Colonial Country Club Gets Scorched in Memphis Open

Dave Hill is the last man standing as players go low in Memphis while Lee Elder experiences on-course racial incident

Aug 11, 2022

The playoffs start on the PGA TOUR in Memphis, TN at TPC Southwind. This tournament’s DNA goes back to 1958 when Billy Maxwell won the inaugural Memphis Open. Since then it has been known as the Danny Thomas Memphis Open, the St. Jude Memphis Open, the Federal Express St. Jude Classic, the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the Stanford St. Jude Championship, the St. Jude Classic, and finally, back to the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

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“Bad Boy” Dave Hill Finishes Fast To Capture Memphis Open Title

Dave Hill

It’s a warm Thursday morning, two weeks before the U.S. Open, May 29th, 1969. The PGA TOUR is in Memphis, TN for the Memphis Open on the short, 6,485-yard, par 70, Colonial Country Club. The only thing hotter than the weather would be the scores this week.

A 35-year-old Californian, Bob McCallister, a tour regular who had one official tour title, the 1964 Sunset-Camellia Open, got the proceedings started with a 63 in the first round. It was the best round of his career, but it only resulted in a one-shot lead over a group of players including Lee Elder, Bert Yancy, Ronnie Reif, and fellow Californian, John Lotz. Yancy won the week before at the Atlanta Classic and was continuing to play the hot hand. McCallister’s round included eight birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.

Lee Trevino, the defending U.S. Open champion, was rounding into Open form with a first round 65 that put him in a tie with the 1969 leading money winner, Gene Littler. Also at 65 was Lou Graham and Mac McLendon.

“Oh, you don’t want to do that,”

Dave Hill, the “bad boy” on the TOUR shot a 67. Hill was suspended for two months during the 1963 season. A PGA spokesman said that Hill’s suspensions grew out of arguments that he’d had with tour officials and “conduct unbecoming a professional.” But the final straw was breaking his putter on national television. On the 18th hole of the Frank Sinatra Open, Hill told the TOUR official Joe Black that if he missed his short birdie putt that he was going to break his putter.

“Oh, you don’t want to do that,” Black told him. Hill missed the putt and promptly snapped the putter over his knee. He tapped in his par putt with the bottom half of his putter. Hill also had many run-ins with his fellow players over the course of his career including coming to blows in the locker room with Chi-Chi Rodriguez at the 1970 Kemper Open.

Dang. That “bad boy” label was well earned.

“It was the first incident I’ve had on the tour.”

Bob McCallister could not back up his great first round and shot a 75 that plummeted him down the leader board in the second round. Bert Yancy added a three-under 67 to his first round 64 and took the lead early in the day. He was caught later in the day by Lee Elder who had to deal with ugly racial issues from the spectators.

Elder’s drive hit a tree on the 13th hole and two kids picked up his ball and threw it 10-feet into a hedge. Both Elder and his playing partner, Terry Dill saw the kids throw the ball and the PGA officials ruled that Elder receive a free drop and this sparked an argument with the crowd.

“The people hollering at me figured I didn’t deserve a drop,” Elder said after his round. “Some fellows in the gallery were pretty nasty about it. The whole thing took about 20 minutes. It was pretty hot for a while, but then things cooled down. I was a little erratic for a while. It was the first incident I’ve had on the tour.”

The drop may have been free, but it came with a price.

Yancy and Elder were tied for the lead at 131 and had a group of four players, Dale Douglass, John Lotz, Hale Irwin and Dan Sikes, one stroke back at 132. Miller Barber and Gary Player were at 133 while Lee Trevino, Dave Hill, Charles Coody, Lou Graham and Gene Littler were at 133.

“I just felt there was no stopping me.”

The weather continued to be steamy in Saturday’s third round. Steve Reid, a soft-spoken, 32-year-old Californian, bolted from out of the pack to get into contention. His nine-under-par 61 moved him from 38th place to third place trailing the leaders Elder and Yancy by three strokes. Tied with Reid at 200 was Dave Hill, Lou Graham, Gary Player, Dan Sikes and John Lotz.

