Clutch Putting Earns Fought First PGA TOUR Victory
A clutch putt at the final hole of regulation propels John Fought to a sudden death playoff where he secures his first PGA TOUR title
This week the PGA TOUR is at the historic Detroit Country Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic. This tournament was first played in 2019, replacing the Quicken Loans National on the PGA TOUR schedule. While the tournament doesn’t have a lot of history, PGA events in the Detroit area have a rich history, most notably the Buick Open. We’re backspinning to 1979 when the tournament was known as the Buick-Goodwrench Open. It was won by a name you’ll recognize, but for something other than tour wins, we’d guess.
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Tears Flow After Putt Drops In Sudden Death
John Fought (photo: Getty Images)
It is Sunday, September 16th, 1979, and the golf world’s attention is on the Ryder Cup matches being played at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. For the first time in a long time, the Sunday matches meant something. The American team held a slim one-point lead after suffering one of the worst days in Ryder Cup history on Saturday when Great Britain and Ireland won five matches to the American team’s two.
Halfway across the country, however, the $150,000 Buick-Goodwrench Open was being played at the Warwick Hills Country Club in Grand Blanc, MI., and while not the center of attention in the golf world, it was still an important tournament with the winner’s check totaling $27,000.
The strength of the field was lacking due to the stars of the tour being Ryder Cup members. The biggest stars in the Buick field included the 1968 champion, Tom Weiskopf, David Graham, the winner of the PGA Championship a month earlier at Oakland Hills, and veteran George Archer, who was on the comeback trail recovering from back surgery.
“I was in the clubhouse talking, having a good time when the officials came and said we were going to finish. I never expected to play any more today after that rain.”
Jim Colbert lit up Warwick Hills in the pro-am with a sizzling 62 and opened the tournament with a first round 69, tied with Tom Weiskopf. But it was Cesar Sanudo and Ed Dougherty who held the lead with five-under 67s. Bunched up in a tie for second place was Lou Graham, George Archer, George Burns, Dave Eichelberger, and Bob Eastwood.
Sanudo’s only PGA TOUR victory had come at the 1970 Azalea Open and Dougherty had never won a PGA title since coming out on tour in 1975. Dougherty played in the afternoon wave, starting on the 10th hole. Skies darkened with thunderstorm clouds as he played the eighth hole and then the storm halted play after he drove off the ninth.
“I was in the clubhouse talking, having a good time when the officials came and said we were going to finish,” he told reporters after his round. “I never expected to play any more today after that rain.” He was able to re-focus and hit his wedge onto the green and then sank the putt for a birdie and a share of the lead.
“I had a terrible day, and I am happy to still be in the lead,”
Despite having a double-bogey mar his card in both the first and second rounds, Eichelberger was able to grab the lead at the halfway point. His two rounds of 68 and 70 gave him a two-stroke lead over Archer, Burns, and Sanudo. The group at 141, three-strokes off the lead, included 1964 PGA Champion, Bobby Nichols. Tour rookie, John Fought, was at 143 after rounds of 71 and 72. Fought was best known for winning the 1977 U.S. Amateur.
In Saturday’s third round, Eichelberger shot a lackluster, even-par 72 but still retained a one-stroke lead.
“I had a terrible day, and I am happy to still be in the lead,” Eichelberger admitted after his round.
In second place, with a total of 211 were Archer, who shot a one-under 71, Mike Hill, a fan favorite being from Michigan, who shot a three-under 69, Jeff Mitchell who shot a 68 and Dana Quigly, who carded a 70. John Fought also shot a 68 and joined the group at 211. There were four players another shot back including Graham.
The weather on Sunday included a threat of precipitation and temperatures in the mid-70s. Eichelberger was unable to keep his hot play going and shot a final round 71. Burns (72), Graham (72) and Archer (74) also shot themselves out of contention.
The hot rounds of the day belonged to the rookie John Fought and Jim Simons, a two-time winner on the tour. Simons shot an outstanding five-under 67 and then waited for the other leaders to finish. It was looking good for Simons as the only player that still had a chance to tie him was Fought.
