Thou Shall Not Sandbag⛳
Thou Shall Not Sandbag
Father John Durkin, a chaplain in the Air Force received his first invitation from Bing Crosby to play in "the clambake" in 1963. The weather that year was impeccable and Bing credited the priest for the good luck ensuring Durkin an invite for many years to come. He teamed up in 1964 with Tony Lema in the pro am event. The two men knew each other from the service where they both ended up being stationed in Tokyo. Since losing his own father at a very young age, Lema sought out father figures and Durkin became one. They kept up a correspondence throughout the rest of Lema's life.
That Sunday of the 1964 Bing Crosby National Pro Am Lema sat tied atop the leader board with Al Balding. The Lema/Durkin pro am team sat one-stroke back of the leaders; Rex Baxter and his amateur partner, Dr. Bud Taylor. Father Durkin played to a 13 handicap. Before teeing off, Lema attended Sunday mass as he always did as he traveled the tour. But this mass was special because it was conducted by Father Durkin and Lema served as an alter boy.
The weather was atrocious as rain and wind whipped Pebble Beach. One wonders if Bing was re-thinking the weather good-luck charm he had in the priest.The winds gusted up to 30 m.p.h. sending scores sky high. Al Balding soared to an 88. Lema managed the weather and came home with the victory while the Lema/Durkin team finished in second-place in the pro am, one stroke back of the winners.
Father John Durkin (left), Bing Crosby (center) and Tony Lema (right) in 1964 after Lema won the Crosby National Pro Am and he and Father Durkin finished second in the pro am.
Father Durkin continued to play the Crosby after Lema's death and in 1971 he was teamed up with Lou Graham. The 53 year old priest now carried a 17 handicap and was able to help the best-ball team by 33 strokes over the four rounds. Graham had a 287 total while the team had a 254 total. That was good enough for a one-stroke victory over Jack Burke, Jr. and George Coleman, Jr., chairman of the board and president of the First National Bank in Miami, Florida. That 17 handicap came in pretty handy for Father Durkin who finally got his first pro am win at the Crosby in his eighth year of trying.
Check out the "Bonus Story" about Tony Lema and the Crosby Clambake below.
This week's playlist covers 1964 and 1971 Listen on Spotify.
This week's vintage ad is what was usually awaiting me when I scored a double bag loop as a caddie when I was a scrawny little kid.
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Larry Baush
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Bonus Story
When Tony Lema was 16 years old he and a buddy sneaked onto the grounds at Pebble Beach during the Crosby National Pro Am. When a marshal noticed the two boys without tickets displayed, and finding out that they had none, he escorted them off the premises.
Lema turned to his friend and said, "That's okay. One day I'll return and win this tournament." He did exactly that in 1964.