Reid, the winner of the 1968 Azalea Open, had a string of seven consecutive birdies in the third round.

“It’s one of the most incredible rounds I’ve ever heard of,” said Gary Player.

“I just felt there was no stopping me,” Reid said after his round.

Reid started his round by saving par from a bunker and then his seven birdies from the second hole to eighth holes was one off the TOUR record for consecutive birdies held by Bob Goalby. Reid experienced a few anxious moments after his round when a sudden thunderstorm drenched the course and had lightning dancing over the layout. Fortunately, the weather delay was just 13 minutes long as opposed to a rainout that would have wiped out all the rounds played that day.

“I was thinking about shooting a 59 after that string of birds,” Reid admitted after his round. “No one has ever done it, and I had two birdie holes to go.”

Elder had one bogey and five birds, including one where he made a 55-foot putt. Yancy had two bogeys, three birds and an eagle that came on the 298-yard, par-4 10th hole where he holed out from a bunker.

Bob McCallister, the first-round leader, withdrew due to illness.

Dave Hill came out charging in Sunday’s fourth round. He birdied the second hole from 10-feet and secured another birdie at the fourth hole after he hit his wedge approach to just inside four-feet. Lee Elder bogeyed the same hole dropping him into a tie for the lead with Hill.

“I never worry about anything—except maybe getting suspended by the PGA.”

Hill socked away the tournament with a birdie at the 12th hole sinking a 25-foot putt and then chipped to within 18-inches at the next hole and tapped in his birdie putt. He held on for a two-stroke victory over Elder who had a total of 267. Charles Coody and Tommy Aaron finished at 268 with Steve Reid another stroke back. Bert Yancy blew to a 76 and finished well down the leader board at 273.

Hill won a check for $30,000 and some of that would be going to pay for a doctor’s bill. “I started the year at 165 pounds,” Hill told reporters. “Now I weigh 140. I’m going to see a doctor to find out why. I don’t have any idea what’s causing it, but I almost have to pin my pants to my shorts to keep them from falling down when I swing. I’m not worried about it. I never worry about anything—except maybe getting suspended by the PGA.”

As expected, the tour players ate the short Colonial course for lunch posting low scores in each round. It was the scrappy, scrawny, pugnacious Dave Hill who went the lowest to take home the first-place check in one of the more lucrative stops on tour. Hill went on to win the Vardon Trophy for being the scoring leader and finished second on the money list with $156,432 in 1969.

Steve Reid at the 1969 Memphis Open during a third round 61 (photo: AP Wirephoto)

The PGA pros always went low in the Memphis Open. See this week’s Bonus Story for more.

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Bonus Story

The Memphis Open at Colonial Country Club always provided the opportunity to post low scores. It was a short course at 6,485 yards and played to a par of 70. As depicted in this week’s story, Steve Reid shot a 61 in 1969 and admitted after his round that he was thinking about shooting a 59. Nobody had ever broken 60 on the PGA TOUR. That was going to change and it would change at Colonial just eight years later.

In broiling heat in the second round of the 1977 Memphis Classic, Al Geiberger became “Mr. 59” and the first player to shoot a sub-60 round on TOUR. He started his round on the back nine at 12:32 p.m. and played with his good friend Dave Stockton.

He made everything on the tough Bermuda greens and mastered the Colonial course that had been stretched out to 7,249 yards since the 1969 tournament. Due to a rough winter and then a drought, preferred lies were in effect, but Geiberger doesn’t even remember that aspect and has always maintained that lift, clean and place had little to do with his record score.

We’ve written about Geiberger’s 59 in a previous Tour Backspin newsletter and you can read that HERE. We also spoke to both Geiberger and Stockton about that day on the Tour Backspin Show and it is hilarious. You can listen to the interview HERE.