Under the Radar Winner at the Kemper
Dick Lotz flew under the radar when he captured the 1970 Kemper Open
Our jouney through the past takes us back to 1970 and the Kemper Open at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC, in this week’s feature story. Learn how one of the great gentlemen in the game, Dick Lotz, had a steady week and beat a very tough field. I met Dick last year when I interviewed him for a movie project I’m working on, and he was kind enough to talk with us last week about his memories for that week back in 1970. Be sure to check out The Tour Backspin Show for his thoughts. We experimenting with a short episode, sort of like a “wee nine.” Let us know how you like it.
We lost a great one from the golf world last week with the passing of Peter Oosterhuis after a battle with dementia. In addition to being a good international player, Oosterhuis was also the head pro at Riviera, and then was one of the best analysts to ever inhabit a broadcast tower. You can read the obituary from the BBC HERE.
How can the Byron Nelson not be a signature event? And how can it be called the CJ Cup Byron Nelson when they award a plaque? The week did not generate much excitement at TPC Craig Ranch, but the final hole did serve up some drama. Scroll down for the Clips You Might Have Missed, a few thoughts on the week from me, a recap of the tournament and highlights.
The Wells Fargo Championship is up next on the tour schedule. This tournament dates back to 2003 when it was known as the Wachovia Championship. It is played at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC, and that’s the DNA we’re going with this week as Quail Hollow also hosted the Kemper Open. We’re going back to 1970 when a very close friend of Tour Backspin, Dick Lotz, put together a week of very steady golf to capture the title. We wrote about the 1974 Kemper Open, and the 1962 Azalea Open, also played in North Carolina and won by Dave Marr.
We want to hear from you in the Tour Backspin Poll, and this week’s Music Clip features is a tribute to Dickey Betts and the Allman Brothers live at Fillmore East in 1970. We look at the precise swing of Lou Graham in this week’s Swing Like a Pro and bring you another tip from Tony Lema. You should be able to get this week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? so let us know your answer and you may just win a golf swag prize pack. We’ve got some links for you in the Check it Out section and a Vintage Ad from 1970. Scroll down to view.
We’ve also got a little treat for you this week that will make you hungry. Check out Eat Like a Pro.
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In last week’s Tour Backspin Poll we asked how you feel about team events on the PGA TOUR. There were 50% of respondents who like it, but only for one week in the schedule while 44% want to see more team events. There were 6% of respondents who want the tour to remain an individual sport.
The next major is just a week away so it’s time to play Who ya got? Let us know in this week’s Tour Backspin Poll.
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Do you know what happened today in golf history? Or which famous golfer has a birthday today? Me, neither. But I do know where to go to find out. Check out the Your Golfer’s Almanac podcast. Host Michael Duranko celebrates birthdays, milestones, and other accomplishments that occurred on this day in golf history. Listen HERE.
We’re playing Kemper Open Trivia in this week’s Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
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Larry Baush
Steady Golf From Lotz Key To Victory in the Kemper
It is the first week of June 1970, and the top players on the PGA TOUR, those who were fully exempt, made their way from Memphis, TN, site of the previous week’s tournament on the schedule, to Charlotte, NC, the next stop on the tour. Some of these top players got an early look at Quail Hollow Club during practice rounds on Monday.
The same day, players known as “rabbits,” who were not exempt, assembled at Myers Park Country Club to attempt to play their way into the Kemper Open through a qualifier. They would compete for 29 available spots.
Hugh Royer led the qualifiers with a score of 66 and it took a score of 70 to avoid a playoff for the final three spots, as well as the ten alternate positions. Larry Mowry, Paul Moran, and George Johnson secured the final three spots in the playoff and John Kennedy earned the first alternate spot. Before leaving the course, Kennedy was informed that he had earned a spot that just became available as Mason Rudolph had cancelled at the last minute.
