John Mahaffey
# John Mahaffey

John Drayton Mahaffey Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events.

## Early life

Mahaffey was born in Kerrville, Texas. He attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Mahaffey graduated in 1970 with a degree in psychology.

## 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 at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. The following year Mahaffey had a two-shot lead after 54 holes at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia before shooting a final round 73 and finishing T-4.

In 1978, he won the PGA Championship. It was held at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. 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. 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 individual and team event where he was paired with Andy North in 1978.

Mahaffey played on the 1979 Ryder Cup team the following year.

Later in his career, he began work as an announcer on Golf Channel telecasts of the PGA Tour Champions.

## Personal life

Mahaffey lives near Houston 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)

* Legend
* Major championships (1)
* Players Championships (1)
* Other PGA Tour (8)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Oct 28, 1973 | Sahara Invitational | −13 (68-66-69-68=271) | 3 strokes | Dave Eichelberger |
| 2 | Aug 6, 1978 | PGA Championship | −8 (75-67-68-66=276) | Playoff | Jerry Pate, Tom Watson |
| 3 | Aug 13, 1978 | American Optical Classic | −14 (71-65-67-67=270) | 2 strokes | Raymond Floyd, Gil Morgan |
| 4 | Jan 14, 1979 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | −17 (66-66-71-71-69=343) | 1 stroke | Lee Trevino |
| 5 | Jun 1, 1980 | Kemper Open | −5 (68-72-67-68=275) | 3 strokes | Craig Stadler |
| 6 | July 26, 1981 | Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic | −8 (72-67-70-67=276) | 2 strokes | Andy North |
| 7 | Jan 15, 1984 | Bob Hope Classic (2) | −20 (66-70-70-68-66=340) | Playoff | Jim Simons |
| 8 | Sep 29, 1985 | Texas Open | −12 (68-68-65-67=268) | Playoff | Jodie Mudd |
| 9 | Mar 30, 1986 | Tournament Players Championship | −13 (69-70-65-71=275) | 1 stroke | Larry Mize |
| 10 | Aug 6, 1989 | Federal Express St. Jude Classic | −12 (70-71-66-65=272) | 3 strokes | Bob Gilder, Hubert Green, Bernhard Langer, Bob Tway |

PGA Tour playoff record (3–2)

| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1975 | U.S. Open | Lou Graham | Lost 18-hole playoff; Graham: E (71), Mahaffey: +2 (73) |
| 2 | 1978 | PGA Championship | Jerry Pate, Tom Watson | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 1984 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | Jim Simons | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 4 | 1985 | Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic | Mark Wiebe | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1985 | Texas Open | Jodie Mudd | Won with par on second extra hole |

### Other wins (5)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dec 3, 1978 | World Cup (with Andy North) | −12 (141-144-138-141=564) | 10 strokes | Australia − Wayne Grady and Greg Norman |
| 2 | Dec 3, 1978 | World Cup Individual Trophy | −7 (69-72-69-71=281) | 2 strokes | Andy North |
| 3 | Nov 11, 1979 | World Cup (2) (with Hale Irwin) | −1 (141-141-152-141=575) | 5 strokes | Scotland − Ken Brown and Sandy Lyle |
| 4 | Jan 4, 1981 | Spalding Invitational | −9 (69-69-69-72=279) | 1 stroke | Buddy Allin |
| 5 | Dec 12, 1982 | JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with JoAnne Carner) | −20 (68-67-63-70=268) | 1 stroke | Jay Haas and Hollis Stacy |

### Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Jun 20, 1999 | Southwestern Bell Dominion | −12 (67-67-70=204) | Playoff | José María Cañizares, Bruce Fleisher |

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1999 | Southwestern Bell Dominion | José María Cañizares, Bruce Fleisher | Won with birdie on second extra hole Fleisher eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 2 | 2002 | FleetBoston Classic | Bob Gilder | Lost to birdie on third extra hole |

## Major championships

### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1978 | PGA Championship | 7 shot deficit | −8 (75-67-68-66=276) | $Playoff^1$ | Jerry Pate, Tom Watson |

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

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1970 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1978 | 1979 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Masters Tournament | | | | CUT | CUT | T39 | | |
| U.S. Open | T36 LA | CUT | T29 | T12 | 2 | T4 | | T36 |
| The Open Championship | | | | T44 | T10 | | | |
| PGA Championship | | | T30 | T9 | T28 | WD | 1 | T51 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
| Masters Tournament | T44 | T8 | CUT | T40 | CUT | T14 | T42 | T35 | | |
| U.S. Open | T28 | CUT | T22 | T34 | T30 | T39 | CUT | T24 | | T46 |
| The Open Championship | T32 | | | | | | T30 | | | |
| PGA Championship | T15 | CUT | T42 | CUT | T20 | T23 | CUT | T65 | T15 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1997 |
| Masters Tournament | T42 | | | | | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | | | CUT | CUT | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | | |
| PGA Championship | T40 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD |

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

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 13 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| PGA Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 12 |
| Totals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 59 | 37 |

* 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)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | Tournament Players Championship | 4 shot deficit | −13 (69-70-65-71=275) | 1 stroke | Larry Mize |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| The Players Championship | T19 | T11 | T34 | | T12 | | T5 | T19 | T35 | T3 | T10 | CUT | 1 | T32 | T27 | T45 | CUT | CUT | T9 | CUT | T27 | T55 | CUT |

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

## U.S. national team appearances

Professional

* Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners)
* World Cup: 1978 (winners, individual winner), 1979 (winners)
* Nissan Cup: 1986
