if Graham was not included and Devlin and Graham finally represented Australia and won the team competition by a record eight strokes after holding a record advantage of 19 strokes going into the final round. Graham finished second individually. Devlin and Graham again represented Australia in the 1971 World Cup, but when Devlin was not selected for the event the year after, Graham refused to play and never again participated in any World Cup events. Another controversy with Graham involved was reported during the inaugural

1985 Dunhill Cup The 1985 Dunhill Cup was the first Dunhill Cup. It was a team tournament featuring 16 countries, each represented by three players. The Cup was played 17–20 October at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. The sponsor was the Alfred Dunhill ...

at the

Old Course at St Andrews The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links Trust under ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Australia won the team event, with Graham,

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

and

Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE (born 14 January 1944) is a retired professional golfer who was one of the leading Australian players of his generation. During his career he won more than 70 tournaments around the world, including 10 on the European To ...

in the team. Prior to the tournament, Marsh had criticized Graham for accepting appearance money for playing in Australian golf tournaments. At the time, Marsh had recently been made an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for services to golf and was for six years chairman of the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...

. However, Norman took David Graham's side in the debate and Australia went on to win the tournament despite the conflict. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, Australia successfully defended the title with Graham, Norman and

Rodger Davis Rodger Miles Davis (born 18 May 1951) is an Australian professional golfer. Career Davis was born in Sydney. He turned professional in 1974 and spent his regular career playing mainly on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour. He won ...

in their team. At the end of 1981, Graham was ranked 7th on

Mark McCormack's world golf rankings The McCormack rankings were unofficial world golf rankings published in Mark McCormack's ''World of Professional Golf Annual'' from 1968 to 1985, and were a forerunner of the current Official World Golf Ranking. Unlike their replacement they were ...

. On 27 June 2004, during the final round of the Bank of America Championship on the Champions Tour, Graham collapsed over a putt on the eighth green. He was later diagnosed with

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

, ending his competitive golf career at age 58. He is now retired and resides at Iron Horse Golf Club in

Whitefish, Montana Whitefish (Salish: epɫx̣ʷy̓u, "has whitefish") is a town in Flathead County, Montana, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, there were 7,751 people in the town. History Long before the first Europeans came to Whitefish, ...

. Graham was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1988 and inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 1990. It was announced on 16 October 2014 that Graham has been elected into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

. His nomination was supported by

and

. He was inducted with other nominees

Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is an American professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World ...

, course architect A. W. Tillinghast and

Laura Davies Dame Laura Jane Davies, (born 5 October 1963) is an English female professional golfer. She has achieved the status of her nation's most accomplished female golfer of modern times, being the first non-American to finish at the top of the LPGA ...

on 13 July 2015 at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, during the 2015 Open Championship.

Personal life

Graham married in late 1968.

Professional wins (37)

PGA Tour wins (8)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

European Tour wins (3)

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (6)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

Thailand Open,

British PGA wins (1)

* 1970

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

Caribbean Tour wins (1)

* 1971

Caracas Open The Venezuela Open or Abierto de Venezuela is a men's professional golf tournament. It has only been staged intermittently since 1957, 2019 being the 35th edition of the event. Al Geiberger, Art Wall Jr., David Graham, Roberto De Vicenzo and Tony ...

Other Japan wins (2)

*1971 Japan Airlines Open *1980 Rolex Japan

Other Australian wins (4)

*1967 Queensland PGA Championship *1970

*1994 Australian Skins

Other Latin American wins (3)

* 1978 Mexico Cup * 1980 Mexican Open, Heublein Open (Brazil)

Other wins (3)

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Major championships

Wins (2)

¹Defeated Crenshaw with birdie on third extra hole.

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1971, 1977 and 1984 Open Championships)
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 20 (1979 U.S. Open – 1984 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1979 U.S. Open – 1980 Masters)

Team appearances

(representing Australia):

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...

(representing Australia):

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

(winners),

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Nissan Cup Nissan Cup (french: Coupe Nissan) was an ice hockey tournament for men's national teams, which was played in Switzerland between 1988 Nissan Cup, 1988-1994 Nissan Cup (November), 1994. Originally played in November, the tournament was later moved ...

(representing Australasia): 1985, 1986

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, David Australian male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People from Whitefish, Montana 1946 births Living people

Early life

Professional career

Australian and Asian circuits

PGA Tour

Personal life

Professional wins (37)

PGA Tour wins (8)

European Tour wins (3)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (6)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)

British PGA wins (1)

Caribbean Tour wins (1)

Other Japan wins (2)

Other Australian wins (4)

Other Latin American wins (3)

Other wins (3)

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

Summary

Team appearances

See also

References

External links