One player who was not highlighted occupied the third spot on the money list with earnings of $74,302 and one tournament victory for the year at the Monsanto Open back in March.
Billy Casper, the reigning Masters champion, also cancelled due to a hand injury he incurred while playing golf in Japan. Other than Casper, the only other top golfer not in the field was Gary Player. The field was full of the stars of the PGA TOUR including Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, the current money leader with earnings of $108,119 for the year, and Arnold Palmer.
The preview of the tournament in the Charlotte Observer highlighted these top players opining they all had a chance to win the tournament. One player who was not highlighted occupied the third spot on the money list with earnings of $74,302 and one tournament victory for the year at the Monsanto Open back in March. His name is Dick Lotz, and he was playing the best golf of his career.
Lotz was from Hayword, a suburb of Oakland and learned the golf swing from the legendary Lucious Bateman, a Black instructor who had a gift of teaching young students. One of the basics of a “Bateman Boys” swing was a short backswing. You can read more about Lucious Bateman HERE.
Arnold Palmer, flying his own private jet, buzzed Quail Hollow, the golf course that he designed, upon his arrival on Wednesday morning, and then teed it up, at 12:30 in the pro-am. George Archer won the pro-am by equaling the Quail Hollow course record of 65, set by Charles Coody the year prior. Trevino came in with a 68 while Palmer and Nicklaus both had 70s.
The tournament lost two more players from the field when Dave Hill, winner of the Memphis Open the week prior, and Bobby Nichols both withdrew. Hill got permission to withdraw from the PGA while Nichols withdrew due to illness. Two more alternates from the Monday qualifier would be teeing it up in Thursday’s first round.
The weather forecast for Thursday was cooler, with temperatures in the high 70s, than the hot temperatures experienced during Wednesday’s pro-am. There was also a chance of showers.
In Thursday’s first round, there were occasional showers as well as gusty winds that made the 7,266-yard, par 72 course play long. Veteran Lionel Hebert, and the 29-year-old Gibby Gilbert both came in with a 66 to tie for the lead. Hebert matched the 66 he shot in the pro-am and his first round included eight birdies and two bogeys. Gilbert made seven birdies in his round.
Lou Graham got hot on his back nine shooting a 31 that gave him a round of 67, good for third place. Tom Weiskopf, Art Wall, and Mike Hill were at 68. Arnold Palmer, thanks to an eagle at his last hole, the 9th, posted a 69, and was tied with eight other players including Sam Snead and John Schroeder. Dick Lotz was far down the leader board with a 72.
Graham added a 68 in the second round and took over the lead at 135. His round was bogey-free as the course continued to play longer due to rain, even though the rain on Friday only lasted about 5 minutes.
Art Wall added a second straight 68 and was one shot off the lead while first round co-leader Hebert carded a 71 for a total of 137, that was good for the third spot on the leader board. Greer Jones, with a second consecutive round of 69, Larry Hinson, with the best round of the day, a 65, Arnold Palmer with his second round of 69, and Dick Lotz, who recorded a stellar 66, were all tied at 138.
“I guess I’m out.”
Casualties of the cutline that came at 146, were Jack Nicklaus at 147, Frank Beard at 146, and Julius Boros at 147. John Schroeder was disqualified after shooting a second consecutive 69 because he neglected to sign his scorecard. Trevino needed two birdies on his final nine holes to squeak inside the cutline with a 144.
“I checked it over for 10 minutes,” Schroeder said when he learned he was disqualified. “I looked it over five times. I checked it and checked it. I did everything but sign it.”
Schroeder got the news of the disqualification as he exited the press tent following post-round interviews.
“I guess I’m out,” he said as he hurried to the PGA field office.
Graham, a non-winner since 1968, refused to succumb to the pressure of leading during Saturday’s round. On a day where scores ran higher than they did in the first two rounds, Graham carded a 71 for a total of 206 and a one-stroke lead. His playing partner, Hebert, added a 70 in the third round and was tied with Dick Lotz, who shot a 69, for second place.
