Was a Hail Mary Answered When Nicklaus Hit a Ball O.B.?
Tony Lema recites a Hail Mary that might have been immediately answered
Congrats to Keegan Bradley who won the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, CT. Even though Bradley grew up in Vermont, the Travelers, or what once was the Greater Hartford Open, is a “home field” win for Bradley.
“My first PGA TOUR event that I ever went to, I came here (Hartford) and watched David Duvall play,” Bradley said after his win. “It was my first real taste of what the tour was like.”
Once again, history plays a role in motivating today’s players. Bradley set the 54-hole scoring record at 21-under-par, then extended his lead with three birdies on the front nine of the final round. He then held on to win by three strokes over Zac Blair and Brian Harmon.
This was the last elevated event for this season with the last major coming up on July 20th and the FedEx Playoffs starting at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on August 10th.
In last week’s Tour Backspin Poll, 100% of respondents loved Los Angeles Country Club as a venue for the U.S. Open.
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This week the PGA TOUR is in Detroit, MI, at the Detroit Country Club, for the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The main goal of the players this week is to move up the FedEx points list to better position themselves for the upcoming playoffs.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic has been played since 2019 and is the only PGA TOUR event in history to be played within the city limits of Detroit. But in nearby Grand Blanc, the Buick Open was played from 1958 to 2009. That’s enough shared DNA for us and we turn back to the 1965 Buick Open when Tony Lema defended his title from 1964. The purse was increased from $60,000 in 1964 to $100,000 in 1965 and represents the change in purses that resulted from newly acquired television revenues for the tour.
Lema’s faith, and a well-timed Hail Mary, may have carried him to his victory in 1965 at the Buick Open, but a brand-new Buick Riviera Gran Sport car carried him from the tournament. Scroll down to learn more.
For $2.75 per pair, you could change your golf game. Just add Heel-Set Golf Shoe Cushions to your golf shoes. To order you had to send a check, or money order, along with your pro’s name (if possible) to a P.O. Box. Or, you could write them for a “colorful brochure” about the inserts. This is the kind of thing you went through before the Internet. Scroll down to see this week’s Vintage Ad that stars Tony Lema.
The songs of 1965 are highlighted in this week’s Spotify playlist. Listen HERE.
Tony Lema’s leg and foot action is featured in this week’s Swing Like a Pro. Scroll down to view.
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Our leader on the board, Bruce Effisimo, was the winner in last week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest. Bruce was the only correct answer of #8 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. Check out the 2023 leader board and scroll down for your chance to win in this week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? We’ve got some new prizes to hand out!
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Larry Baush
Tony Lema Breaks Out The Champagne For The First Time in 1965
In 1964, Tony Lema won five times on the PGA TOUR capturing the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, The Thunderbird Classic, the Buick Open Invitational, the Cleveland Open Invitational, and The Open Championship. He also added the World Series of Golf where he won $50,000 after beating Arnold Palmer, Bobby Nichols and Ken Venturi in the two-day exhibition tournament.
From the Thunderbird through The Open Championship, Lema won four times in six weeks and won over $55,000. At the Thunderbird and at the Buick, he won the use of a new car every year for the next five years.
The winner would drive away in a Buick Riviera Gran Sport while the wife would drive away in an Opel Kadett.
But when he came to Grand Blanc, MI, in early June of 1965 to defend his Buick title, he had yet to win in the current season. The Buick Open increased the purse from $60,000 in 1964 to $100,000 in 1965 and they were also awarding a $1,000 acting contract to the winner to provide tips for an instructional movie. Plus, they would win the use of a new Buick every year for five years, and one for their wife! The winner would drive away in a Buick Riviera Gran Sport while the wife would drive away in an Opel Kadett. The result was that Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were playing in 1965 after skipping the event in 1964. All the other top name pros would be playing as well.
The crowds were sure to be huge as the Buick Open was one of the best values in sports. It only cost $2 for admission and parking was free. Warwick Hills would provide a stern test as it was the longest course on the PGA tour schedule that year coming in at a robust 7,280 yards.
During this era on tour, when the summer months arrived, local high school boys were used as caddies replacing the professional caddies that worked during the spring and fall. Lema had a special relationship with Max Winters (who went by the first name Jerry during this time). Lema usually tried to finagle with the local caddiemaster so that Winters would be assigned to his bag. He was unsuccessful at the Buick, and since his wife Betty did not make the trip to Grand Blanc, Tony had an extra pass and he gave it to Winters so that he could go inside the ropes.
Steve Spray, a 24-year-old playing in just his seventh PGA TOUR tournament, shot a 68 and jumped out to a one-stroke lead over Julius Boros. A few hours after sinking his last putt on the 18th hole, Spray was awarded his college diploma in absentia. Lema shot a 71 and trailed a host of players who shot 70 including Jack Nicklaus and Lema’s friend Johnny Pott.
On Friday, Boros shot a two-under 70 and held the lead, by two-strokes over a group of seven pros including Nicklaus, Pott and Lema. In Saturday’s third round, Lema found himself in trouble time after time but was able to lean on his putting to make up for it. After he birdied the second hole, he then failed to get out of a trap on the 5th hole and made bogey. Two birdies on the next two holes got him back on track.
He again had bunker problems on the back nine on the 12th hole resulting in a bogey and then followed that up with a three-putt bogey on the 15th hole. He was able to secure birdies on the 13th and 16th holes and was able to wrap up his roller-coaster round shooting a 69. Boros held his own against Lema and the two were tied before Boros bogeyed the 17th hole and finished one shot off the lead at 211. Tied with Boros were Pott and Nicklaus.
