John Mahaffey

John Mahaffey

Born: May 9, 1948
Age: 76
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Biography

John Drayton Mahaffey, Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events.

Mahaffey was born in Kerrville, Texas. He attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He turned pro in 1971 after graduating in 1970 with a degree in psychology.

Mahaffey came close to winning back to back U.S. Opens. In 1975 he lost in a playoff to Lou Graham at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. The following year Mahaffey had a two-shot lead after 54 holes at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia before shooting a final round 73 and finishing T4th.

In 1978, he won twice on the tour that year including one major, the PGA Championship. He also won the World Cup individual and team event where he was paired with Andy North that year.

The 1978 PGA championship was held at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Mahaffey became the best comeback winner in PGA history after trailing Tom Watson by seven strokes with 14 holes to play. Ultimately, the tournament came down to a three-player playoff - Mahaffey, Watson and Jerry Pate. All three players made par on the first playoff hole. The drama ended on the second playoff hole when Pate missed the green, Watson missed a 30-foot birdie attempt and Mahaffey made his 12-foot birdie putt for the Championship.

Mahaffey played on the 1979 Ryder Cup team.

Mahaffey currently lives near Houston at The Woodlands in his home state of Texas. His family includes wife Elizabeth, son John D. III (born 1988) and daughter Meagan (born 1992). In his spare time, he enjoys fishing. Early in his career, Mahaffey was often sought out by other players to do comedic imitations for which he has a special talent. He last played on the Champions Tour in 2007. He works as a roving announcer on Champions Tour Golf Channel telecasts.

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Amateur wins (1)

  • 1970 NCAA Championship

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (10)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 28, 1973 Sahara Invitational −13 (68-66-69-68=271) 3 strokes Dave Eichelberger
2 Aug 6, 1978 PGA Championship −8 (75-67-68-66=276) Playoff Jerry Pate, Tom Watson
3 Aug 13, 1978 American Optical Classic −14 (71-65-67-67=270) 2 strokes Raymond Floyd, Gil Morgan
4 Jan 14, 1979 Bob Hope Desert Classic −17 (66-66-71-71-69=343) 1 stroke Lee Trevino
5 Jun 1, 1980 Kemper Open −13 (68-72-67-68=275) 3 strokes Craig Stadler
6 July 26, 1981 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic −8 (72-67-70-67=276) 2 strokes Andy North
7 Jan 15, 1984 Bob Hope Classic −20 (66-70-70-68-66=340) Playoff Jim Simons
8 Sep 29, 1985 Texas Open −12 (68-68-65-67=268) Playoff Jodie Mudd
9 Mar 30, 1986 Tournament Players Championship −13 (69-70-65-71=275) 1 stroke Larry Mize
10 Aug 6, 1989 Federal Express St. Jude Classic −12 (70-71-66-65=272) 3 strokes Bob Gilder, Hubert Green,
Bernhard Langer, Bob Tway

PGA Tour playoff record (3-2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1975 U.S. Open Lou Graham Lost 18-hole playoff (Graham:71, Mahaffey:73)
2 1978 PGA Championship Jerry Pate, Tom Watson Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 1984 Bob Hope Desert Classic Jim Simons Won with par on second extra hole
4 1985 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic Mark Wiebe Lost to birdie on first extra hole
5 1985 Texas Open Jodie Mudd Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (4)

  • 1978 World Cup (team with Andy North and individual event)
  • 1979 World Cup (with Hale Irwin)
  • 1981 Spalding Invitational
  • 1982 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with JoAnne Carner)

Champions Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 Jun 20, 1999 Southwestern Bell Dominion −12 (67-67-70=204) Playoff José Maria Cañizares, Bruce Fleisher

Champions Tour playoff record (1-1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1999 Southwestern Bell Dominion José Maria Cañizares, Bruce Fleisher Won with birdie on second extra hole
Fleisher eliminated with birdie on first hole
2 2002 FleetBoston Classic Bob Gilder Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
1978 PGA Championship 7 shot deficit −8 (75-67-68-66=276) Playoff1 Jerry Pate, Tom Watson

1Defeated Pate and Watson with a birdie on the second extra hole.

Results timeline

Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT CUT T39 DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open T36 LA DNP CUT T29 T12 2 T4 DNP DNP T36
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP T44 T10 DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP T30 T9 T28 WD DNP 1 T51
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T44 T8 CUT T40 CUT T14 T42 T35 DNP DNP
U.S. Open T28 CUT T22 T34 T30 T39 CUT T24 DNP T46
The Open Championship T32 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T30 DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T15 CUT T42 CUT T20 T23 CUT T65 T15 CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Masters Tournament T42 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP CUT CUT CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T40 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT DNP WD

LA = Low amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 2 12 8
U.S. Open 0 1 0 2 2 5 20 13
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 4
PGA Championship 1 0 0 1 2 6 23 12
Totals 1 1 0 3 6 14 59 37
  • Most consecutive cuts made - 8 (1978 PGA - 1981 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s - 2 (1975 U.S. Open - 1975 Open Championship)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

  • Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners)
  • World Cup: 1978 (winners, individual winner), 1979 (winners)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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