“I could see a great big eight coming.”
Grier Jones had a hot round going as he was 10-under at the 15th hole but a double bogey at the 18th left him with a 70 and a total of 208. Also at 208 were Hinson and Steve Reid who had a 68 in the third round. Palmer’s third round 74 dropped him down the leader board at 222.
Graham credited playing with his good friend Hebert in the final group for a relaxing round.
“Playing with Lionel, my good friend, helped me,” Graham said after his round. “I stayed calm. There wasn’t much pressure out there. Sure, I enjoyed playing with him.”
Graham’s round was almost derailed at the 15th hole, a long par-5 dogleg left guarded by a lake and trees on the left. Graham drove into the woods on the left and he looked dead on the hole.
“I could see a great big eight coming,” Graham, who was 10-under at this point, said after the round. “I was pretty well dead, but I did have a small opening to shoot for. I decided to hit a five-iron and it sailed over the lake and into the rough.”
From the rough he was able to hit the green, had a run at a birdie, and was thrilled with the resulting par.
“That was the biggest hole for me,” he said. “It saved me. It could have been a seven or eight.”
A birdie at the final hole gave Graham the lead.
Upon arrival at the press tent for post round interviews, Lotz told the assembled scribes that he felt his round was uneventful. But then he revealed that he holed a 40-foot birdie putt at the first hole. He added birdies at the 9th and 11th holes and parred the remaining 15 holes for his 69.
“I guess I choked a little bit.”
Hebert shot a third round 70 and was tied with Lotz for second place. Hebert and Graham would be paired together again in the final group playing the final round.
“I thought Lou was the man to beat.” Lotz said on Sunday. “He was playing some great golf and seemed to be pacing himself well.”
But Graham fought a bulky putter as he had trouble hitting his putts hard enough on Quail Hollow’s slow greens and provided an opening for Lotz who started his round with a birdie to get him to 10-under. He then played a steady round while Graham faltered and the other challengers fell away. Lotz had a 35 on the front nine and a 36 on the back nine for a 71 that was good enough for a two-shot victory.
In the press tent, Lotz described what happened when he missed a four-foot putt at the 16th hole and made bogey.
“I guess I choked a little bit,” he admitted.
But it didn’t matter as he was able to coast home on the final hole. His round featured four birdies offset by three bogeys. The biggest highlight of his round was a bomb he dropped on the 11th hole for a birdie.
“I haven’t really thought about going over $100,000. It’s really a secure feeling. Just being exempt, knowing I’d tee it up every Thursday and being able to support my wife and children put me to ease.”
“It must have been 55 feet,” he marveled after the round. “I would like to cut it up and use it all year.”
Lotz won $30,000 and, with the tour just entering the summer swing, he had won a total of $105,951 for the year, certainly a personal best.
“I haven’t really thought about going over $100,000,” he said. "It’s really a secure feeling. Just being exempt, knowing I’d tee it up every Thursday and being able to support my wife and children put me to ease.”
Tour Backspin caught up with Lotz to discuss that week in Charlotte. He talked about the greens at Quail Hollow, how much he liked the course, and how he planned to just be patient on the course. Here are a few of the quotes he gave us:
“I just went out and tried to play my own steady golf.”
“I was just playing consistent golf.”
“I was just proud to win that one.”
“All the great players played there because Arnold Palmer built it. Everybody thought that, well, if Arnold Palmer built it, it’s a good golf course.”
Listen to the entire discussion, what we’re dubbing a “wee nine” short episode on The Tour Backspin Show podcast here:
For a player who, at the beginning of the week, flew under the radar as far as favorites to win, Dick Lotz put his stamp on the Kemper Open by playing steady golf. He was in the top three money winners and would have to be taken seriously as a contender in the upcoming large purses that the summer events featured, as well as in the U.S. Open coming up later in June at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
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BONUS STORY
Richard Sink, sportswriter for The Charlotte Observer, described the reception that Frank Beard received when he checked in at Quail Hollow Club for the Kemper Open in 1970.