A crowd of over 20,000 came out to watch Sunday’s final round action. In addition, the final round would be televised nationally, in living color. Calling the action were John Derr, Jimmy Demaret, Jim McArthur, Bob Toski, and Ken Coleman. Many of the fans followed the final group of Lema and Nicklaus, while Pott and Boros made up the penultimate group.
“Well, say a Hail Mary.”
Nicklaus mounted a charge on the back nine as he made a long putt for birdie on 16 and sank another good putt on the 17th to save par. After a par on 16, Lema bunkered his approach on the 17th. He faced a terrible lie behind a rock that forced him to play out sideways. The resulting bogey left him with only a one-stroke cushion as the players walked through the crowd and onto the 18th tee. The scene was both electric and tense. Winters proved his worth to Tony who needed help on the tee.
“I’m shaking, man,” Tony admitted to Winters.
“Well, say a Hail Mary,” Winters advised Tony.
Winters could then see Tony fingering a relic of St. Martin medal he recently received as a gift from Sister Mary Martin of St. Elizabeth Church back in Oakland. He mouthed the Hail Mary, a traditional Catholic prayer that asks for the intercession of the Virgin Mary. Tony said his prayer as Nicklaus, who had the honors, prepared to hit his tee shot.
What happened next shocked all of those around the tee as Nicklaus hit a high, wild, hook that went out-of-bounds. Immediately after striking the ball, Nicklaus whips his head around in disgust.
“I was stunned, honestly. I didn’t know what to think, so I just put my own tee shot down the safety slot and played it nice and cozy with a four-iron to the green.”
“When he hit his shot, I didn’t know whether it was out-of-bounds or not,” Tony said to reporters after his round. “I was stunned, honestly. I didn’t know what to think, so I just put my own tee shot down the safety slot and played it nice and cozy with a four-iron to the green.”
After he hit safely down an adjacent fairway, Lema then walked all the way up to the green to view the leaderboard. He saw that Pott had finished at 282 and that a bogey, or better, would win the tournament for him. He hit his approach onto the green and two-putted for his par and his successful defense of the title with a four-round total of 280. Nicklaus wound up with a triple bogey for a four-round total of 284 and fell to fourth place behind Pott (282) and Boros (283).
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that sound. I’ve forgotten what that stuff tasted like.”
Finally, for the first time in 1965, Lema was able to have one of his famous champagne parties with the press. It had become his trademark and the source of his Champagne Tony Lema nickname.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that sound,” Tony chuckled as stewards popped the corks on a number of Moet bottles. He took a big drink from the glass of bubbly savoring his victory. “I’ve forgotten what that stuff tasted like.”
“I may have to open a used car lot if this keeps up. I’m set with cars through 1974.”
Lema won $20,000 and the use of two new Buicks each year for five years.
“I may have to open a used car lot if this keeps up,” quipped Lema. “I’m set with cars through 1974.”
The win moved Lema up into the fourth spot on the official money list and he was the second player to successfully defend a title in 1965. He would try to defend his title at the Cleveland Open the next week and he would be riding there in style in another brand-new car.
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Bonus Story
Archie Dadian, in his second year on the tour, aced the 204-yard, par 3 third hole. The 31-year-old pro from Milwaukee, WI, won a new Buick for his feat. It was the fourth hole-in-one in the tournament’s history.
Don Fairfield put together a front nine of 31 and a back nine of 34 on Saturday to tie the one round tournament record of 65 set by Dr. Cary Middlecoff in 1959. Fairfield only needed 21 putts and sank a 120-yard wedge shot for an eagle on the sixth hole. He did not win a Buick for his feat.
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Tour Backspin Quiz | Buick Open Trivia
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Swing Like a Pro
Byron Nelson said that Tony Lema had the best leg action on the tour.
Blind Shot
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Check It Out
I am fortunate to be working with a great crew with the goal of making Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema into a documentary movie. We have been conducting interviews, and on June 6th we interviewed John Fry who played a lot of golf with Tony Lema at Lake Chabot Golf Course in Oakland. We had just wrapped up the interview and were getting set to drive to Lake Chabot to conduct a couple of more interviews. Then we got the phone call. The clubhouse at Lake Chabot had burned down overnight. We conducted the interviews on the first tee of the par 3 course. My friend, Nick Lozito, wrote a great story about Lake Chabot and the fire on The Oaklandside . You can read it HERE.
We’ve got another one for you. Check out the joint agreement framework agreement between the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour, and PIF HERE (click on link to download PDF). It doesn’t really tell us much, though.
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?
Look at these hipsters! I don’t remember Arnold Palmer logo shirts when I was a junior. (photo: Golf Digest)
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Tiger Woods won three Buick Open titles (2002, 2006, and 2009) and so did Vijay Singh (1997, 2004, and 2005).
If you’re not already a paid subscriber and you’re enjoying Tour Backspin, I hope you’ll consider upgrading your subscription. I understand that not everyone can or wants to buy a paid subscription. I’m happy to have you here either way. I’m glad you feel that the stories of these players from one of golf’s “Golden Ages” are important to document before it is too late. Thanks for reading.
Vintage Ad
Final Thoughts
I love to meet Tour Backspin subscribers! David Hall, a starter and caddie at Chambers Bay caught up with me as I went through my annual torture test. Great meeting you Dave!
David Hall (l) and Tour Backspin Editor Larry Baush (r) (photo: David Hall)
Holy smokes! You've got the story, the photos, and that video to go with a 7200 yard course from 1965.