John Drayton Mahaffey Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who has won numerous tournaments including 10

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

events.

Early life

Mahaffey was born in

Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-fo ...

. He attended the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Mahaffey graduated in 1970 with a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Professional career

He turned pro in 1971. Mahaffey came close to winning back to back U.S. Opens. In 1975, he lost in a playoff to

Lou Graham Louis Krebs Graham (born January 7, 1938) is an American professional golfer. Graham won six PGA Tour tournaments including the 1975 U.S. Open. Early life Graham was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He started playing golf when he was seven ye ...

at the

Medinah Country Club Medinah Country Club is a private country club in Medinah, Illinois, with nearly 600 members and containing three golf courses, Lake Kadijah, swimming facilities, a golf learning center, golf shop, gun club, racket center and a mosque-evokin ...

Medinah, Illinois Medinah is an unincorporated community in the state of Illinois and is a northwest suburb of Chicago, located in DuPage County. It is neighbored by the three villages of Roselle, Itasca, and Bloomingdale along old Chicago–Galena highway bet ...

. The following year Mahaffey had a two-shot lead after 54 holes at the

Atlanta Athletic Club Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC), founded in 1898, is a private country club in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb 23 miles north of Atlanta. The original home of the club was a 10-story building located on Carnegie Way, and in 1904 a golf course was buil ...

Johns Creek, Georgia Johns Creek is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 82,453. The city is a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. History In the early 19th century, the Johns Cr ...

before shooting a final round 73 and finishing T-4. In 1978, he won the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

. It was held at

Oakmont Country Club Oakmont Country Club is a golf course country club which, despite its name, is mostly located within the borough of Plum, Pennsylvania with only a small portion of the property actually in the small town of Oakmont. Established in 1903, the club ...

Oakmont, Pennsylvania Oakmont is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Allegheny River. The population was 6,758 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a suburb in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. ...

. Mahaffey became the best comeback winner in PGA history after trailing Tom Watson by seven strokes with 14 holes to play. Ultimately, the tournament came down to a three-player playoff – Mahaffey, Watson and

Jerry Pate Jerome Kendrick Pate (born September 16, 1953) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. As a 22-year-old rookie, he won the U.S. Open in 1976. Early life Born in Macon, Georgia, he was one of six ...

. All three players made par on the first playoff hole. The drama ended on the second playoff hole when Pate missed the green, Watson missed a 30-foot birdie attempt and Mahaffey made his 12-foot birdie putt for the Championship. Later in the year he also won the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

individual and team event where he was paired with

Andy North Andrew Stewart North (born March 9, 1950) is an American professional golfer who had three wins on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open twice. Since 1992, he has served as a golf analyst for ESPN. Early life North was born in Thorp, Wisconsi ...

in 1978. Mahaffey played on the

1979 Ryder Cup The 23rd Ryder Cup Matches were held September 14–16, 1979, in the United States, at the Greenbrier Course of The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It was the beginning of a new era for the Ryder Cup. For the first time, pl ...

team the following year. Later in his career, he began work as an announcer on

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC Golf") is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ba ...

telecasts of the

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

Personal life

Mahaffey lives near

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

at The Woodlands in his home state of Texas. His family includes wife Elizabeth, and two children.

Amateur wins

*1970 NCAA Championship

Professional wins (16)

PGA Tour wins (10)

PGA Tour playoff record (3–2)

Other wins (5)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

¹Defeated Pate and Watson with a birdie on the second extra hole.

Results timeline

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1978 PGA – 1981 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1975 U.S. Open – 1975 Open Championship)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

(winners) *

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

(winners, individual winner),

(winners) * Nissan Cup: 1986

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahaffey, John American male golfers Houston Cougars men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships American golf commentators Golfers from Houston People from Kerrville, Texas 1948 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

Professional career

Personal life

Amateur wins

Professional wins (16)

PGA Tour wins (10)

Other wins (5)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Summary

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Results timeline

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

External links