Tour Backspin caught up with Fought via email for his recollections of playing the 18th with the tournament on the line. Here’s what he had to say:
“The 18th hole was quite a difficult hole. I think it is about 480 yards. It has a narrow tee shot landing zone with bunkers on the right and OB on the left. During the first three rounds I made bogey, bogey and double bogey (third round) so it wasn’t my favorite hole. I came to the 18th in the final round one shot behind. My caddy said I had to make birdie to tie. I smashed a perfect drive in the middle of the fairway and hit an 8-iron about 12 feet from the hole. I’ll never forget that 18th hole. That was one of my most clutch efforts.”
Fought made the putt and it was the first time in Buick Open history that a player had birdied the last hole to get into a playoff.
The players made their way out to the 16th tee to begin their playoff. They halved the first playoff hole, a par-5 and headed to the par-3 17th tee. There, Fought hit his tee shot onto the fringe of the 185-yard hole. Simons hit a poor tee shot left that ended up near a clump of trees. From there, he skulled his second shot over the green and into a bunker. He blasted out of the bunker to within eight feet of the hole.
“It was probably a little more difficult, waiting around. I really tried to get myself psyched up again to go back out and play.”
Fought masterfully chipped his shot to three feet of the hole and stepped back to watch Simons putt for his bogey. Simons missed his putt and then Fought stepped up and stroked his three-footer into the cup for the victory. He threw his hands up over his head and looked towards the heavens with a wide smile on his face. His wife’s reaction was a bit different as she ran onto the green weeping with joy.
“She didn’t know what to do and neither did I,” Fought said after the playoff. “I’m in another world right now.”
A disappointed Simons told reporters after his round, “It was probably a little more difficult, waiting around. I really tried to get myself psyched up again to go back out and play.”
Fought kept his hot hand going the next week at the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic, a tournament with a $300,000 purse played at Siverado Country Club (North course). He sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the final hole to secure his victory. The win got him into the World Series of Golf played at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, OH.
With the golf world’s attention focused on the Ryder Cup matches, which the U.S won in a hard-fought battle, John Fought ignited his rookie season with a sudden death victory at the Buick-Goodwrench Open in 1979. His clutch 12-foot putt at the final hole of regulation was the key to him having the confidence to make the three-foot putt to win in the playoff and, to help him make the 10-foot putt to win the next week.
Matchbook from 1982 Buick Open at Warwick Hills Country Club
John Fought is better known for his career after playing the PGA TOUR. See this week’s Bonus Story for more.
1979 Jams is our playlist this week. Listen HERE.
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Tour Backspin Quiz | 1979 Ryder Cup Trivia
The 1979 Ryder Cup matches were the first that included players from Europe and not just from Great Britain and Ireland. Seve Ballesteros of Spain, and his fellow countryman Antonio Garrido played in their first Ryder Cup matches. What was each of their records in the 1979 matches?
Answer below
Bonus Story
On the strength of his two victories on the PGA TOUR in 1979, John Fought was named the Rookie of the Year. His playing career was cut short by injuries to his neck and back in the mid-1980s. He then turned his attention to a new career path as a golf course architect.
He began in the late 1980s by working with Bob Cupp Design before starting his own firm in the 1990s. Since then, he has built up an impressive portfolio of original designs and redesigns. His original design courses include Pumpkin Ridge (North Plains, OR), Indian Wells Golf Resort, Player’s Course (Indian Wells, CA), Trophy Lake Golf and Casting Club (Port Orchard, WA) and Washington National Golf Club (Auburn, WA).
His renovation projects include Dallas Country Club (Dallas, TX), Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club (Southern Pines, SC), The Farms at Rancho Santa Fe (Santa Fe, CA), and Angel Park Golf Club (Las Vegas, NV).
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Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Seve Ballesteros went 1-4-0 winning only the first day’s afternoon foursome match with Garrido, who also went 1-4-0 for the matches.
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