Lou Graham, who produced the greatest 36-hole comeback in U.S. Open history when he won the 1975 championship in a playoff, died on May 11 at the age of 88. Graham rallied from 11 strokes back at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club to register the third of his six wins on the PGA Tour during a 23-year career.
The Nashville, Tenn., native had opened the championship with a 2-over-par 74, seven behind 18-hole leaders Pat Fitzsimons and Tom Watson. A second-round 72 left him 11 back of Watson midway through the competition. A third-round 68 propelled Graham to within four strokes of Frank Beard entering Sunday’s final round. In that final round, Beard failed to make a birdie, Watson faded – shooting 20 strokes higher the last 36 holes than the first 36 – and Jack Nicklaus, seeking a fourth title, bogeyed his last three holes after being one stroke off the lead.
Meanwhile, a 1-over 73 by Graham while paired with Watson was good enough to forge a tie with John Mahaffey after 72 holes at 3-over 291.
“I was tickled pink,” Graham said. “I came from no place to get into the playoff. And it all of a sudden happened in the last three or four holes [of regulation]. When I went out the next day [for the playoff], I felt very good about my game.”
In the Monday 18-hole playoff, Graham shot a 71 to edge his counterpart by two strokes and take the championship.
“It was a combination of a lot of different things that I did start to do better,” Graham told The Tennessean during an interview commemorating the 40th anniversary of his victory. “To be honest, I can’t remember one thing in particular that really helped.”
This was Graham’s 11th start in the U.S. Open and came off a tiefor third in 1974 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. After his win in 1975, Graham finished as the runner-up to Hubert Green in 1977 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
His best year on the PGA Tour would come in 1979 when he produced three victories, the last in September at the San Antonio Texas Open by one stroke over Eddie Pearce, Bill Rogers and Doug Tewell. The win earned Graham Golf Digest’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
Graham was born on Jan. 7, 1938, in Nashville, where he began playing golf at the age of 7. After graduating from Father Ryan High School, he attended Memphis State (now the University of Memphis) for three years. He was later drafted into the U.S. Army, serving as a member of “The Old Guard, "Company E of the Third U.S. Infantry Regiment, the ceremonial Honor Guard that stands watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery. During that time, he won the Inter-Service championship in 1961.
Three years later, Graham joined the PGA Tour. His first victory came in the 1967 Minnesota Golf Classic at Hazeltine National Golf Club, which would host its first U.S. Open three years later.
Graham represented the United States on three Ryder Cup Teams (1973, 1975 and 1977) and amassed more than $1.4 million in earnings on the PGA Tour. When he transitioned to the Senior Tour, he won more than $600,000. Even after retiring from competitive golf, Graham continued to play twice a week at either Richland Country Club, The Golf Club of Tennessee or Vanderbilt Legends Club, all of which have hosted a USGA championship.
In 2015, he told The Tennessean, “I can still shoot my age (77) – sometimes.”
Graham was also inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.