Part II: Graham Says Goodbye To USGA


Kendra Graham officiates at the 1993 U.S. Amateur, which was held at Champions Golf Club (Cyprus Creek Course) in Houston. (USGA Photo Archives)

October 14, 2003
Far Hills, N.J. -- In the second of a two-part interview with Kendra Graham, who departed Oct. 3 after being with the USGA since 1986, the 40-year-old championship administrator talked openly about her beginnings, sense of pride and most memorable ruling, among other things.

At times she wept openly, taking a few moments to collect herself. Conversely, there were points where her laughter reached a crescendo during anecdotal stories and warm memories.

Part One Of Interview

When you started your career at the USGA, you were a development officer. Can you explain this position?
Kendra Graham: The USGA was in the midst of a $10 million capital campaign. The money was being raised to renovate the Museum and Library, to build the administration building and to fund research for turf grass. And I worked here in what they called a temporary full-time position from January to June of 1986. That was the first time the U.S. Open was at Shinnecock Hills [since 1896]. Actually the staff was taking on a lot of extra responsibilities. . My mom was a volunteer with the USGA. I finished my last semester of school in London and came home in December and I needed to start working. She said she had heard the USGA might be hiring. I called and sure enough they were. I worked with Betse Hamilton on housing. . I also helped with corporate hospitality. We had nine or 10 hospitality tents, so we were helping clients.

I worked player registration [at championships], helping players who had qualified and didn't have a room, or needed an extra room for family. I was just an extra hand in the USGA office. . It was exposure to championship administration. At that point, I knew that's what I wanted to do. Prior to graduating from [Wake Forest] I had hoped to play [golf] professionally, and I realized during school that I wasn't cut out for that lifestyle. But I still wanted to be involved in golf.

How did you transition into the Rules department?
KG: In December of 1987, David [Fay] was promoted to assistant executive director to Frank Hannigan. He was obviously going to have a lot more responsibilities in the running of the organization, and at that time he did the Girls' Junior Championship, answered Rules questions and had letters and phone calls and things like that. So they needed another person. Tom Meeks called and asked me to interview. This was my dream job, this is what I wanted to do. I had gone to a Rules of Golf workshop and I wanted to get into championship administration. I had learned at Shinnecock that this is what I wanted to do.

I remember I interviewed with Tom [Meeks] and he told me that . they'd get back to me. I walked back downstairs, got into my office and the phone rang. And it was Frank Hannigan. He said, "I hear you're going to join us in toys and games." That's what he called Rules and Competitions. I said, "I just talked to Mr. Meeks. I would love to do it, he said he'd let me know."

Frank said, "What do you mean he'd let you know? You got the job."

Two days later I went on my first course setup visit, for the Senior Women's [Amateur] and the Women's Mid-Amateur, and that's when my education process started in learning how to set up golf courses. In 1988 I worked about six championships, learning everything that went into conducting championships. In 1989, I took over the Women's Amateur Public Links, the Girls' Junior and the Senior Women's Amateur. Then I worked other championships. I've always worked Women's Opens since 1988 in one aspect or another.

Looking back from where you began, there has to be a sense of accomplishment. Would you agree?
KG: When I got exposed to it in '86 I realized this is what I wanted to do. I can remember wishing for a playoff [at Shinnecock in '86] because I didn't want it to end. I knew my job was going to end when the championship ended. [Laughing] I didn't realize the ramifications of a playoff. Nobody else wanted one, but I did. We didn't have one.

I remember my mom telling me, "If this is what you want to do, you have to go to a Rules of Golf workshop." She had been a really good Rules official; she had been going to Rules of Golf workshops. When we were in high school and college, she was doing this out of choice -- going to workshops and taking exams. My brother and I thought she was crazy.

My first instructors were Ben Nelson, who had been with the PGA Tour for years, and David Fay. I went to my first workshop and you had to put your Decisions book together. You didn't get a book like you do now. You had to put new Decisions in, take old ones out. The first time they sent you all these pages and you had to figure out what to put where, what belonged and what didn't. And I thought it was an accomplishment to put the thing together. I just got hooked. Since then . I've never ever wanted to work any place else. That's unusual.

Is there an on-course incident on your watch that stands out most over your career?
KG: I would have to say this year with Annika [Sorenstam at the Women's Open] first and foremost. We're on the 72nd hole of the championship with a co-leader and she sends her shot into the gallery, against the fence, under the scoreboard, by the port-a-johns. What made it more complicated was that we had to move people out onto the fairway so she could have a clear path/vision to the hole. There was a long delay. But Annika was great throughout.

Here we have the best women's player in the world, in a crucial moment of the championship, and she was great. She appreciated how we reached our conclusion. But it was a long, difficult decision to make compared to other rulings, because there were more factors involved.

You can ask any Rules official and they will at least tell you one of two things, but more likely both: where they were hole-wise and what it was about. It took a little while, but we got it right. Annika appreciated it.

At what point did you realize you were doing your final Women's Open? Was it during the ruling?
KG: No, not really. As you're aware, championships start moving along, you get caught up in the many different things that need to get done, and suddenly you're at the end.

There was a point where I stopped for a second and it hit me. It was that Saturday night -- not knowing we'd have a Monday playoff -- and my husband [Jack] left me a message. He said, "Enjoy tomorrow. Take it all in and enjoy it." It was when I got that, it hit me, because I had been so focused on the championship. I was emotional before getting to the golf course that [Sunday] morning. But once I got to the golf course, it was like, "OK, let's get down to business."

I never had time that day to think, "Oh, this is the last time I'll set hole locations. Or this is the last time that I'm going to set tee markers. Or this is the last time I'm going to do X, Y, Z." I didn't have time. You do your job.

In hindsight I thought, "Oh my gosh, what a way to end." Then the [Annika Sorenstam] ruling took place, the last group played and all of a sudden it was, "OK, we've got to do a course setup for a Monday playoff." I've got staff asking me if they wanted me to have them to stay or go. I had the golf course superintendent saying, "What's our drill for the morning?" I had the host club saying, "We're having a pro-am here tomorrow. Can we play behind the playoff?"

We had so much going on that it wasn't until later that it [sunk in]. But I still had one more day. I still had Monday. I told people about the old saying that 'Anything and everything happened' that week. Both good and bad. And not necessarily bad bad. I shouldn't say bad. But everything happened that week.

I had all these things happen during that last championship. Like questions that had never come up before. There were probably more rulings I was involved in; not cumulatively, but for one particular week.

But after Hilary Lunke sank the winning putt, you had to have some emotion.
KG: I had a real great sense of satisfaction because I thought Witch Hollow played how we wanted it to. I think because I've had such a long relationship with the people at Pumpkin Ridge, I just thought, "Wow, what a great way to end."

It's one site I've continually gone to for a number of years, so it was very fitting that Pumpkin Ridge would be the last one.