Dave Marr Wins Masters Warm-Up
Outlasts Jerry Steelsmith in a playoff
Even though it was a non-designated event, the Mexico Open provided a Sunday duel between two top names on the PGA TOUR. Congratulations to Tony Finau for shooting a Sunday 66 to hold off Jon Rahm and winning by three shots. This is Finau’s sixth PGA TOUR title. Finau finished runner-up to Rahm in last year’s Mexico Open as did Brandon Wu, who finished third this year, five shots off of Finau’s winning total of 24 under par.
In our poll last week, 79% of you tuned into the PGA TOUR golf broadcast on a busy sports weekend, while 14% watched baseball and hockey, and only 7% of you were able to find the LIV Golf broadcast.
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This week, the PGA TOUR is back with a designated event with the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC. This tournament dates back to 2003, but we’re going back to another tournament played in North Carolina in the 1940s to 1971—the Azalea Open, traditionally a warm-up to the Masters. We’re going back to 1962 when Dave Marr won his second PGA TOUR title.
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Larry Baush
Dave Marr’s Sweet Smelling Azalea Open Victory
It’s one week from the Masters, Thursday, March 29th, 1962, and the first round of the Azalea Open has just been completed under near perfect weather conditions—warm and sunny with just a slight breeze. The Azalea Open served as the last warm-up for the Masters.
Veteran Jim Ferrier showed off the putting stroke from his younger days to shoot a 67, five under par, on the 6,700-yard Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, NC. He held a one-stroke lead over the defending Masters champion, Gary Player, Tom Nieporte, a winner of the Azalea in 1960, Dave Hill, and Jay Hebert.
“Sunday pin positions”
Ferrier canned three putts that measured 18 to 20 feet and another three from eight feet to card his 67. All told, 25 players broke par while another 10 players equaled the par of 72. One player who failed to match par was the young pro playing out of Sun City, AZ, Dave Marr, who shot a one over par 73.
Cape Fear played tougher in the second round as players had to not only navigate gusty winds, but also what Ferrier jokingly called “Sunday pin positions.” Jay Hebert, a former Marine lieutenant, credited his low ball flight as an advantage in the wind that helped him capture the lead with a three under 69. He held a one-shot advantage over reigning U.S. Open champion, Gene Littler. Another stroke back was Ferrier and Dave Marr who shot a 66, the best round of the tournament.
“While I don’t especially like to play in the wind, I can keep the ball low and I feel this gives me an edge.”
Hebert was playing in his second tournament after a five-week layoff to attend to his duties as the head pro at a swanky club in Miami. Along with his ability to hit the ball low, he was able to scramble the four times that he missed the green.
“While I don’t especially like to play in the wind, I can keep the ball low and I feel this gives me an edge,” Hebert explained after his round.
Even though the course played harder due to the wind, 27 players broke par while another 16 equaled par.
In the third round on Saturday, Ferrier retook a share of the lead after shooting a 70, again in gusty winds. He shared the lead with Billy Maxwell and Mason Rudolph who both shot 69 to come out of the pack to tie Ferrier. Dave Marr, with a round of 71 sat one stroke back of the leaders. Second round leader Hebert slipped to a 75 leaving him three strokes off the pace.
Jerry Steelsmith, a 26-year-old from Glendale, CA, shot a steady 70 in the third round to post a three round total of 213, four strokes off of the lead. Steelsmith was looking for his first win on the PGA TOUR.
In Sunday’s fourth round, Mason Rudolph looked like he was going to run away with the championship before he stumbled with bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes. Rudolph was not the only player among the leaders to falter in the final round. Billy Maxwell shot a 76 while Ferrier shot a 77.
Jerry Steelsmith rode a hot putter to score a 32 on the back nine making putts for birdies on the 10th hole, the 11th hole with a 50-footer from just off the green and he added birdies at the 12th, 14th and 15th holes to finish with a 68 for a four-round total of 281. He finished knowing that both Rudolph and Marr had chances to tie or beat him. Rudolph arrived at the 18th hole needing a birdie to tie but could do no better than par. He shot a 73 for a total of 282.
Marr started his final round with a birdie at the second hole, bogeyed the fourth hole, and then birdied the ninth hole to turn the frontside in 35. He then played the back nine in even par to finish with a 71 tied with Steelsmith at 281.
After a lengthy consultation between PGA officials, Steelsmith and Marr, the decision was made to determine the winner through a sudden death playoff instead of an 18-hole playoff as announced earlier in the day. Marr qualified for the Masters being played the next week and was anxious to get to Augusta.
On the first playoff hole, Steelsmith hit his drive off-line into the sandy rough. Marr hit his drive straight down the middle, 40-yards ahead of Steelsmith. Steelsmith muscled out an iron shot from the rough to 30-feet from the pin. Marr then hit “a three-quarter 8-iron” that hit the pin and came to rest about three feet from the cup.
Steelsmith putted first and left his long putt about a foot from the hole. Marr then stroked his short birdie putt into the hole for the victory. This was Marr’s second PGA title having won the Seattle Open in 1961. Marr won $2,800, more money than he had won in the first ten tournaments of the year, while Steelsmith won $1,900.
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Bonus Story
Jay Hebert’s education at Southwestern Louisiana Institute was interrupted by World War II. He served in the Marine Corps, where he eventually served as a lieutenant platoon leader with the Fifth Marine Division at Iwo Jima.
He was wounded, by a sniper’s bullet that went through his left thigh, not far from the summit of Mount Suribachi, where fellow Marines famously raised the American flag as captured by photographer Joe Rosenthal which made the front pages of most Sunday papers back in the United States.
Hebert spent a year in the hospital to recover from his wounds and was awarded the Purple Heart.
At the 1960 PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron, OH, which Hebert won, a young reporter asked him if the 16th hole was “tougher than Iwo.”
Herbert gave the reporter a serious stare before saying simply, “Nothing is.”
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Tour Backspin Quiz | Dave Marr Trivia
What year did Dave Marr start working as an analyst for ABC Sports golf telecasts?
Answer below
Swing Like a Pro
Great “squat” move coming down into impact (photo: Leonard Kamsler, Popperfoto via Getty Images)
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Tall Tales From the Tour
Butch Baird, Al Geiberger, and Bob McCallister traveled together and were spending an evening in a motel together while in town to play a tournament. Over drinks, Baird began extolling the virtues of his car and how reliable it was.
“It starts up on the first turn of the key, every time,” Baird said proudly.
The next day, all three piled into his car for the trip to the golf course. Baird turned the key and . . . nothing. He tried the key a few more times as he couldn’t believe the car wouldn’t start.
Geiberger and McCallister bit their lips as they tried in vain to hold back their laughter. Eventually, McCallister admitted that they had disconnected the distributer cap. Once reconnected, the trio set off for the course amongst great laughter.
What is Hip
Red is the color in the fall of 1963
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Dave Marr started working for ABC Sports as a golf analyst in 1972
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Final Thoughts
Dave Marr feels almost like family with how much time he spent in our living room through the television during golf broadcasts.
Did you see Tony Finau doing caddie duties for his kids on a par-3 course after winning the Mexico Open? How cool was that?
Larry,Are you sure that pic is of Jay Hebert? Looks more like Lionel but tough to tell with the hat.