Frank Beard received some angry glances, a few cold stares, and a couple of choice obscenities from several professionals Wednesday when he reported to Quail Hollow Country Club for the Kemper Open.
Excerpts from a book that Beard was working on with author Dick Schaap appeared in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated that hit newsstands the week of the Kemper Open. The excerpts showed that Beard was providing a description of the PGA TOUR that included “warts and all” including depictions of his fellow players that rubbed some of them the wrong way.
The excerpts depicted were identified as coming from Beard’s forthcoming book titled, Bogey. Once published and released, the book was titled Pro. Frank Beard on the Golf Tour.
Beard did not seem too concerned with the reception that the excerpts received telling Sink, “I think anyone reading the entire book from cover to cover will not have the same feelings as now.”
BONUS STORY II
1970 was Dick Lotz’s finest year, but he felt it could have been even better. He was in the third spot on the official money list as he arrived at the Westchester Classic at the Westchester Country Club in Harrison, NY.
As was the custom during this era of the PGA TOUR, it was a requirement that players use local caddies who were on summer vacation from school as opposed to the professional caddies that were used in the spring and fall.
Lotz informed his caddie that he was going to his locker to change shoes and would meet him in front of the clubhouse. When he got to the front of the clubhouse the caddie was nowhere to be seen, nor were his clubs. He circled back to the caddie yard but still couldn’t locate his caddie. He thought that the caddie had taken his clubs with him and would have them the next day.
When he hooked up with his caddie the next day, he asked him where his clubs were.
“I left them out front of the clubhouse,” came the reply.
Apparently, his clubs were stolen from in front of the clubhouse. He had to use a rental set from the golf shop to play his last two rounds. He eventually got a replacement set, but club manufacturers did not keep records of the club specifications for the pros who played their clubs, so replacing a full set was a hit-or-miss proposition.
Lotz never did find a replacement set that gave him the same feel, and confidence, that the he experienced with the set that was stolen.
WHAT HOLE IS IT?
Are you on the leader board?
Congratulations to Doug Poston who correctly identified #1 at TPC Craig Ranch, in McKinney, TX, in last week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest. Doug beat out two other correct answers in the random drawing and a prize pack is on its way to him. Submit your answer for this week and get yourself into the race for the Herbert C. Leeds Trophy, our new perpetual trophy for the annual winner.
PGA TOUR Wrap-Up | CJ CUP Byron Nelson
Jay Rigdon wrote in The Fried Egg “The CJ CUP Byron Nelson promised very little in the way of watchability, and it handily delivered on that promise.” Geoff Shackelford, in his Substack newsletter The Quadrilaterial wrote, “With longtime sponsor AT&T having said enough is enough to a tough date, no Four Seasons on site, and after players point-missed Trinity Forest, Lord Nelson’s event has become a glorified minor league stop on a track devoid of verve, vibe or, this year, viable turf.”
Yes, the week in McKinney, TX, outside of Dallas, was a bit sleepy with names at the top of the leaderboard that most golf fans did not recognize and the early exit of Jordan Spieth who is certainly struggling going into next week’s PGA Championship.
This event is exactly what a lot of long time PGA TOUR observers feared with the announcement of Signature Events. With a spot on the schedule one week ahead of a Signature Event, and two weeks ahead of the second major of the year, it was difficult to assemble a field that would interest the casual golf fan.
Still, the players in the field had a lot to play for including a $9.5 million purse and the chance to improve FedEx point standings and earn a way into the lucrative Signature Events. These incentives contribute to a level of pressure on players looking for a life-changing victory.
This pressure was exemplified with the finish of Ben Kohls. After birdieing the 16th and 17th holes at TPC Craig Ranch, Kohls took a one shot lead into the 72nd hole. He hit his second shot at the par-5 finishing hole pin high, right of the green in deep rough that surrounded the bunkers guarding the green. He decelled on his pitch shot failing to reach the green and resulting in a much more difficult lie. He failed to get up and down for par, taking the only bogey on the hole for the day, leaving the door open to Taylor Pendrith, who two putted from 35-feet for a birdie to win.
“It was wild,” Pendrith said. “I hit a really nice shot in there 35 feet probably for eagle and Ben was in a little bit of a tricky spot. He’d been playing so good all day. I expected him to have a putt at birdie, so I was fully prepared to try and make that putt. I didn’t hit the best putt. I was a little disappointed that I left it short, but then when he missed his par putt and I realized I had a putt for the win, it was all a blur really.”
One cool thing that happened during the week was 16-year-old Kris Kim, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, posting a second-round 67, 4-under-par, to make the cut. He became the youngest player to make a PGA TOUR cut and finished with a 70-73 on the weekend.
Read the tournament recap by Cameron Jourdan of the Golfweek USA Today HERE.
See the top five shots from the CJ CUP Byron Nelson HERE.
Clips You Might Have Missed
Who wants to see an ace? I do!
Jason Day and cut drama.
Yikes! I’d wear a hard hat if you want to watch drives from Jordan Spieth.
Never, ever, give up.
Here comes Brooks, just in time for the PGA Championship
Touching remembrance from CBS Sports for Peter Oosterhuis
Tour Backspin Quiz | Kemper Open Trivia
Who won their last PGA TOUR title at the 1971 Kemper Open? Who did he beat by rolling in a 30-foot birdie on the final hole? How many tour titles did he have?
Scroll down for answer
Swing Like a Pro
Lou Graham’s swing.
Tip From Tony Lema*
Audio excerpts from the book Champagne Tony’s Golf Tips by Tony Lema with Bud Harvey.
(Click on player and scroll down when page opens)
When you consider that about 75 percent of your strokes are used within 75 yards of the cup, the importance of refining your putting and short game becomes crushingly obvious. And there' no excuse for neglecting this phase of your game because it doesn't require a golf course for practice. You can refine your chipping stroke out in the yard, and you can develop a feel for the pitch-and-run over in the park. But you have to work at it. You'll never find a nice, stroke-saving short game gift wrapped under the Christmas tree. And Irving, down at the drugstore, doesn't dispense them in gelatin capsules. You have to get out there and swing the club, for hours, until the feel of these shots is burned indelibly into your muscle memory.
*AI generated voice
Blind Shot
Click for something fun. 👀
Tour Backspin Music Clip
We’re a little late with this tribute to Dickey Betts. R.I.P.
Eat Like a Pro
Eat Like a Pro brought to you by Rub With Love.
Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema tells the story of one of the tour’s biggest stars in the mid-1960s. A fascinating glimpse into the traveling caravan that was the PGA TOUR during an era where the fields were full of “Mad Men” era personalities. From a hardscrabble youth spent on the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Oakland suburb of San Leandro, to the temptations of Elko, Nevada, to the bright lights of the PGA TOUR, Uncorked tells a story of determination, redemption and, above all else, a love story that documents how Betty, Tony’s new wife, provided the direction and motivation for him to become a top star. Order on Amazon.
WHAT IS HIP?
Bill Brask, rookie on the PGA TOUR in 1970 shows you what is hip. (Photos: Golf Digest / Image: Tour Backspin)
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Doug Sanders won his final PGA TOUR victory at the 1971 Kemper Open by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole. He defeated Lee Trevino by one-stroke to secure his 20th tour victory.
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Final Thoughts
Dick Lotz has an amazing memory. So good to talk with him.
Remember when Ajay and 19th Hole had the market cornered on golf accessories?
I think I read Pro, Frank Beard on the Golf Tour a thousand times.